Asia-Pacific

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

The Skyscraper Debate

The jury is out on skyscrapers- are they responsible density, or terrible energy hogs? As Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi grow, architect Aditi Nargundkar Pathak says the time to consider skyscrapers is now.

June 13, 2010 - http://www.theurbanvision.com

Cisco Helps Build "Instant Cities"

Cisco is contributing technology to Songdo City in South Korea, a brand new and complete city for a million people. China plans to build hundreds of these "cities-in-a-box" as a massive rural-to-urban migration occurs there.

June 3, 2010 - San Jose Mercury News

Land Use Issue Brings Down Japanese Premier

After backing down on a campaign promise to remove a U.S. military installation from the prefecture of Okinawa, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been forced to resign.

June 3, 2010 - The New York Times

Leafs All Gone

Nissan Leafs, that is, and only for the year, though not one of these 19,000 preorders for the all-electric, plug-in car has yet to be shipped. The Leafs shouldn't venture too far from home - the range is 100 miles on a full charge.

May 29, 2010 - The New York Times - Business Day

Fighting High-Speed Rail With Lunch Boxes?

Taiwan's North-South high-speed rail line has attracted a lot of customers away from a traditional commuter rail line. The traditional line is playing the nostalgia card by bringing out old-fashioned railway box lunches.

May 25, 2010 - Focus Taiwan

China's Grand High Speed Rail Plans

China has plans not only to expand its own network of high speed trains, but to build the trains for the rest of the world. They are already giving Japan and Europe a run for their money. Not bad considering their first HSR line opened in 2008.

May 19, 2010 - The Washington Post

LaHood Rides MagLev

The line may only be 12 miles, but the train speeds at 312 mph. The Secretary of Transportation was in Japan as part of the effort to bring high speed rail to the U.S. though it's not clear whether he is in fact considering the maglev technology.

May 17, 2010 - The New York Times - Global Business

Microsoft Knows Where You're Going

Microsoft uses GPS data collected from your trips to predict where you're going and give you advice on how to get there more efficiently.

May 12, 2010 - Fast Company

Asleep at the Wheel of a High-Speed Train

The driver of a high-speed train in Taiwan fell asleep while going 190 miles per hour with hundreds of passengers on board.

May 10, 2010 - Gulf News

With Tourism Down, Japanese Cities Question Their Attractions

Japan is struggling to lure tourists, which is causing officials there to rethink how they market their cities and what sorts of attractions they should be offering.

May 8, 2010 - The New York Times

Planning for Sustainability, Japanese-Style

Artist and student of architecture Azby Brown has spent 25 years in Japan, and today sees a number of design principles that drive the Japanese way of building and living that can be used by designers.

April 8, 2010 - Design Observer

Seeking a Green Legacy in South Korea

South Korean government officials are increasingly focusing on green projects to improve their cities' sustainability -- and create legacies for politicians.

March 29, 2010 - The New York Times

New Argument for Public Transit: Better for Texting?

In a recent piece in Wired, Clive Thompson suggests that the solution to the problem of texting while driving is not to stop texting, but to stop driving. The popularity of texting is a good reason to support public transit.

March 17, 2010 - Wired Magazine

Auckland to Become "Party City" for Rugby World Cup

Already criticized for its sprawl, the largest city in New Zealand is putting on its game face as it prepares to host its largest sporting event ever - the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

March 10, 2010 - The New Zealand Herald

A Flying Tour Through Downtown Tokyo

This video takes a futuristic tour of Tokyo -- through an editing technique that parallels the imagery to give the impression of weightless flight.

March 7, 2010 - nait5

Resort Planned in Russian Nature Preserve

Environmentalists in Russia are fuming over plans to construct a resort in the middle of a nature preserve near the 2014 Winter Olympics host city of Sochi.

February 8, 2010 - Der Spiegel

Integrating Technology in an Instant City

Technology is going to be deeply integrated within New Songdo City, an instant city developing on a man-made island off the coast of Korea.

February 2, 2010 - Fast Company

Will HSR Jobs Go Overseas?

Joan Lowy suggests that the Obama administration's claim that the high-speed rail initiative will create jobs overlooks the fact that the expertise is in Europe and Asia and foreign firms will likely be needed to develop HSR quickly.

January 29, 2010 - CB Online

U.S. Military Base Plans Threatened by New Mayor of Japanese Town

The recent election of a new mayor in a small town on the Japanese island of Okinawa has severely threatened plans to build a new U.S. military base in the town.

January 25, 2010 - The New York Times

Friday Funny: Stationmaster Cat Promoted

Japan's famous train stationmaster cat Tama received a promotion to "super stationmaster." Tama's popularity has had an economic impact of the area estimated at ¥1.1 billion.

January 22, 2010 - Japan Probe

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.

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.