Category: Book Review
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Gentrifier
Book Review Gentrification is a term we’ve all heard, but few truly understand its complex mechanics. Anne Elizabeth Moore’s memoir “Gentrifier” offers a uniquely personal window into this process, chronicling her experience after winning a “free house” in Detroit through a writer’s residency program. What initially seemed like a dream opportunity quickly unraveled into a…
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The Cities We Need
Book Review The concept of “place work” might not be familiar to most urban planners, but it’s a critical element of city life that deserves our attention. In a fascinating conversation on the Booked On Planning podcast, author Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani discusses her book “The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places,” offering insights into…
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Miami in the Anthropocene
Book Review The concept of the Anthropocene—the epoch where human activity fundamentally altered Earth’s systems—has dramatically reshaped how we think about urban planning and design, particularly in cities facing existential climate threats like Miami. In Stephanie Wakefield’s book “Miami and the Anthropocene: Rising Seas and Urban Resilience,” she explores how different “imaginaries” of Miami’s future…
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Resilience Matters
Podcast Recap For the past ten years, Island Press has been publishing a compilation of articles surrounding resilience. As a partner of the Booked on Planning Podcast, we have covered this publication for the past three years of the show, this year with the opportunity to interview the editor, Laurie Mazur. While typically centered around…
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Homelessness is a Housing Problem
Book Review I have been in my new role as Community Development Manager for almost a year now and one of the steepest learning curves for me was understanding our continuum of care and homeless outreach services. There is a whole network of agencies and departments working to support families and individuals at risk of…
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Meet Me by the Fountain
Book Review Despite growing up with the mall a very key part of my childhood memories, the adult version of me avoids going to one at all costs. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been to one in the last ten years. As an urban planner I enjoy being…
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Meet Me at the Library
Book Review Libraries have always been places of knowledge and quiet contemplation, but in our increasingly polarized and isolated society, they’re evolving into something even more crucial—centers for social connection and democratic engagement. In Shamichael Hallman’s insightful book and our latest Booked on Planning podcast episode, “Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster…
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Second Order Preservation
Book Review Historic preservation has long followed a binary approach: Is a building historically significant enough to be listed, or isn’t it? This seemingly simple question forms the foundation of preservation policy across the United States and has shaped our built environment for decades. But what if this framework is fundamentally limiting our ability to…
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2025 Trend Report
The American Planning Association’s 2025 Trend Report, now in its fourth year, serves as a critical resource for planning professionals navigating an increasingly complex future. In our recent conversation with Petra Hurtado on the Booked on Planning podcast, we explored the report’s insights and what they mean for communities nationwide. The report’s most consistent finding…
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The Power of Existing Buildings
Book Review In a late 2024 Booked on Planning podcast episode, we cover the transformative world of high-performance buildings with experts Robert Sroufe, Craig Stevenson, and Beth Eckenrode. As the authors of “The Power of Existing Buildings,” they illuminate the path to revolutionizing urban environments by reimagining existing structures as sustainable powerhouses. Their deep dive…
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The Planning Lady 