This piece from Triple Canopy tracks the development of megachurches in America and the similar trajectory of corporate headquarters from dense city areas to vast exurban campuses.
"The midcentury embrace of car-friendly, arcadian settings for work and worship drew on a sense of the uprightness of the rural that had been cultivated by prominent Americans from Thomas Jefferson to William Jennings Bryan. Even after Schuller's congregation moved into a new building on the same site in 1961, it maintained its connection to the drive-in church: Richard Neutra, its architect, made the signature feature a floor-to-ceiling glass wall with panels that slid open during services, merging the sanctuary with the parking lot outside, giving worshipers in cars and pews an equal view of the pulpit.
A similar aesthetic emerged in office design. The Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, wishing to move away from downtown Hartford in order to expand its headquarters, hired Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to design a new structure in the idyllic suburb of Bloomfield. The result was a low, crystalline block set on two hundred acres of farmland."
FULL STORY: Infrastructure for Souls
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Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
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Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
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Many public transit agencies face financial stress due to rising costs, declining fare revenue, and declining subsidies. Transit advocates must provide a strong business case for increasing public transit funding.
Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution
The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling.
Why Housing Costs More to Build in California Than in Texas
Hard costs like labor and materials combined with ‘soft’ costs such as permitting make building in the San Francisco Bay Area almost three times as costly as in Texas cities.
San Diego County Sees a Rise in Urban Coyotes
San Diego County experiences a rise in urban coyotes, as sightings become prevalent throughout its urban neighbourhoods and surrounding areas.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service