John Reps Collection - Urban Explorer
About this collection
The John Reps Urban Explorer Collection includes over a thousand digitized images that document planning practices and responses to urban issues from 15 countries. Taken and gathered on globe-spanning travels undertaken by Cornell University Department of City and Regional Planning Emeritus Professor John W. Reps from 1958 onwards, the collection’s 1,355 photographs, plans, and aerial images have been composed to support and advance instruction and research on the history of urban planning and comparative international or domestic spatial development, and to celebrate Emeritus Professor Reps's pioneering contribution to the field.
Historical context
From 1950 to 2005, the proportion of the planet’s urban population nearly doubled, and over half of all humankind now lives in cities. This phenomenal growth throughout the second half of the twentieth century often caused new urban problems or exacerbated old ones around the world, to which urban planners, governments, citizens and others frequently responded with innovative solutions and new forms.
John Reps (1921-2020) was Professor of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1943 and a Masters of Regional Planning from Cornell University in 1947.
Using the collection
The items in this collection have location information which users can use to browse via the Location facet.
For more information about the collection, please contact the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections at rareref@cornell.edu.
More information
- Collection steward
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
- Metadata creation
- Cornell University Library
- Credits
- This collection overview was last reviewed in 2025.
- Collection sources