By Chris Tilly Mel King, the preeminent Boston Black community leader of his generation, passed away in late March 2023 at the age of 94. Mel was an organizer, an elected official, an educator, and a visionary. He was also my friend for decades, and I want to share some of the story of his life because I think it provides some lessons and even a bit of inspiration. Mel … [Read more...] about Mel King’s life, and life lessons for planners
The Mel King Universe, From a Disciple
By Sean Robin There is a Mel King Universe (Multiverse, Cosmos…) that you enter when you go to one of his meetings or Sunday brunches. In this Universe, everything is still possible and waiting to be done. The Civil Rights Movement continues to rage, never having missed a beat. You immediately begin to fault yourself for your own prior pessimism in accepting things as they … [Read more...] about The Mel King Universe, From a Disciple
Mel King, my friend, my teacher, my collaborator
By Marie Kennedy My practice as a teacher and practitioner of what I term transformative community planning owes a great deal to Mel King, Paolo Freire, and Myles Horton. Of these three, Mel is the most important since I was privileged to work directly with him and in coalitions which he led, to enjoy long conversations with him about what we called “Planners Without a … [Read more...] about Mel King, my friend, my teacher, my collaborator
VIDEO: How landlords work together to keep rents high
Josh is a practicing urban planner in the Mid Atlantic. For the past nine years, Josh has served as a land use and transportation planner with a career focus in public engagement. Since the onset of the pandemic, Josh has taken on an equity planning role and serves as a subject expert for equity on transportation projects. In his free time, he researches, writes, and produces … [Read more...] about VIDEO: How landlords work together to keep rents high
The Politics and Economy of Mixed-Use Planning
By Ian Van der Merwe The consensus of planners is in, mixed-use is the name of the game! Every apartment building must have space for shops on the first floor and every redevelopment must contribute to building a denser city! Over a century after the passing of the first US zoning laws, planners have walked back the separation of land uses, heralding the benefits of … [Read more...] about The Politics and Economy of Mixed-Use Planning