Urban planners and all professionals responsible for planning and designing public spaces must pay greater attention to the many ways that streets, plazas, parks and public facilities in cities around the world are the main sites for exercising free speech and protest as part of the global movements for Black Lives, Indigenous Lives, Climate Justice, labor, equal rights for … [Read more...] about PLANNING NOT POLICING: A CALL BY PLANNERS NETWORK AND PROGRESSIVE CITY
ANNEXATION AS PRESENT REALITY: TAKING STOCK OF THE COLONIAL PLANNING REGIME IN PALESTINE’S JORDAN VALLEY
By Norma M. Rantisi In the summer of 2015, through a visit coordinated by Ma’an Development Center¹, I had the opportunity to meet with Bedouin herders and farmers in the Jordan Valley (in the eastern part of the occupied West Bank) and learn about the challenges that colonial occupation presents for their everyday lives. The challenges they cited ranged from the ongoing … [Read more...] about ANNEXATION AS PRESENT REALITY: TAKING STOCK OF THE COLONIAL PLANNING REGIME IN PALESTINE’S JORDAN VALLEY
A WORLD FOR THE MANY: AN INTERVIEW WITH OLYMPIA CITY COUNCILMEMBER RENATA ROLLINS
By Marco Rosaire Rossi Just over sixty miles south of Seattle sits the small city of Olympia, Washington. Tucked into the southeastern corner of Bud Inlet, Olympia—the state’s capital—is well known for being a focal point in the Pacific Northwest for bohemian artists and leftwing activists. The Evergreen State College, a progressive liberal arts school, located just … [Read more...] about A WORLD FOR THE MANY: AN INTERVIEW WITH OLYMPIA CITY COUNCILMEMBER RENATA ROLLINS
BEYOND BRONXSPLOITATION: DECADE OF FIRE
By Kazembe Balagun Film directors Vivian Vázquez Irizarry and Gretchen Hildebran have the good sense to know that movements move forward by looking backwards. That’s perhaps why their documentary Decade of Fire, which examines the Bronx arson crisis of the 1970s, feels more like an intervention in contemporary housing struggles than a simple walk down memory lane. The … [Read more...] about BEYOND BRONXSPLOITATION: DECADE OF FIRE
CHICAGO’S HISTORY OF ZONING AGAINST AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By Marco Rosaire Rossi On May 20th, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced an ordinance that would legalize various forms of accessory dwelling unit (ADUs) in Chicago. The introduction of the ordinance was highly anticipated. Since launching its ADU initiative in August of 2019, Chicago’s Urban Land Institute had been pushing for zoning changes to improve Chicago’s … [Read more...] about CHICAGO’S HISTORY OF ZONING AGAINST AFFORDABLE HOUSING