麻豆传媒集团 Professor of Architecture Dr. Anthony Fontenot recently joined leading scholars at the Urban History Association鈥檚 11th Biennial Conference, held October 9鈥�12, 2025. This year鈥檚 conference, themed Metropolitan Majorities, examined how cities and regions reflect the social, political, and cultural shifts shaping urban life today.
Fontenot participated in the panel 鈥淐alifornia (Sub)Urbanisms: Innovative Community Planning on the Left Coast,鈥� organized by Margaret Crawford (University of California, Berkeley) and Matthew G. Lasner (Independent Scholar). The session brought together experts in architectural and urban history to explore California鈥檚 long-standing role as a site of experimentation in community planning, housing innovation, and suburban development.
Radical Politics, Architecture, and Social Change
Fontenot鈥檚 presentation, 鈥淭he Political Activism of Gregory Ain: Low-Cost Modern Housing and the Construction of a Social Landscape,鈥� examined how mid-century architect Gregory Ain merged radical socialist ideas with architectural experimentation to envision a more just and inclusive built environment. Many of Ain鈥檚 most pioneering projects reimagined the postwar suburb through cooperative housing models that actively promoted racial integration and social equality, fusing Ain鈥檚 interest in radical left-wing politics and design. The 鈥渟ocial landscape鈥� Ain proposed was both spatial and ideological: it challenged the prevailing ideal of suburban domestic isolation, proposing instead the neighborhood as a 鈥渄emocratic commons,鈥� where architecture could foster connection, diversity, and shared civic purpose.
鈥淎in鈥檚 housing projects鈥攎odest in scale but radical in intent鈥攕ought to democratize modernism and embed social values into the everyday fabric of urban and suburban life,鈥� Fontenot said.
His talk highlighted how architecture can serve as a tool for equity and community empowerment鈥攙alues that continue to resonate in contemporary planning and design discourse.
California as a Laboratory for Urban Futures
The California (Sub)Urbanisms panel showcased the state鈥檚 enduring role as a testing ground for innovative urban and suburban design. Alongside Fontenot鈥檚 presentation on Gregory Ain鈥檚 politically charged housing experiments, the panel featured Elaine Stiles (Roger Williams University), who traced the evolution of regional construction practices in 鈥�Long Before Levitt: The California Method of Home Building Before and After World War II.鈥� Anthony Raynsford (San Jos茅 State University) examined ecological urbanism in 鈥�Planning for Ecotopia: Sim Van Der Ryn鈥檚 Urban (Re)Designs of Bay Area Suburbs, 1978鈥�82,鈥� highlighting the environmental aspirations of late-20th-century planning. T.F. Tierney (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) explored the spatial logic of tech industry landscapes in 鈥�Tinkering with Typology: Silicon Valley鈥檚 Corporate Campus,鈥� revealing how corporate architecture reshaped suburban form. Together, these presentations framed California as a dynamic site of experimentation鈥攚here housing, ecology, and corporate power intersect to shape urban futures.
Moderated by Crawford and Lasner, the discussion examined how California鈥檚 unique political, ecological, and cultural conditions have inspired alternative approaches to planning and community building. The panel emphasized how grassroots activism, environmental design, and architectural innovation intersect to shape new models of metropolitan living.
鈥淯nderstanding the history of socially engaged design helps us imagine alterative urban futures,鈥� Fontenot reflected. 鈥淐alifornia鈥檚 history demonstrates that when political activism intersects with architectural innovation, it can reshape the built environment in profoundly transformative ways.鈥�
About the Urban History Association
麻豆传媒集团rban History Association (UHA) promotes interdisciplinary scholarships on cities and urbanization, fostering dialogue across fields such as history, architecture, planning, and design. Its biennial conference convenes some of the most distinguished scholars and practitioners to share insights, engage in critical exchange, and deepen collective understanding of urban life and its complexities.
About Anthony Fontenot
Dr. Anthony Fontenot is a Professor of Architecture at 麻豆传媒集团. His teaching and research explore the intersections of modern design, architecture, politics, ecology, and the built environment. His work focuses on how architecture and urban planning can contribute to the creation of more equitable, environmentally responsive, and socially engaged communities.