Energy
Community Energy Planning and the Stimulus -- Take a Time Out!
Stimulus money is available for a variety of energy efficiency projects, but many understaffed cities are having trouble meeting the impending deadlines. Jessica Millman, Joe Schilling, and Kathryn McCarty have found a loophole that can help.
Forget Cars: Houses Are The Real Problem
The act of running and building our homes is responsible for almost half of the U.S.'s carbon footprint. GOOD Magazine asks, so why are we so obsessed with making cars sustainable instead of homes?
Roadmap for a Sustainable Car Industry
John DeCicco, senior fellow for automotive strategies at the Environmental Defense Fund, and author of the Green Book--a rating system for the environmental impact of cars--talks about the regulatory reforms necessary for the car industry.
President Obama's Aiming for U.S.-China Deal
The Obama administration is making a U.S.-China deal on climate change a centerpiece, according to The Guardian (UK).
Making Brownfield Sunny
A manufacturer of solar systems has planned to develop the country's largest urban solar power plant at a brownfield in Chicago.
Moving A City
This piece from Wired looks at the Swedish mining town of Kiruna that is literally picking itself up and moving.
Zoning for Turbines
The city of Cumberland, Maryland is prepping a new zoning text amendment to regulate wind turbines, primarily to create height restrictions on turbines over 150 ft. in height.
Scramble for the LEED
As the U.S. Green Building Council prepares to give its LEED-AP certification standards a major overhaul, test takers are scrambling to take the exam before it becomes a whole new ballgame.
LaHood To Learn From Spain On HSR
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is visiting Spain, hoping to glean some knowledge from the country's recent successes with high-speed rail.
Underused Natural Gas Capacity
Our underused natural gas capacity could almost completely replace our current coal-generated energy, argues Sean Casten, President & CEO of Recycled Energy Development.
Green Developments Getting Green Light
Developers are finding it easier to get funding for sustainable building projects due to federal incentives and investor interest in green certification.
Smart Meters Will Save The World
Columnist Stephen Cunningham of the BBC believes that technology like smart meters in homes will provide the necessary reduction in CO2 to reduce global warming.
Clinton Promoting 'Climate-Positive' Communities
Last week in Seoul, Bill Clinton announced a new collaboration between the Clinton Climate Initiative and the U.S. Green Building Council to go beyond the single LEED building and create new green development models for whole communities.
Fighting Energy Ugliness
With communities balking at the purported ugliness of windtowers and solar panels, a Dutch company proposes using nature's own designs.
The Challenge of Turning Blue Collars Green
The new documentary The Greening of Southie follows construction workers in Boston as they adapt to the new rules and regulations of green development (sometimes unwittingly).
Learning How to be Clean and Green from Germany
Germany's experience in implementing environmentally-friendly concepts like green roofs, wind power and other renewables is pointing the way for many American decisionmakers.
Nuclear Not the Answer, Says MIT Study
While nuclear energy is being touted as a possible savior for global warming, an updated MIT study says the technology hasn't progressed and is still too expensive.
Will it be a Small World After All?
In his new book 'Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller' economist Jeff Rubin describes how 'peak oil' will reverse globalization, revitalize cities and reinvigorate Canada's manufacturing base.
Combining Infrastructures
A team of French designers are the winners of Metropolis’s 2009 Next Generation competition with their design for a combined electrical-transmission tower and landfill.
White Roofs Can Be Wrong Roofs
White roofs have gained cachet as a solution to the urban heat island effect. But in places where there are more cold days than hot, a white roof that reflects warming sunlight might not make the best sense, according to this piece.
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.
Tyler Technologies
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
