Environment
Resilient Communities, Healthy Ecosystems: A Balanced Approach to Wildfires
Effective wildfire mitigation in California requires a holistic approach that goes beyond large-scale vegetation removal, emphasizing home hardening, defensible space, strategic planning, and reducing human-caused ignitions.
Community Colleges: A Pathway for Native Hawaiian Achievement and Growth
The University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges provide Native Hawaiian students with transformative educational experiences, integrating academic success, cultural identity, and strong community support to help them find purpose and thrive.
Building Resilient Communities: Insights from the LA County Cities Summit
The Los Angeles County Cities Summit convened local leaders to share strategies for advancing sustainability, addressing climate resilience, extreme heat, and other pressing environmental challenges through policy and community-driven solutions.
BLM Approves Controversial Oil and Gas Leases on Navajo Land
The parcels are located near a sensitive archaeological site, but some Indigenous leaders approve of the move, which will bring in millions in revenue.
Public and Private Collaboration Advances Park Development in Houston
Houston may be known to some as a concrete jungle, but its greenspaces continue to expand thanks to combined support from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors.
River Seine ‘Teeming’ With Life
Decades of restoration efforts are yielding positive results as dozens of species of fish return to the once-polluted waterway.
Half of Altadena’s Black Homes Lost or Damaged in Eaton Fire
The community has higher Black homeownership rates than most of Los Angeles, but now faces an uncertain future as residents struggle to rebuild.
Population and Economic Shifts in the Wake of the Maui Wildfires
The 2023 Maui wildfires have caused significant out-migration, reduced in-migration, and substantial economic losses, reshaping the island’s population and straining its recovery efforts.
National Monuments Under Threat From Mining Under New Executive Order
An executive order from the Department of the Interior could gut protections for public lands established under the Antiquities Act.
January Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
How a tidal wave of potential changes at the federal level could throw many programs planners depend on into chaos, a roundup of last year’s zoning stories, and the continuing ripple effects of a landmark Supreme Court case.
A New Cultural Landmark: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Set to Open in 2026
Transforming a former parking lot into a dynamic cultural hub, this new museum will feature expansive gallery spaces, theaters, educational areas, and lush green landscapes while prioritizing community engagement, local hiring, and inclusive design.
Lawmakers Call for Improved Air Quality Monitoring in LA Following Fires
Wildfires like those in Los Angeles that destroy urban structures release toxic chemicals, including lead, into the air.
Building a Just Transition from the Ground Up
Effective just transitions require locally driven solutions that prioritize inclusion, agency, and accountability, ensuring that communities, cities, and national policies align to create equitable and sustainable economic opportunities.
How to Make Manufactured Housing More Resilient
Manufactured housing builders must balance affordability with the need to protect housing against extreme weather events.
Cultivating Color and Community: Seasonal Planting at Descanso Gardens
Descanso Gardens’ annual planting of 35,000 tulip bulbs showcases the power of seasonal design to enhance public spaces and engage visitors.
From Brownfields to Community Assets: A Conference on Land Revitalization
The 2025 California Land Recycling Conference (CALRC) will convene experts in Carson, CA, from September 16-18 to discuss brownfield redevelopment, sustainability, and equitable land reuse, with session proposals open until March 31, 2025.
New Interactive Tool Helps Cities Assess and Strengthen Urban Tree Canopies
A new national tree canopy assessment tool, available at TreesAtWork.org, provides high-resolution data to help cities track tree cover changes, prioritize planting efforts, and enhance urban resilience.
Equity in Energy: Protecting Livelihoods and Restoring Communities
The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy must be equitable, ensuring that workers receive support, communities are revitalized, and degraded lands are restored to create a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Vertical Farms Grow in Office Buildings
Office conversion is taking an agricultural turn.
Parks as Community Lifelines: Supporting Residents During Times of Crisis
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation demonstrates how parks serve as vital community infrastructure by adapting to crises, offering public health services, disaster relief, and essential support for residents in need.
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
