Environment
The Most Polluted Metro Areas in America
Atlanta tops a list of the most polluted cities in the country, according to an analysis of EPA data by Forbes.
'No Credits, Just Prerequisites'
The Living Building Challenge is a new environmental rating system that focuses on required environmental design elements, diverging dramatically from the credit-based approach of the built environment's dominant rating system, LEED.
Solar-lit Footbridge Opens in Brisbane
Last month saw the debut of one of the world's longest footbridges, which also happens to be 100% solar-powered. 36,500 people are projected to walk across the bridge each week.
When The Auto Columnist Gives Up His Car
What's this? The Wall Street Journal's 'car guy' - the reporter who writes about cars and roads, is .....without a car? As difficult as it may be to believe, Joseph White is now a carless urbanite in DC. Here is his first column in his new lifestyle.
Maryland's Smart Growth Law A Dud According To University Study
Maryland's 1997 landmark smart growth, hailed as one of the most innovative policies in the nation, has turned out to have failed in what it hoped to accomplish - preserve open space and cluster urban growth, according to a just-released report.
A Greener Shade of Golf?
Golf courses use dangerous pesticides and hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to maintain their manicured look. Many people would like to change that. But some golf courses says you can have your cake and tee off, too.
EPA's Porous Pavement Project
The Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a test on three different types of porous pavement to devise ways to control runoff from parking lots and streets.
Wind Power Gets Airborne
The motherlode of wind energy up, up in the air, say scientists. A handful of new technologies are being developed to harvest it at the source, roughly six miles up.
Ford in the Black, Thanks to Cash for Clunkers
Ford Motor Co. is reporting almost $1b in profits in the third quarter. CEO Alan Mulally credits the Cash for Clunkers program and cost cutting for their success.
Chicago's Answer to NYC's High Line Will Generate Power & Food
A proposed plan from Gensler and 4240 Architecture would turn an abandoned rail line in Chicago into an energy-generating, food-growing powerhouse. Oh, and a park too.
Starchitecture and Sustainability: Hope, Creativity, and Futility Collide in Contemporary Architecture
Can today's contemporary architects, schooled in modernism and invention, in fact incorporate the sort of green building materials and techniques that make a real difference? And does design really matter? Josh Stephens takes a look.
Local Canadian Leaders Do What Fed Fails To
While Canada's federal government resists taking action on climate change, its provincial and Aboriginal leaders have set aside over 200 million acres of boreal forest as a carbon vault.
A Little Soy for Your Groundwater?
In order to clean up groundwater pollution from dry cleaning chemicals, Orland, California is planning on injecting soybean oil into the problem area. The plan is touted as lower risk and lower cost than other methods.
Drive A Hot Rod, Save The Planet
How can a Porsche be better for the environment than a Prius? If you use transit to commute, and only take the hot rod out on the weekends. Slate writer Joe Eaton sold his Volvo for a combination of transit and fun.
The Trouble with Transition Towns
Alex Steffen weighs the challenges of Transition Towns and, instead, advocates for bright green, optimistic democracy.
Chicago's Climate Action Plan One Year Later
This interview with Chief Environment Officer Sadhu Johnston highlights the progress Chicago's already had, including 7 million square feet of green roofs and more bike lanes.
Thirsting in America's Fruit Basket
To protect the endangered Delta Smelt fish, pumping of water from California's Sacramento Delta has been drastically cut back. Add in the state's three-year-long drought, and the result is a major problem for the state's people and farmers.
Coal & Oil - Biggest Health Culprits, Says National Academies
The National Academy of Science has released a report showing that health effects from burning fossil fuels cost the economy about $120 billion a year. Global warming was not included due to uncertainty, so it's focused mostly on air pollution.
Emissions Impact of Biofuels Undercounted
A new report claims that the way the global warming impact of biofuels is measured leaves out the land use component of clearing land and growing crops.
Suburbs Sprouting in Cairo Deserts
President Mubarak of Egypt is allowing developers to create American-style suburban developments in dry desert land outside Cairo.
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
