The New Yorker

Cadillac Escalade SUV driving toward camera on black asphalt road surrounded by forest

SUVs Are Taking a Toll on the Environment

Even with the growth of electric vehicles, experts say the trend toward larger, heavier vehicles is inherently incompatible with environmental goals.

March 7, 2023 - The New Yorker

Crosswalk button with illustration of visually impaired pedestrian

The Sound of Silence: Designing Electric Vehicles for Safety

Near-silent electric vehicles pose a danger to people with visual impairments, so engineers are studying ways to make the vehicles audible while maintaining the benefits of quieter streets.

August 17, 2022 - The New Yorker

Septic Tank

Lack of Septic Systems Spell Disaster for Low-Income Alabama Residents

Low-income Alabama residents who can't afford the cost of a functional septic tank run the risk of heavy fines and even arrest in addition to extremely unsafe conditions.

December 3, 2020 - The New Yorker

The old and the new

'The City' Documents Formative Planning Advocacy on Film

Streaming on YouTube, the 1939 film "The City" is a powerful cinematic account of advocating for planned communities.

August 31, 2020 - The New Yorker

Abolish the Police

The Bike as a Symbol of Freedom

It's no geographic accident that so many of the images emerging from nationwide protests have featured numerous protestors on bikes. These forces have been coalescing for years.

June 15, 2020 - The New Yorker

Driving

Fighting for the Right to Drive in an Autonomous Future

There is a growing movement of humans who don't like the idea of being forced to hand the wheel over to robot drivers.

May 1, 2019 - The New Yorker

Kentucky Coal Mining

Coal Mining in Kentucky, but No Beat Reporters to Cover It

Environmental reporting has been one of the major casualties as newspapers downsize, particularly in places where the in-depth coverage is most needed.

April 2, 2019 - The New Yorker

A private club located in Florida

Why Zinke Gave Florida a Break on Drilling

After announcing the coast of almost all states would be open for oil and gas production, the Secretary of the Interior changed his mind on one after meeting with Trump’s favored candidate for Senate.

January 19, 2018 - The New Yorker

Caribou and Brooks Range, Arctic NWR

Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Allowed with Passage of GOP Tax Bill

When President Trump signs the tax-cutting bill, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) will have achieved a family dream of opening up the pristine refuge, created 37 years ago, to drilling.

December 24, 2017 - The New Yorker

Train

Friday Funny: A 'Manspreader' for Every Month

If a new online cartoon for The New Yorker were a real calendar, we'd expect it would sell more copies than Playgirl and find itself spread across dart boards in all five boroughs.

June 16, 2017 - The New Yorker

Adventure Playground

Adventure Playgrounds Set the Children Free

An exploration of how adventure playgrounds enable freedom for children living in a world full of helicopter parents.

November 22, 2016 - The New Yorker

Amsterdam

Tamping Down Urban Heat Islands

As summer temperatures rise and heat waves roll through, cities can take steps to keep cool. But shedding the heat may be difficult for urban areas designed to retain it.

October 2, 2016 - The New Yorker

Los Angeles 1910

Friday Eye Candy: Tour Downtown L.A. Before Urban Renewal

The New Yorker has produced a video comparing the streets of Downtown Los Angeles on either side of a 70-year span of history.

July 22, 2016 - The New Yorker

Rua Goncalo de Carvalho

How Neighborhood Trees Improve Public Health

New research reveals more of the details of how trees provide therapeutic effects for humans.

January 29, 2016 - The New Yorker

Friday Funny: The Infinite New York to Los Angeles Feedback Loop

A satirical New Yorker article nails the perpetual debate between New York and Los Angeles.

January 29, 2016 - The New Yorker

Diluvial Days Coming to South Florida

Miami Beach is drafting its own textbook for how to respond to sea level rise. The New Yorker provides in-depth coverage of a region under siege by the sea that surrounds it.

December 30, 2015 - The New Yorker

High Line with Denari

On the Perpetual Crisis of American Cities

A long and ranging article in the New Yorker surveys non-fiction, art, and other manifestations of intellectualism for insight into the plight of the city—to always be cast in some manner of morality tale.

October 8, 2015 - The New Yorker

Friday Funny: It Doesn't Get More New York Than Pizza Rat, Brooklyn Settler

The streets of New York lived up to their infamous reputation this week with two viral videos that seemed almost too perfect.

September 25, 2015 - The New Yorker

The Scary, Likely Event of the 'Really Big One' in the Pacific Northwest

Forget Hollywood's proclivity for destroying Los Angeles and San Francisco in movies like San Andreas—the greatest seismic threat in North America is in the Pacific Northwest.

July 16, 2015 - The New Yorker

Vermont Road

Exploring Vermont's Ancient Roads

Act 178, approved by Vermont in 2006, required that all ancient roads be catalogued by July 1, 2015 to be included in the state map. The exploration of old roads leading up to that deadline makes a compelling story.

July 3, 2015 - The New Yorker

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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.