The Legacy of John Reps Featured at National Conference on Planning History

On November 7, a panel at the 16th National Conference on Planning History focused on the impact of Professor Emeritus John Reps's contribution to American planning.

The panel, titled "The Making of Urban America: Reflections on John Reps's Legacy," focused on Reps's book, The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States (Princeton University Press, 1965). Specific topics investigated by the panel included how the book helped to frame and define the emerging subfield of planning history; how it helped to shape subsequent works by Reps and others; how planning history has evolved since the book's 1965 release; and what aspects of the volume can frame ongoing explorations of planning history.

Members of the panel included Kristin Larsen, University of Florida, moderator; Francesca Ammon, University of Pennsylvania; John Bauman, University of Southern Maine; and Mary Corbin Sies, University of Maryland. The group also discussed the implication of the Reps legacy on their own work.

The conference is held every other year by the Society for American City and Regional Planning History, of which Reps is a founder. This year's conference was held in Los Angeles in conjunction with the Urban History Association board meeting.