Environment

Researchers Propose an Alternative to High-Density, Carless Sustainable Development

Can we combine our love affair with cars and single-family homes with sustainable growth? Mark Delucchi and Kenneth S. Kurani think so.

June 30, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Another Reason to Dislike Huge Suburban Homes: They're Warming the Planet

A new research study out of Switzerland quantifies the disproportionate contribution to greenhouse gas emissions made by large homes and relatively long commutes. In one Swiss town, twenty-one percent of households create 50 percent of the emissions.

June 28, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Climate Adaptation: Is Miami Indefensible?

In advance of President Obama's long-awaited speech on climate change, NPR looked at climate adaptation - preparing for the environmental changes it will cause. Rising sea level is the topic. In the U.S., two cities stand out: New York and Miami.

June 26, 2013 - NPR

Will Calgary Floods Deliver Canada's Climate Wake-Up Call?

Calgary found out the hard way that you don't have to be a coastal city to experience the waterborne ravages of a changing climate. For years, warnings from scientists and analysts have been ignored. Will the "Great Flood" achieve what they couldn't?

June 25, 2013 - The Tyee

Can Small Steps Prevent Massive Change? Obama Unveils Long-Awaited Climate Plan

It doesn't involve cap-and-trade or a major international protocol, but the sweeping climate plan unveiled by President Obama today is 'the most far-reaching effort by an American president' to address climate change. Best of all, it skirts Congress.

June 25, 2013 - The New York Times

Cool Happenings in Paris’s Urban Landscape

Two events held in the same week in the historic heart of Paris show just how serious the city is about its contemporary urban landscape.

June 25, 2013 - Mark Hough

By Urging Action on Climate Change, Kerry Ruffles Feathers in India

At the beginning of a two-day trip to India, the world's third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made solving climate change a focus of his public remarks. The U.S.'s own failures elicited skepticism from locals.

June 24, 2013 - Grist

Eat the City: The Art of Urban Farming

Architectural historian Richard Ingersoll surveys creative 'civic agriculture' projects in the United States and Europe where abandoned lots have been transformed into edible landscapes.

June 24, 2013 - Places Journal

Can America Adapt Its Waterfronts Before They Drown?

America's voracious appetite for waterfront development continues, even as a future filled with rising seas and extreme storms becomes more evident. The most proactive coastal areas have begun planing for adaptation, but are they doing enough?

June 24, 2013 - The Economist

Downtown Calgary Evacuated as Flood Waters Inundate City

Record flooding along the two rivers that flow through central Calgary, the Bow and Elbow, have forced the evacuation of the city's downtown and forced at least 75,000 residents to seek higher ground.

June 22, 2013 - BBC

Mars Panorama

Friday Eye Candy: A Billion-Pixel Panorama of Mars

The Mars Curiosity Rover has sent us some pretty cool stuff since landing on the red planet in August of 2012. The latest souvenir of its trip is a billion-pixel panorama of the planet's surface.

June 21, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Regulating Diesel Emissions: An Environmental Twofer

This toxic emission is not only a threat to public health but also the second largest contributor to global warming, according to CARB. A new study has found that regulations to reduce diesel emissions fight both climate change and air pollution.

June 21, 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

Is Air Pollution Contributing to the Rise in Autism?

Asthma, cancer...autism. If you need yet another reason to abhor vehicle emissions and air pollution see a new report published in Environmental Health Perspectives which links in utero exposure to air pollutants to an increased risk of autism.

June 20, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Momentous Climate Plan Being Development by Obama

An historic plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions is being covertly developed by the Obama administration, reports Neela Banerjee. The plan could for the first time set limits on the country's biggest emitters: power plants.

June 18, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Where’s the Heat Going? Global Warming Lull Befuddles Scientists

Despite record levels of greenhouse gas emissions, global surface temperatures have risen at a much slower rate over the past 15 years than the 20 years prior. Scientists are struggling to explain a warming plateau.

June 17, 2013 - The New York Times

Hong Kong Towers

The Case for Hyperdensity

On Places, Vishaan Chakrabarti argues that the hyperdense city is more prosperous, equitable, ecological and delightful — and vital to America's strength as a nation.

June 16, 2013 - Places Journal

Google Faces

Friday Eye Candy: Is That Mountain Range Staring at Me?

Google Faces is a fun, and slightly freaky, project that plays off of humans' penchant for seeing faces in everything by testing if a computer could do the same.

June 14, 2013 - Wired

How to Make a Resilient City (budget)

Building intensity can do just about everything: make a city budget more resilient, conserve land, and encourage infill. And possibly make your morning omelet.

June 14, 2013 - Norman Wright

As Feds Drag Their Feet on New Regulations, Environmentalists Fume

Worries about the economic impacts of new regulations, high-level vacancies and election-year politics have raised the review time for new rules being considered by the Obama administration to a 20-year high. Many in his own party are not pleased.

June 13, 2013 - The New York Times

New York Plans $20 Billion Battle Against Climate Change

On Tuesday, Mayor Bloomberg outlined an ambitious $20 billion plan to adapt New York City's infrastructure and built and natural environments to respond to the threats of rising seas and extreme storms.

June 12, 2013 - The New York Times

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.