Environment
Since Zion's Shuttles Went Electric “The Smog is Gone”
Visitors to Zion National Park can enjoy the canyon via the nation’s first fully electric park shuttle system.
New Atlanta Law Requires ‘Cool Roofs’
Painting roofs with reflective coatings can significantly reduce indoor temperatures and improve energy efficiency, sometimes at a lower cost than traditional roof treatments.
The Great Lakes Cities are Touted as a Climate Refuge. The Reality is Much More Complex.
Sewage overflows, invasive species and polar vortexes — America’s climate haven might be more illusive than we think.
Alabama Community Sues State DOT Over Flooding
Residents of Shiloh, Alabama want to hold the state department of transportation responsible for flooding caused by a highway expansion project.
Congress Kills Office Conversion Tax Credit
A federal tax incentive for energy efficiency upgrades is going away next year.
Baker Creek Pavilion: Blending Nature and Architecture in Knoxville
Knoxville’s urban wilderness planning initiative unveils the "Baker Creek Pavilion" to increase the city's access to green spaces.
‘Architectural Epidemiology:’ Centering Public Health in Urban Design
A new book asks, what if cities were designed around health equity?
Florida Home Insurers Disproportionately Dropping Low-Income Households
Non-renewal rates are highest in inland counties, not the coastal areas most immediately vulnerable to storms.
DC to Launch E-Bike Delivery Pilot
The District will fund low-cost e-bikes and provide charging and battery swap stations for delivery workers to encourage e-bikes as an alternative to driving for food deliveries.
In California Battle of Housing vs. Environment, Housing Just Won
A new state law significantly limits the power of CEQA, an environmental review law that served as a powerful tool for blocking new development.
Is Your City Swimmable?
An interview with organizers of the inaugural Swimmable Cities Summit, which took place this June 22-24 in Rotterdam, NL.
Data: In Rural America, Mobile Homes are Heat Traps
Extreme heat is often viewed as an urban problem, but rural communities face their own unique risks.
Index Measures Impact of Heat on Pedestrian Activity
When heat and humidity are high, people are more likely to opt for cars when possible.
Hundreds of New Yorkers Hospitalized Due to Extreme Heat
A brutal heat wave is causing hospitalizations for heat-related illnesses, an increasingly common threat as summers get warmer.
Plastic Bag Bans Actually Worked
U.S. coastal areas with plastic bag bans or fees saw significant reductions in plastic bag pollution — but plastic waste as a whole is growing.
Southern Californians Survey Trees for Destructive Oak Pest
Hundreds of volunteers across five counties participated in the first Goldspotted Oak Borer Blitz, surveying oak trees for signs of the invasive beetle and contributing valuable data to help protect Southern California’s native woodlands.
The EV “Charging Divide” Plaguing Rural America
With “the deck stacked” against rural areas, will the great electric American road trip ever be a reality?
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
The Small South Asian Republic Going all in on EVs
Thanks to one simple policy change less than five years ago, 65% of new cars in this Himalayan country are now electric.
DOJ Says Trump Has Power to Roll Back National Monuments
The opinion sheds light on how the administration may justify its effort to eliminate protected public lands.
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.
planning NEXT
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
