Most people use the Summer months to re-connect with pastimes forgotten during winter months. It is this time of the year that sales soar both at the box office and in bookstores. Most normal people I know take trashy novels with them to the beach or submerge themselves in an entire season of 24 (which thanks to Netflix can be accomplished in a few intense evenings). I tend to lean toward the other extreme (although I have indulged in bad TV from time to time). My wife calls me a design geek because my bedside table is always full of design magazines, books and theory.
Most people use the Summer months to re-connect with pastimes forgotten during winter months. It is this time of the year that sales soar both at the box office and in bookstores. Most normal people I know take trashy novels with them to the beach or submerge themselves in an entire season of 24 (which thanks to Netflix can be accomplished in a few intense evenings). I tend to lean toward the other extreme (although I have indulged in bad TV from time to time). My wife calls me a design geek because my bedside table is always full of design magazines, books and theory.
That said, much of what has most inspired me throughout the years and helped to form a career path has very little to do with planning, architecture or urban design directly. Movies, novels, music, art have all played a very strong role. I recall watching Jacque Tati's movies for the first time. Playtime and Mon Oncle are amazing to me for their artistry, humor and commentary on the city. If anyone has seen the 1956 movie the Red Balloon or the Fritz Lang classic M lately then you may want to add them to your list. Looking for a classic that's as much about the City as it is about today's foreign conflicts? Try Battle of Algiers. Want to see where film director's blatantly stole from architects and planners? How about Lebbeus Woods's Information City used in the movie 12 Monkeys or Raymood Hood's City of Needles almost applied wholesale as background in Star Wars Episode One: Phantom Menace (yeah the bad one).
In a similar way, some early examples of photo collage (there's a great exhibit at the National Gallery of Art on this subject) and music by artists like Stereolab, Talking Heads and DJ Spooky have all helped me see cities in new ways. And for the true geeks out there, there's always the novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson but I've always been more partial to Douglas Coupland's brand of humor in Shampoo Planet.
Given that all of this is so personal, I think understanding where our inspiration comes from can help to better understand each other as professionals. That's why this summer a goal of mine is to start an "Inpiration Bank" in my office. Pop culure, art, anything, except traditional planning and design literature, is allowed. That's nothing against Jane Jacobs, Rem Koolhaas or any other author typically found on the shelves of a modern-day planner or designer. I just think I might learn more about a person that sees something unique in New Order than one that has read the planning essentials.
Miami: The Changing Face of America
The city of Miami is the setting of a forthcoming book by novelist Tom Wolfe, whose works have come to define eras in American culture. Some say his selection of Miami as a setting shows that the melting pot city is the face of a changing America.
Is the Urban Form Sustainable?
One author offers a framework for resilience that rethinks common assumptions about the inevitability of cities as we know them.
Parks and Gardens as Spaces to Celebrate Lunar New Year
Parks and gardens serve as communal spaces that bring people together. As such, there are good reasons for them to host events and activities that celebrate Lunar New Year, an important festival deeply rooted in Asian cultures.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
