Environment
Parts of U.S. at 'Extreme' Risk of Drying Out
A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that many parts of the Great Plains and the Southwest U.S. are facing severe water shortages in the near future.
Senate Abandons Climate Bill...Now What?
On July 22, the congressional attempt to pass comprehensive climate change legislation officially ended for the year. That day the World Resources Institute unveiled a report assessing carbon reductions possible under existing federal and state law.
Battling Over the Nile's Water, Forgetting About its Ecosystem
Despite flowing through ten different nations, the Nile's water is only technically the property of Egypt and Sudan. The other eight nations are trying to change that. But as the debate heats up, the river's ecosystem may be caught in the cross-fire.
The Island of EVs
Hawaii is an ideal test case for creating an electric car infrastructure because fuel costs are very high and distances are manageable. Charging stations are going up all over the islands with a goal of making it easy to envision driving an EV.
Can Preservation and Development Work Together?
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has teamed up with The International Living Building Institute have launched a contest to envision future cities using sustainable practices - a move that the NTHP doesn't find at odds with their mission.
Creator of The High Line Describes A "Higher Quality of Urban Life"
Monocle magazine interviews James Corner, the landscape architect responsible for New York's lauded high line and recent winner of Cooper Hewitt Award for best landscape architect.
Stackable Agriculture
Famed architect Richard Meier was commissioned by Wallpaper Magazine to design a model for raising animals in an urban environment. The result is a design with agriculture stacked up on different planes of a skyscraper.
Protecting The Open Spaces of Cascadia
Forest land and open space have been steadily gobbled up by development in the Pacific Northwest. A new initiative in Washington seeks to relocate some of developers' planned greenfield housing into cities.
Sustainable and Obtainable
A new sustainable housing development breaking ground in Oregon has put affordability on the same pedestal as sustainability.
Reintegrating the Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River has long been forgotten by many of the city's residents and officials. GOOD's Alissa Walker takes a look at some plans to reintegrate the river into the city.
Sound Walls Made From Grass
The Ohio Department of Transportation is experimenting with "green noise walls" instead of the standard eyesore, using bags of soil sprouting greenery as an alternative to concrete.
Defusing The Population Bomb Myth
To mark "World Population Day", Grist published this commentary by environmental writer Fred Pearce who asks environmentalists not to fall in the Malthusian trap of blaming population, not consumption.
South Korea's City of The Future
Being developed on 1500 acres of Incheon's waterfront, Songdo is a completely planned city harnessing the latest innovations in green technology and planning doctrine aimed at creating a sustainable, self contained 'city of the future.'
Seattle Upgrading its Stormwater System to Prevent Sewage Overflows
The city of Seattle is taking on a $500 million project to update its storm drains to reduce the amount of untreated sewage that overflows into waterways during storm events.
China's Development Will Be Major Factor in Climate Change
Asia's energy consumption increased 70% in the ten years leading to 2008. With China continuing to build and urbanize, the Economist argues that the country's sustainable strategies won't make a significant dent in the problem.
Thirsty Australia Turns to the Ocean
Arid Australia is investing big-time in a water desalination project that will attempt to ease some of the country's water woes.
Emissions-Eating Roads
A new report says that roads embedded with titanium dioxide can help purify the air by absorbing 25 to 45 percent of nitrogen oxides emitted by cars.
Bamboo, the Miracle Homebuilding Material
Bamboo homes survive earthquakes and typhoons, it grows like a weed, and has twice the compression strength of concrete. Elisabeth Best reports on the wonder material and the image problem bamboo must overcome to be used more widely.
A Watershed Decision for the LA River
In a move to cement its importance as an urban waterway, the EPA declared the Los Angeles River a 'traditionally navigable waterway.'
Sustainable Communities: Live Event with HUD, DOT and EPA Leadership
Whitehouse.gov held a live online event on July 15th at 2pm EDT/11am PDT on sustainable communities. All of the questions were submitted and chosen by Planetizen readers.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
