Urban Planning and Development

When It Rains in Detroit

When It Rains in Detroit When It Rains in Detroit

Even an ordinary rainfall in the Motor City can prompt devastating floods, turning the fortunes of many upside down.

Sep 10, 2021 / Bilal Baydoun

To Survive Climate Change, We Need to Rebuild the World as We Know It

To Survive Climate Change, We Need to Rebuild the World as We Know It To Survive Climate Change, We Need to Rebuild the World as We Know It

Extreme weather events like Hurricane Ida prove that we need to rethink everything we think we know about the built and natural worlds.

Sep 6, 2021 / Jake Bittle

Rep. Cori Bush

Cori Bush Is Determined to Save the Eviction Moratorium Cori Bush Is Determined to Save the Eviction Moratorium

She lit a fire under the Biden administration to keep people in their homes, but the Supreme Court ruling has renewed the housing crisis.

Aug 27, 2021 / John Nichols

Press Secretary Psaki Briefs White House Media

America Faces Cascading Crises. Democrats Must Act. America Faces Cascading Crises. Democrats Must Act.

Any serious effort to alleviate the real problems facing Americans will depend on progressives’ corralling Democratic unity.

Aug 5, 2021 / no-paywall / Katrina vanden Heuvel

Washington Square Park protest

Welcome to Washington Square Park, Capital of Woke Bohemia Welcome to Washington Square Park, Capital of Woke Bohemia

A vibrant new youth scene is taking shape in Greenwich Village. Some people want to shut it down.

Jul 30, 2021 / Richard Goldstein

All That’s Utopian Melts Into Asphalt

All That’s Utopian Melts Into Asphalt All That’s Utopian Melts Into Asphalt

Utopia Parkway, which slices through the most diverse borough in New York, began as a dream of cooperative housing for poor Jewish immigrants.

Jul 16, 2021 / Feature / Molly Crabapple

Why Does Utopian Architecture Suck?

Why Does Utopian Architecture Suck? Why Does Utopian Architecture Suck?

Our plans to rethink the built environment keep going awry.

Jul 14, 2021 / Feature / Kate Wagner

How a Harlem Skyrise Got Hijacked—and Forgotten

How a Harlem Skyrise Got Hijacked—and Forgotten How a Harlem Skyrise Got Hijacked—and Forgotten

The fate of June Jordan’s visionary reimagining of Harlem, like the “progressive” design for IS 201, shows that when it comes to Utopias, the key question is always: “Whose?”

Jul 14, 2021 / Feature / Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

A cooling center in Portland, OR

Extreme Heat in Portland Is an ‘Acute Disaster on Chronic Disaster’ Extreme Heat in Portland Is an ‘Acute Disaster on Chronic Disaster’

Physical infrastructure, social services, labor protections—in the Pacific Northwest, none of them is designed with extreme heat in mind.

Jun 30, 2021 / Zoë Carpenter

President Biden with senators

Will the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan Turn Out to Be a Bridge to Nowhere? Will the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan Turn Out to Be a Bridge to Nowhere?

There are things to like about the reported deal. But progressives must make sure ambitious “human infrastructure” proposals are included in a reconciliation package.

Jun 24, 2021 / Joan Walsh

x