Environment

New Jersey's Forests Disappearing

A new study shows that the amount of urban development in New Jersey now outnumbers the state's forest acreage.

July 31, 2010 - New Jersey Star-Ledger

Solar Power Gains Cost Advantage Over Nuclear

Diana Powers reports that the cost of solar photovoltaic panels has declined "to the point where they are lower than the rising projected costs of new nuclear plants, according to a paper published this month."

July 30, 2010 - New York Times

The Double O's Were the Hottest Years on Record

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Report published on Wednesday found that the last decade has been the hottest on record, and clearly points to the conclusion that our planet is warming.

July 30, 2010 - The New York Times

The Government Greens Its Real Estate

The Public Buildings Service, which is responsible for charging and collecting rent on 9,600 public buildings across the 50 states, has been asked to go green by retrofitting and smartening its aging buildings.

July 29, 2010 - Fast Company

San Francisco Pins Utopian Hopes on Treasure Island

San Francisco has always been home to utopian dreamers. With a clean slate to work on in the middle of the bay, the city has drafted plans for a sustainable utopia. With politics and money kicking in, will the dream be dashed?

July 28, 2010 - Shareable

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.

July 28, 2010 - National Geographic

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.

July 27, 2010 - The New York Times - Environment - Green (Blog)

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.

July 27, 2010 - Yale Environment 360

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.

July 25, 2010 - Governing Magazine

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.

July 25, 2010 - Metropolis Magazine

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.

July 24, 2010 - Monocle

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.

July 23, 2010 - Architizer

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.

July 21, 2010 - Citiwire

Sustainable and Obtainable

A new sustainable housing development breaking ground in Oregon has put affordability on the same pedestal as sustainability.

July 21, 2010 - The Oregonian

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.

July 19, 2010 - Good

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.

July 19, 2010 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

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.

July 19, 2010 - Grist

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.'

July 16, 2010 - ABC News

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.

July 15, 2010 - The Seattle Times

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.

July 12, 2010 - The Economist

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.

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.