Asia-Pacific

China, Japan, other South East Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands countries.

Will Auckland Pass Up Yet Another Opportunity to Transform its Waterfront

After many, many, many failures-to-launch, Auckland may finally be taking its waterfront seriously. A series of articles in The New Zealand Herald explores the waterfront's disappointing past and promising future.

September 30, 2012 - The New Zealand Herald

Indonesia Drives Headlong into the Automobile Age

Consultant predicts a 275% increase in car ownership by 2025.

September 27, 2012 - The Jakarta Post

Map Apps Move Indoors

A time when your mobile phone can help you navigate the homogenous corridors of an indoor mall as easily as the route that got you there is, seemingly, not far off, as Seoul unveils an app that can navigate the city both above and below street level.

September 12, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

New South Korean 'Mini-Capital' Aims to Rebalance Country's Development

With South Korean officials set to move into their sparkling new "mini capital" next month, Chico Harlan examines plans for the new city that "will either drive growth outside the overpopulated capital or end up as an ill-conceived waste of money."

August 20, 2012 - The Washington Post

Friday Funny: The Worst Parking Habits in the World

You may have heard of the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan for the "enlightened authoritarianism" of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, or as the world's largest landlocked country. It's now earning a well-deserved reputation for its parking habits.

August 17, 2012 - The Atlantic

Generational Divide Opens Gap in Post-Tsunami Planning

The Economist looks at the generational gap that is hampering efforts to rebuild tsunami-stricken communities in Japan, as the elderly favor restoring what was lost as soon as possible, and the young seek sustainable revitalization.

August 6, 2012 - The Economist

In one of Asia's Most Artificial Cities, a River Flows Free

Singapore de-channelizes an urban river as part of a plan to preserve more of its rainwater, creating a park in the process.

July 27, 2012 - THE DIRT

Is a Slime Mold Competing for Your Job?

Transportation planners who thought the current job climate couldn't possibly get worse may want to ignore this piece. John Metcalfe reports on studies that show slime is just as effective in planning the path of an urban rail system as humans.

July 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Bizarre Taxpayer Headache: Street Pole Dancing in Aukland, NZ

Over the past year and a half more than 40 street poles have suffered damages, Paul Chapman reports, as Aukland prostitutes employ the poles for exotic dances.

July 19, 2012 - The Telegraph

Pop-Up Cinema Brings Blockbusters to Your Stoop

In case the everyday theater of urban street life isn't quite adequate in an age of $200 million Hollywood blockbusters, a design collective from Auckland, New Zealand has created a way to turn any stoop into a mini cinema.

July 13, 2012 - Architizer

Undersea-Oriented Development

Expo 2012 is happening now in Korea, and features a panorama of a futuristic underwater city as part of a focus on future sustainability.

June 26, 2012 - The Vancouver Sun

America's Fastest Growing Racial Group

Asian and Hispanic immigration rates have reversed from 2007: Asians now constitute 36% of all new arrivals (legal and illegal) while Hispanic rates, for a number of reasons, have dropped to 31%, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

June 22, 2012 - The New York Times - U.S.

The Indispensable Guide for Your Next Trip to North Korea

A new guidebook to the architecture and culture of the North Korean capital comes in two handy volumes -- censored and illicit. Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan has the details.

June 16, 2012 - Fast Company Co:Design

Forced Eviction Stirs Public Outrage in Taiwan

One family in Taipei has rallied support for "victims of urban renewal" after the city demolished their home to make way for high-rise apartments, Loa Lok-Sin reports.

June 12, 2012 - Taipei Times

How Tokyo Gets Transportation Right

As a New Yorker visiting Tokyo, Eric Jaffe set out to keep a scorecard comparing his home city's transportation infrastructure with that of the Japanese capital. He found that the score wasn't even close.

May 18, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Onward, Singapore: Setting the New Standard for Urban Innovation

Boyd Cohen takes us through a brief tour of the Lion City's many progressive and wildly successful programs, from affordable housing to traffic management and beyond.

May 17, 2012 - Fast Company

Tokyo's Role in Creating A Global Food Phenomenon

ASLA's blog, The Dirt, dishes on how sushi, an ancient food, became modern in Tokyo, and conquered the world.

May 13, 2012 - THE DIRT

Twitter Inspired Tower Planned for Seoul

It seems fitting that South Korea, home to one of the most advanced mobile cultures in the world, may get its own "hashtag"-like tower, if Bjarke Ingels has his way.

May 7, 2012 - Architizer

Germany, Japan Increase Coal Burning Post Fukushima

Japan was not the only nation to shutter its nuclear power plants after the March 11, 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami. Germany followed suit. Consequently, both nations have seen a dramatic increase in coal burning, thus increasing emissions.

April 24, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Little Boxes on the Hillside, in China and Beyond

Nate Berg offers his take on the replicas of Western subdivisions that have come to define social status in the burgeoning economies of the Middle and Far East.

April 7, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.