Europe
Considering Mindfulness as an Urban Planner's Tool
A recent blog post in Substack considers the appropriation of mindfulness to urban observation and, implicitly, urban planning today.
Dublin Will Ban Through Traffic Downtown
A vast majority of residents support a plan to limit vehicular traffic through the city’s center.
Paris to Triple Parking Fees for SUVs
Parisian voters approved the referendum, which aims to reduce the presence of “heavy, bulky, and polluting” vehicles in the city center by making it more expensive to park them.
How to Participate in Post-Pandemic Urban Resilience
In a summary of a recent talk, Chuck Wolfe provides five tools to help reimagine post-pandemic urban spaces with a focus on livability and co-creation.
Paris Is Great, But Here's Where the Green Mobility Revolution Is Happening
A movement toward sustainable mobility is taking place across Europe, not just in the City of Lights.
COP28: Beginning of the End for Fossil Fuels?
A deal came together “quickly and unexpectedly" on the final night of the nearly 2-week United Nations climate talks in Dubai, UAE, according to a series of articles by Washington Post climate reporters.
COP28: Will Developed Nations Reduce Emissions?
Tensions between developed and developing nations surfaced over emissions and energy, with the former focused on reducing fossil fuels and the latter pointing to unrealized emissions reductions from the nations most responsible for global warming.
Masking Traffic With White Noise
A Belgian city is designing public fountains and other design elements to reduce noise pollution in a local park.
Norway’s EV Boom Could Entrench Car Dependency
The Scandinavian country is a pioneer when it comes to EV adoption, but there are downsides.
Rick Steves on Walkability Lessons From Europe
Many of Europe’s pedestrian-friendly, transit-rich cities weren’t always that way.
New ‘City’ Elysium Planned in Spain
The development proposes a from-scratch sustainable community built on brand new land at the edge of a reservoir.
L.A. Councilmember Proposes Social Housing Model
Inspired by the success of Vienna, Austria, Los Angeles leaders are considering public housing as a faster, more effective way to curb the city’s homelessness crisis.
New Park Space for an Old City
After 3,400 years, Athens will soon get its first large urban park. When completed in 2030, Ellinikon Metropolitan Park will be 600 acres (243 ha), about three-fourths the size of New York City’s Central Park, an enormous addition of green space.
Meet the New River Seine
The Paris Olympics will highlight the renaissance of the city’s famous river.
Paris Reinstates Historic Height Limits as Part of its New Bioclimatic Local Urban Plan
Paris’ reinstated height limits, lowering height limits allowed in 2010, are part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s recently released Bioclimatic Local Urban Plan.
Revisiting ‘Third Places’ as a Pandemic Recovery Tool
In Chuck Wolfe's latest piece on downtown recovery for GeekWire, he proposes revisiting a multifaceted ‘third place’ agenda as a focus for downtown recovery.
Eurostar Temporarily Closing Two High-Speed Rail Routes
Eurostar is temporarily closing routes from London to Disneyland Paris and London to Amsterdam.
Ten Signs of a Resurgent Downtown
In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe continues his exploration of a holistic and practical approach to post-pandemic urban center recovery, anchored in local context and community-driven initiatives that promote livability, safety, and sustainability.
Germany Launches €49 Nationwide Transit Pass
The low-cost monthly ticket is a boon for some commuters and urban travelers, but critics of the program question the lack of investment in expanding train service to underserved rural parts of the country.
The City Beyond Amazon's ‘Great Return’
In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe explains how, as the Amazon (and other) “Great Returns” to the office unfold, it's essential to dig deeper.
Pagination
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.