Public Art

Scaffolding

Art May Be Coming to New York City Sidewalk Sheds

Scaffolding and sidewalk sheds being a fixture of life in NYC, the city has decided to let artists do their thing with all that blank canvas.

October 13, 2018 - ArtNet News

Queens, New York

Graffiti Wins Protected Legal Status in New York

A landmark judgement potentially paves the way for graffiti to be protected under the Visual Artists Rights Act.

February 23, 2018 - Modern Cities

Los Angeles Sunset

Rise of the Instagram City

Cities have become obsessed with going viral.

January 3, 2018 - CityLab

New York Public Art

The 'Deliberately Unkind' Public Art of the High Line

"You could be forgiven for reading the art as a message to less-than-opulent New Yorkers: You’ve lost your place," writes Michael Friedman.

November 16, 2017 - CityLab

San Francisco Mural

Friday Eye Candy: Portraits Made Public—For Community Awareness and Placemaking

The "Inside Out Project: We Are Edison" installation posted large portraits of residents in the Kalamazoo neighborhood of Edison on the side of a building. The exhibition invites the community to take a look at itself.

September 1, 2017 - MLive

Utility Box Art

Could Public Art on Utility Boxes Displace Communication?

There will be important functions in public space that are not always “art” whose value is not in proportion to their prettiness.

August 21, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

London Public Art

Trafalgar Square Shows How to Reuse Pedestals Where Statues Once Stood

Baltimore tore down its Confederate monuments, now they have an opportunity to showcase the city's artists.

August 19, 2017 - CityLab

Small Town Art

Activating Artists as an Urban Resource

Planning and art don't traditionally mix, but that's changing. Embedded at NYC's Department of Design and Construction, artist Mary Miss envisions public art as an infrastructural aid.

May 24, 2017 - Next City

Stormwater Infrastructure

Using Public Art to Make Sense of Wastewater Infrastructure

The city of San Jose and designers from the University of California, Davis have completed a community-led design process to raise awareness about the connections between the kitchen, sewers, and the environment.

May 12, 2017 - The Confluence

Chicago's Wabash Lights Concept Could Expand

An art instillation of colorful LED lights hanging under the L on Wabash looks to grow.

April 27, 2017 - Curbed

Friday Funny: A Bus Stop With Funk in Melbourne

"All aboard to funkytown," writes Chloe Booker, transporting readers to a time and a place where the trains had soul and the bells had bottoms.

February 24, 2017 - The Sydney Morning Herald

Boyle Heights

A Community Planning Process—Even a Good One—Is Not Enough

Simply inviting residents to participate in design charrettes or a community planning process does not mitigate the significant loss they feel as they witness the physical destruction of their homes and lived history.

January 31, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Faced With Declining Population, Japanese Village Is Repopulated By Scarecrows

The population of Nagoro, Japan has declined in recent years from 300 to just 30 people. Local artist Tsukimi Ayano has populated the village with scarecrows to replace some of the familiar community figures who are now gone.

August 28, 2016 - NPR

Horse Toy

Horsey! Grassroots Public Art Connects People, Past, and Present

Never underestimate the power of whimsy in the built environment. A genuine and unconditional spirit of welcome and inclusion can be found in the most unexpected forms of participatory art.

August 18, 2016 - PlaceShakers

Los Angeles Street

Artist to Help Los Angeles Meet Vision Zero Goal

LADOT’s first artist-in-residence will engage the city’s many subcultures, and its lively art scene, in his effort to improve pedestrian safety.

June 9, 2016 - Gizmodo

Friday Eye Candy: See Boston's Invisible Poems

The "Raining Poetry" art installation hides poetry in plain sight—the words of poets like Langston Hughes are stenciled on sidewalks around Boston and only revealed when water is added.

May 20, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Seattle Bus Rain

Art at Seattle Bus Stops Only Appears When It's Raining

Seattle celebrates a transit project with public art that plays to the city’s strength: rain.

May 11, 2016 - CityLab

Shepard Fairey

Street Artist Shepard Fairey Tackles Detroit

After billionaire landlord Dan Gilbert commissioned a mural, less-legal works in Fairey's style began showing up around the city. Detroit's case against the artist brings gentrification's ironies into focus.

September 22, 2015 - CityLab

The Lost History of D.C.'s Murals

Washington City Paper creates a record of the many murals that have been lost to new construction and shifting demographics in neighborhoods around Washington, D.C.

September 2, 2015 - Washington City Paper

Welcome to Detroit

Public Art and the Urban Experience

A retrospective of a billboard art exhibition at the 2013 Biennial of the Americas on the occasion of the 2015 Biennial's kick-off implicates an excellent model of citizen engagement and possibly some lessons for civic leaders and urban planners.

July 15, 2015 - Dean Saitta

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.