cities

Preexisting Conditions: What 2020 Reveals About Our Urban Future

by Thomas J. Sugrue

Crisis Cities is a public symposium on the 2020 crises and their impact on urban life, co-organized by Public Books and the NYU Cities Collaborative. 

Trump Fuels March Toward Fascism With “Anarchist Jurisdictions” Edict

by Mark Bray

The declaration is part of Trump's efforts to divide the nation into the loyal and disloyal.   

Is the City Itself the Problem?

The ideology of “moral environmentalism,” as historian Alexander von Hoffman termed it, formed the foundation of U.S. urban planning and reform for decades by attributing urban problems to the urban environment rather than political and economic factors.

America’s Biggest Cities Were Already Losing Their Allure: What Happens Next?

The urge among some residents to leave because of the coronavirus may be temporary. But it follows a deeper, more powerful demographic trend.

Cities

Historians comment on urban issues.

‘Cities’ Review: The Metropolis and the Masses

Did urban settlement spring from the hearts and minds of the people, or from elites’ strategies for increasing their own power?

"Cities are the Living Embodiments of Past Decisions"

by Robin Lindley

 Children in wading pool at Cascade Playground, Seattle, 1939. All photos credit Seattle Museum of History and Industry.Stories about place are makeshift things. They are composed with the world’s debris.--Michel de CerteauIn most undergraduate history classes, students are required to take tests and write a paper or two.But University of Washington history professor Dr. Margaret O’Mara wanted to tap into her students’ curiosity and their relationship with the web and technology for her history of U.S. Cities course last winter.To bring urban history to life for her students and encourage them to explore and see their world in new ways, Dr. O’Mara created an innovative project that focused on Seattle’s dynamic South Lake Union neighborhood, now an area of high-tech businesses, medical clinics, trendy eateries, and pricey real estate.