Damon Rich wants constituents and professionals alike to get excited about the bureaucratic slog.
Next City profiles Damon Rich—former Newark planning director, founder of the Center for Urban Pedagogy, and one of several urbanists to win a MacArthur "genius" grant this year.
The piece highlights the impact of Rich's career "democratizing and demystifying urban planning and design." From creating popular education tools to overhauling Newark’s zoning laws for the first time in 50 years, themes in Rich’s work include playfulness, accessibility, and civic engagement.
Whatever the project he ultimately pursues with the MacArthur grant, Rich's stated mission is to "de-stultify" key aspects of urban planning—like hearings, zoning, and regulations—for both professionals and the public.
In architecture school, he says, zoning and building codes were treated as necessary evils … It wasn’t until he was out in the real world, meeting with tenant advocates and community organizers, that he began to see these regulations as milestones on the road to civic progress. “It was a real revelation to me that these things weren’t tyrannical constraints,” he says. Quite the contrary — they were the end result of hard-won battles for social justice.
FULL STORY: MacArthur “Genius” Grant Gives Damon Rich a Chance to Champion the Planning Hearing
Former Planning Director, Landscape Architect Among MacArthur Genius Grants Winners
Professionals and academics of the built environment were recognized for their genius this week by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Leveraging Social Media for Citizen Engagement in Urban Planning
Discover how urban planners can use social media to enhance citizen engagement, featuring strategies for interactive communication and community involvement in urban development projects.
‘Shawshank Redemption’: 5 Adaptive Reuse Strategies for Shuttered Jails
Redeveloping closed correctional facilities in ways that foster just and thriving communities is a growing trend across the United States.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
How Atlanta Built 7,000 Housing Units in 3 Years
The city’s comprehensive, neighborhood-focused housing strategy focuses on identifying properties and land that can be repurposed for housing and encouraging development in underserved neighborhoods.
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
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