A diagram for Ebenezer Howard’s To-morrow, 1898

Urban Planning, Then and Now

Humans have been designing cities for millennia. California Forever is just the newest entry in a long list of planned communities around the world.
Young female and her little son planting tree in one of city parks on summer day

Building Community and Urban Tree Canopy

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Black communities and other reformers in New York City recognized the ameliorative social effects of greening urban spaces.
man jumping on the roof in city with abstract grunge,illustration painting

Walkers in the City—and Everywhere

In psychogeography, the journey is key. Each step a person takes helps them reshape and better understand the role the space around them plays in their life.
A pedestrian uses the press-button system in order to cross the road in Croydon, London, 1932

Look Both Ways

With the arrival of the automobile, governments had to scramble to find ways to protect and control pedestrian use of the road.
Illustration of a city with lots of green space as seen from above

Lawn and Order: Green Spaces for a Better Society

A growing topic in policy focuses on improving public access to green, open spaces. How important is greenery for health and happiness?
Hutong in Beijing, China

China’s Historic Preservation Challenges

Beijing’s hutongs are disappearing quickly. Is there a way create safe housing, preserve historic buildings, and meet the city's financial needs?
Broadway and Third Street, looking east on Third Street from Olive Street, Los Angeles, 1890-1900

How Los Angeles Started Its Sprawl

Victorian values and Anglo(phile) aesthetics shaped the city’s infrastructure and architecture in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
Aerial view of Bangalore city in south India

Bangalore’s Green Belt Fifty Years On

Or, why the best laid plans of urban design sometimes go awry.
A male janitor stands and bends over a urinal in a bathroom, scrubbing the porcelain with a detergent.

A Short History of the Public Restroom

How come it's so hard to go in sweet privacy when you're out and about?
Downtown Los Angeles skyline

How to Plant Trees in the City: It’s Complicated

Trees in cities have the ability to sequester carbon, provide shade, and mitigate flooding. But no one tree fits all environments.