TopLinks: Place

American Planning Association
http://www.planning.org/
The American Planning Association is a "nonprofit public interest and research organization committed to urban, suburban, regional, and rural planning." Although the site is targeted toward professional planners, it also provides general information for anyone interested in legislation and planning issues.

Castle Coalition
http://www.castlecoalition.org
The Castle Coalition is a "nationwide grassroots property rights activism project" whose mission is to "stop the abuse of eminent domain." The site offers a downloadable "survival guide," articles from the coalition’s online publication CastleWatch, and an updated blog.

Great Buildings Online
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/
This site is terrific. Includes hundreds of buildings from around the world. All you have to do is type in the name of the building or its geographical location or its designer, and it will call up photos of the building, interesting aspects of its construction, dates of construction, and more. Also offers excellent bibliographical information about architecture.

Project for Public Spaces
http://www.pps.org/
PPS is a non-profit organization that for 25 years has successfully carried out its mission statement to build communities by creating the special places that build community life. Using our own participatory approach, we help communities grow their public spaces into vital community places, with programs, uses and people- friendly settings that highlight local assets, spur rejuvenation, and serve common needs.” Check this site for information on the project's national initiatives, articles about the PPS, its work on waterfronts, public parks, public markets, transportation, and public art.

Sprawl-busters
http://www.sprawl-busters.com/
Begun by the man described by 60 Minutes as "the guru of the anti-Wal-Mart movement," this Web site offers a forum for communities who want to keep large superstores from entering their communities and endangering local economies. With links to media articles about zoning, advice on using the media to support your cause, and links for communities to share tactics on maintaining local flavor.

These Times/This Place
http://www.popmatters.com/features/tttp/index.shtml
Online magazine PopMatters presents a collection of essays exploring the idea of place. In this feature, writers from around the world report and reflect on their geographical and cultural surroundings.