The name "Los Angeles" is synonymous with urban sprawl, yet in spite of that, it is the most dense urbanized area in the United States. This apparent contradiction sheds light on what an ill-defined, psychological concept "sprawl" is, with the phenomenon coming in several distinct and widely varying forms.
Davor was the first one who kissed me. Let me explain. I recently spent the first month of my summer in Santiago, Chile, where I worked for an NGO called Ciudad Emergente. The organization does interventions and research surrounding public spaces in Latin America, promoting the notion that short-term action can lead to long-term change. Some examples of their work are experimental bike paths demarcated with cones and a pop-up concert/artisan market hybrid in derelict space — both of which are examples of an approach known as tactical urbanism. Implementation and evaluation of tactical urbanism interventions are growing in popularity as effective means of testing scenarios to ultimately influence policy.
We are proud to announce that articles published in the Agora Journal of Urban Planning and Design have now been re-published individually online, and are available in the Journal Article Archives section of our website.
With A10 recently printed and the celebration over, the Agora staff reached out to James McMurray and Deirdra Stockman, two of the founders of Agora, as well as Jonathan Levine, who was Chair of URP program when Agora started. Take a look at their responses as they reflect on being apart of Agora's start and what it has meant to them in their careers.
To commemorate Agora 10, Mike Lydon, an Agora founder and now an internationally recognized planner and writer for his contributions towards rethinking how to make cities more livable, reflected on the past ten years in an introduction to this year's edition. His "State of the Journal" is published here in full. Enjoy!
This isn't the first that Ann Arbor has brought up ADUs. Take a look at how the Michigan chapter of Planners Network has been involved over the last year.
This blog features two second-year MUP student's design project that discusses the importance of social media in Brazilian favelas, in particular the role Instagram and Twitter in giving these impoverished communities a voice that challenges the mainstream media.
Check out architect student Ryan Goold's piece on how two neighboring and physically connected places can look and feel so different!
Check out professor Jonathan Levine's opinion piece on one of Ann Arbor's more controversial issues. As he points out, the question of a deer cull is just as much a planning question as it is an ecological one.
Check out first-year SNRE student Reema Abi-Akar's fascinating blog about planning for the dead. She explores questions many of us may have not considered, such as, can cemeteries become an integral part of a city's revitalization plan?
The piece looks at the importance of monuments in place-making from an architects perspective. How do you balance form and experience so that monuments are timeless and legible to its interpreters?
Peter Knoop manages LSAs GIS IT team and has a background in geology, oceanography and information sciences. Peter shows us how to tailor ESRIs interactive story maps to the stories you want to tell! Be sure to check out all the links!
Scott Campbell, a planning professor here at Taubman College, advises on how to balance data and narration to tell a compelling story.
The second blog for the Agora Salon series describes professor Lesli Hoey's presentation on a variety of different qualitative data methods she uses and why they are beneficial for enriching your research!
The first post from our Agora Salon Series on the theme storytelling is by Nick Tobier a professor at the Stamps School of Design who demonstrates the power of simple drawings. While planners do not rely strictly on drawings like architects or urban designers, we can benefit enormously from practicing this skill--using simple diagrams to break down the complex issues we face when planning cities.
Check out how the size of American suburban malls compares to other major land uses worldwide!
Cinema has long been a projection of society’s dreams, fears, ambitions and prejudices, and planning is a major factor. Whether set in postwar Vienna or the lonely U.S. highway system, blockbusters and art-house films alike have demonstrated the complex, evolving ways people interact with—and react to—the modern world.
Promoting gender equity is a key component of urban planning. Although not as prominent as transportation planning or economic development, developing gender-inclusive cities must remain at the forefront of modern-day planning.
This blog summarizes my experience on the MUP Expanded Horizons trip to Pittsburgh in September. The city is experiencing a period of development that is paving the path toward a new identity - one that is full of vibrancy, yet preserves the history of how it became what it is today.
This article uses a recent encounter to raise a larger question: do experts have a responsibility to provide communities with guidance as they make hard decisions?
