Environment
Is the Fight Against Keystone XL Hurting the Environmental Movement?
The fight to block approval of the Keystone XL pipeline has galvanized support like few recent controversies. But is there a danger in focusing so much attention on one decision when there are innumerable threats to the climate across North America?
China Confronts Troubling By-Product of Urbanization: Mountains of Construction Rubble
China's rapid rebuilding effort has produced mountains of debris as old cities are replaced with gleaming new metropolises. Illegal dumping is coming under fire as it gets more and more difficult to conceal the evidence.
A Year Later, Sandy Recovery Shows That Building Resilience Takes Time
Despite warnings of the threats posed by rising seas and more extreme storms in the years leading up to Hurricane Sandy, the New York region's preparations lagged behind where experts thought they should be. Has anything changed since Sandy?
Oil Boom Lays Waste to North Dakota's Air and Ground
A pair of articles in The New York Times look at two different kinds of waste generated from North Dakota's booming oil industry: natural gas from oil wells is burned due to the absence of pipelines, and the disposal of waste in landfills.
Chicago Reclaims Its River
The opening of a "striking" new boathouse designed by noted architect Jeanne Gang along the Chicago River is a major milestone in the transformation of the city's "Ol’ Pisspot” into a public amenity.
Sickening Smog Strangles Major Chinese City
With particulate pollution levels well over 20 times the amount deemed safe, and visibility reduced to less than 30 feet, a choking smog brought the northeast Chinese city of Harbin to a standstill Monday.
These Nuns Have Made Fighting Climate Change Their Mission
Across the United States and around the world, groups of Roman Catholic nuns are quietly supporting a supposedly extra-religious cause: environmentalism.
Garcetti Proposes "Chief Resilience Officer" to Tackle L.A.'s Earthquake Preparedness
Recent controversies have called into question whether Los Angeles officials have done all they can to prepare the city for its next big earthquake. Mayor Eric Garcetti is making earthquake preparedness a top priority.
Eco Districts - The Next Frontier
Moving beyond the building is critical to effecting transformative change toward urban sustainability. Several Swedish projects offer points of inspiration. The Eco District Summit is bringing together people engaged in district-scale sustainability.
Air Pollution Identified as a Leading Cause of Cancer Deaths
For the first time, the World Health Organization has identified air pollution, in its entirety, as a cause of cancer, putting it on par with tobacco smoke, asbestos and arsenic. In 2010, 223,000 people died from lung cancer caused by air pollution.
Bicycling Ban Sparks Outrage in Kolkata
In order to "ease traffic flow" the police commissioner in Kolkata, India (formerly Calcutta) has expanded a ban on bikes to 174 roads across the sprawling city of 14 million. Environmentalists and social activists are protesting the measures.
Accidents Not the Leading Cause of Vehicle-Related Deaths
A new study by MIT researchers indicates that a greater number of premature deaths in the United States can be attributed to auto pollution than auto collisions.
Another Story of a City: Biodiversity
The short-sightedness of overarching proclamations for the right city form obscures the very context in which cities are built and expanded. City planning must become reconnected to its environmental context.
Effort to Rein in Federal Flood Insurance Program Causing Alarm
As a 2012 law aimed reforming the "increasingly unsustainable" National Flood Insurance Program goes into effect, some homeowners in coastal areas are seeing dramatic increases in their insurance rates. Lawmakers are pondering how to ease the pain.
Supreme Court to Consider EPA's Ability to Regulate Emissions Beyond Cars and Trucks
Though the U.S. Supreme Court turned aside a more aggressive challenge to the EPA's climate regulating authority, it has agreed to hear arguments on the agency's ability to limit emissions from stationary sources.
Bulgaria's Bad Air Highlights European Pollution Problem
A new report by the European Environment Agency points to progress in cutting the continent's air pollution problem. However, up to 98% of Europe's urban residents are exposed to hazardous air, and in places like Bulgaria the danger is acute.
Top 100 City Innovators Worldwide
To celebrate its first anniversary, Future Cities has assembled a list of the top 100 city innovators making the biggest difference across a range of industries and specialties.
Cyclone the Size of Katrina Strikes India
Bearing 125 mph winds, Cyclone Phailin made landfall along India's eastern coast on Saturday evening. Though hundreds of thousands were evacuated from the area, some are questioning whether the Indian authorities took the storm too lightly.
NYC Design Chief on Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding: "What Do I Do?"
New York's chief urban designer, Alexandros Washburn, addresses the monumental task of rebuilding New York after Hurricane Sandy and preparing for the next storm.
Within Decades, Historic Heat Will Be the Global Norm
Get used to hearing about historically hot temperatures. Using 39 of the world’s foremost climate models, researchers have developed "climate departure" dates for cities around the world to predict when temperatures will exceed historical norms.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
