Urban Studies

  • Robert E. Lee Monument, Richmond, Virginia (Wikimedia Commons)

    Confederate Statues, Archaeology, and the Soul of Community

    The vigorous debate about Confederate statues that exploded in the wake of Charlottesville and continues today provides a useful entry point to a broader conversation about the nature, planning, and design of public commemorative landscapes. Scholars generally agree that monuments […]

     
  • Aurora Rising

    Aurora Rising

    One of the great revelations of the 2017 Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute (RMLUI) annual conference on “Creating Inclusive Communities” that I wrote about here was learning more about Denver’s rapidly urbanizing neighbor to the east. Given its burgeoning immigrant […]

     
  • The Evolution of Green Urbanism

    The Evolution of Green Urbanism

    The evolution of urban planning has been the subject of several recent museum exhibitions, blog posts, books, and infographics. These representations of planning history are useful for several reasons. They remind us of where we are and how we got […]

     
  • Adolf Hitler in Paris with his architect Albert Speer  (left) and the public artist Arno Breker (Wikimedia Commons)

    Hitler’s Urbanists?

    While doing some web research the other day for stories about intercultural city building I came across a post on a website called “Granite State Future(s)” (hereafter, GSF) entitled Regionalists Praise Gulags, Concentration Camps for “Urbanism”.   The unnamed author criticizes an […]

     
  • Charles Montgomery (D. Saitta)

    Rocky Mountain City Summit 2016: Place, Culture, Meaning

    Just about two months ago Rocky Mountain region civic leaders, planners, developers, and distinguished out-of-town guests convened for the sixth annual City Summit. Held in Denver and hosted by the Downtown Denver Partnership, this one-day event is packed with keynote speakers […]

     
  • Was Jane Jacobs Wrong?

    Was Jane Jacobs Wrong?

    This has been a year of commemorating the 100th anniversary of Jane Jacobs’s birth. The great urbanist’s birthday on May 4th prompted reflections by notable biographers and scholars like Roberta Gratz and Saskia Sassen. In commenting on the larger body […]

     
  • Ebenezer Howard's Model of the Garden City (Wikimedia Commons)

    Are Garden Cities Sustainable?

    The answer to my title’s question depends, of course, on where they’re located, how they develop, and what we mean by “sustainable.” Certainly, Ebenezer Howard’s concept of the Garden City is one of the most influential planning models produced by […]

     
  • The Evolution of Urban Planning

    The Evolution of Urban Planning

    Guest Post submitted by Konstantin von der Schulenburg Konstantin von der Schulenburg is an architect who writes about issues relating to his industry. The infographic presented below has already been posted to several engineering, construction, and public interest websites. It’s a provocative […]

     
  • Roof Garden, Rockefeller Center, New York

    Urban Growth and Sustainable Cities

    Guest Post by Ray McNeal Ray McNeal spent the majority of his career in the real estate industry. Throughout his career, he became fascinated with the concept of sustainable development. He is currently a blogger whose focus is the benefits […]

     
  • Umberto Eco in 2011. (Copyright: Das Blaue Sofa)

    Umberto Eco, Planning Education, and Urban Space

    The great Italian literary critic, philosopher, novelist, and University of Bologna semiotics professor Umberto Eco died last month. On the surface this event is probably of little consequence to professional urban planners. However, by the end of this essay I […]

     
  • Michael Kimmelman lecturing in Denver (D. Saitta)

    Mr. Kimmelman’s Metropolis

    New York Times columnists and critics have always figured prominently in my urban studies course reading lists, whether it’s Paul Krugman advocating Old World urbanism, David Brooks explaining American exurbanism, Holland Cotter urging a new role for the 21st century […]

     
  • What Makes a Great Public Space?

    What Makes a Great Public Space?

    It’s a question that’s often asked and answered by urban planners and placemakers. Last summer’s debate about desnudas and costumed panhandlers in New York City’s Times Square added even more grist to the mill. Numerous physical and social qualities that […]