WorldChanging

A new agreement signed this week by all three governments creates an international committee to collaborate on wilderness management.

Alex Steffen weighs the challenges of Transition Towns and, instead, advocates for bright green, optimistic democracy.

What does Main Street America look like today? A journalist, a public radio producer, and two Harvard PhD students set out to visit actual Main Streets across the country to find out.

A new study from the University of Leeds claims that drivers are more careful and leave more room for bikers when there is no bike lane.

Writer Colin Beavan set a goal for his family to live a year in New York with no impact on the environment. A new documentary film follows their travails as meat, cosmetics, and trash bags get packed away.

As people move to cities and the outer suburbs begin to become more desolate, what will become of them? WorldChanging envisions the suburbs as the next frontier.

This piece from Worldchanging takes an in-depth look at the competition to redesign metropolitan Paris for the year 2030.

Rebuilding is underway in New Orleans. But not with huge conglomerates running the show. Most of the work is being done by non-profits, startups and other community-based organizations.

In Jackson, Wyoming, a restaurant is a taqueria by day and a Nepalese restaurant in the evenings. Why isn't this sort of space sharing a more common solution to using urban spaces?

Worldchanging's Alex Steffen looks at the recent city rankings compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council and says the method of measurement doesn't really prove how sustainable a place is -- or how it's improving.

Toronto is moving forward with a plan to re-vision it's aging concrete high-rises as sustainable, mixed-use centers of urban development.

This piece from Worldchanging looks at the Seattle-area city of Ballard. It's a "20-minute city", where people can get to practically everything they'd want or need to within a 20-minute walk.

The smart grid is not as hard to define as some have suggested. Jesse Berst, managing director of Global Smart Energy says making it work will be tough, but it's really just a matter of coordinating three crucial aspects, according to Worldchanging.

WorldChanging interviews Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, discussing the 2,000 watt lifestyle proposed by the Swiss and his recent letter to Secretary Steven Chu.

Jay Walljasper argues that the need for accessible, vibrant public space grows along with the bad times.

Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry looks at low gas prices, a down economy, and vehicle-miles-traveled, noting that the precipitous declines in VMT have halted, and suspects it may plateau.

In Rohnert Park, CA, developers are turning a former industrial site into a green community that is almost completely energy independent. But can a project like this fit into an auto-oriented suburb?

Responding to an opinion piece that claims there is no proof that transit-oriented development works to reduce auto use and emissions, writer Eric De Place catalogs the significant body of literature that proves it.

A recent study by the World Resources Institute for Maryland's upcoming Purple Line project sided with BRT. WorldChanging asks researchers Greg Fuhs and Dario Hidalgo how they came to side with buses.

Alex Steffen of WorldChanging looks at the Obama administration's moves towards funding more highways, the appointment of Ray LaHood, and argues that we can do much better.