Environment
Local Govts. Step to the Plate on Climate Change
With politics tangling up action on the Federal level, cities and local governments are adopting climate action plans to combat global warming. Smart growth is high on the list of action items.
Preserving Culture, But Moving From Home as the Permafrost Melts
The village of Newtok, Alaska is subsiding into a nearby river as the permafrost beneath it melts. Villagers want to preserve their heritage, but face moving from their homeland.
Using Waste, Swedish City Cuts Fossil Fuel Use
One Swedish city is saying bye to fossil fuels and using its position as an epicenter of farming and food processing to generate energy from some unlikely sources... potato peels, manure, used cooking oil, stale cookies and pig intestines.
Do Rainforests Grow on Money?
In an effort to halt the destruction of rainforests, increasing amounts of money are being offered to countries for preservation efforts. But some wonder whether throwing money at the problem will yield a solution.
Coastal Communities Swallowed
Thousands of Louisiana residents are being forced to retreat from their rapidly disappearing coastal communities.
Linking Infrastructure and Environmental Concerns
In a part of Staten Island largely developed before formal sewer systems were in place, the effort to address both logistics and environmental issues offers lessons for other urban areas.
U.S. Court Of Appeals Rules 'Sprawl Fee' Lawful
A U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a 2008 District Court ruling allowing a regional air quality district to manage land use for the improvement of air quality. CA's Central Valley Air Dist. now has a lawful Indirect Source Review or sprawl fee rule.
Who's That Delivering Your Package?
A student idea brought to life, bring.BUDDY is a smartphone app that connects packages that need to be delivered with people who are already headed in that direction. The volunteer deliverers earn points for transit and other goodies.
New LEED Draft Singles Out 'Location and Transportation'
A draft of new LEED requirements has been released for public comment, and it includes a new category that accounts for location and accessibility.
In Planning for the Future, "Integration Is A Key Means of Moving Towards Sustainability"
Jonna McKone details her case for integrated, systematic approaches to problems in the realms of urban mobility and sustainability. Can seamless connectivity between sectors such as planning, business, and energy create better long-term solutions?
Renewable Energy A'Plenty On New Ellis Island Ferry
Billed as the world's first hybrid ferry, the new ships will run on a combination of wind, solar and hydrogen power (and diesel in a pinch). Service begins in April 2011.
Preserving Weeksville, The First Community of Free, Black Americans
Three buildings have survived from Weeksville, despite being located in bustling Brooklyn. A $32 million museum and community center will open next summer at the site.
'Urbanism Is the Most Cost-Effective Solution to Climate Change,' says Calthorpe
Phil Langdon reviews Peter Calthorpe's latest, called 'Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change'. Langdon says it is "a densely packed, yet concise overview of the troubling situation we all find ourselves in."
The Smoggy Side of Cleveland
A new government-sponsored 'HazeCam' provides a running feed of downtown air pollution, with the aim of prompting local residents to reconsider their commuting habits.
Listening for Landslides
Researchers have developed a new technology to sense the acoustic conditions that indicate oncoming landslides.
Reforesting the Vietnamese Warzone
Jungles blasted clear during the Vietnam war four decades ago are now at the center of a debate in the country about how forests should be recovered.
When California Mountain Lions Become City Dwellers
As urban sprawl continues to encroach on what was once expansive habitat for mountain lions, the large predators have been involved in more encounters with humans in urban settings.
Replacing Costly Asphalt With Sand
Could sand be the next great paving material? Thomas Kosbau and Andrew Wetzler recently won a design competition in Korea with their idea to combine sand with a bacteria that turns sand to stone.
Critiquing The Landscape Urbanism
As landscape urbanists hover in the exalted world of the designer-hero-genius, Emily Talen asks — where are the people?
Could China Set New Standards for Coal Mining?
The Atlantic's James Fallows and Alexis Madrigal fly over Virginia & Kentucky to see first hand how mining effects the land, both in the U.S. and more importantly in China, where they're developing greener techniques for mining.
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
