Salt Lake City: The utopian community that (sort of) worked

Utah’s capital was founded as a religious refuge and built according to spiritual ideals. But it has evolved dramatically, offering a compelling glimpse of what successful urban planning looks like. Continue reading

How 2,000 years of ‘layering’ transformed an ancient Roman city

Verona, Italy, started out with a rigid Roman street grid, then spent two millennia evolving into the charming and quaint city that exists today, layered with generation after generation of history. Continue reading

Why utopias fail and the ‘Ponzi scheme’ of new development

Michael Rodriguez, director of research at Smart Growth America, said that people have been building utopias for millennia, but the best cities are the ones that gradually evolve over time. Continue reading