Environment

Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown announced reforms to the state's Environmental Quality Act that will ease approval for infill development and special projects. Josh Stephens provides the details.

January 30, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

Sarah Laskow reports on new analysis indicating that in restored wetlands, plants, insects, and animals do not reach their former abundance, density or diversity.

January 24, 2012 - Good

A new report highlights the threat posed to a wide range of species by the extraction of fossil fuels in the United States.

January 22, 2012 - CommonDreams

In announcing a new initiative led by ULI and the Greenprint Foundation, Ed McMahon looks at the disconnect between politicians and the marketplace in the debate around climate change and U.S. energy policy.

January 21, 2012 - Urban Land

Branden Klayko reports on the pioneering project planned by innovative Philadelphia design-build developers Onion Flats.

January 20, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Jarrett Murphy writes of a single but significant line in Mayor Bloomberg's recent State of the City address which offers a potential solution to the city’s intertwined fiscal, garbage and energy problems.

January 18, 2012 - Next American City

Joerg Haentzschel interviews the young architect Bjarke Ingels. Through offices now established in Copenhagen and New York, Ingels is slowly pushing his 'pragmatic utopian architecture' into the mainstream.

January 16, 2012 - 032C

A new study produced by an international team of scientists focuses on efforts to reduce the production of two shorter-term pollutants, rather than carbon dioxide, that drive climate change.

January 16, 2012 - The Washington Post

In his new book, The Conundrum, David Owen pierces the magical thinking that has repackaged high-end luxury goods, such as hybrid cars, as virtuous and the idea that we can consume our way out of trouble.

January 14, 2012 - Txchnologist.com

The average family paid 25% more in gas in 2011 than they did in 2010. With that trend expected to continue into the foreseeable future, the case for the importance of walkable neighborhoods will grow along with it.

January 14, 2012 - PlaceShakers

A key ruling on whether and/or how to allow the High Volume Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing (or fracking) method of extracting natural gas is imminent in New York State. The decision could set a nationwide precedent.

January 13, 2012 - THE DIRT

A new study has created unexpected tensions between public health advocates and smart-growth-oriented urban planners.

January 12, 2012 - California Watch

With strong advocates in Washington and in City Hall, planning continues for an ambitious multi-billion dollar effort to overhaul the Los Angeles River and its relationship to the city.

January 11, 2012 - Planning

Energy efficiency has become as compelling as "the new granite countertop" for home sales and rentals.

January 10, 2012 - Urban Land

The Environmental Protection Agency is crowdsourcing a massive photo project to update a 40-year old agency project known as 'Documerica', which includes images of American environmental problems and everyday life.

January 9, 2012 - Network World

India's Bajaj Auto company introduces an ultracheap small car focused on the country's rickshaw industry. Meanwhile, an unrelated study finds that the unorganized auto-rickshaw sector presents a huge business opportunity.

January 6, 2012 - The New York Times

Youngstown, OH has experienced 11 quakes, including one rated 4.0, which may be tied to deep disposal wells for the water used in the hydraulic fracking process of natural gas drilling.

January 6, 2012 - NPR- Science

Low-income residents of the Upper 9th Ward in New Orleans have lived alongside a potentially lethal legacy of federal policy decisions -- and on top of a 95-acre municipal dump.

January 5, 2012 - City Limits

Nearly everyone agrees that government needs to regulate. How much to regulate is the question. Reason Magazine looks at several current regulatory issues concludes that the regulatory pendulum "has swung too far."

January 4, 2012 - Reason Magazine

As crop prices rise, Iowa land formerly thought useless for farming is being tilled and planted.

January 4, 2012 - The New York Times