Environment

Norway Could Be Carbon-Neutral by 2030

The government of Norway has announced plans to offset all of its carbon emissions by 2030, a goal it had previously set for 2050.

January 18, 2008 - Reuters via Environmental News Network

Hot Air: Jerry Brown Becomes Climate Change Warrior

Former California Governor Jerry Brown, now the state's attorney general, is vowing to sue cities and counties that do not take climate change into consideration during general plan updates.

January 18, 2008 - California Planning & Development Report

Projecting A Bleak Future For Washington D.C.

Design teams presented their visions for the future of Washington D.C. recently. Their outlook was overwhelmingly dire.

January 17, 2008 - The Washington Post

...And Not a Drop to Drink

Desalination plants are being seen as the solution to declines in global freshwater supplies. But as Scott Thill reports, the plants may be an environmental disaster in the making.

January 17, 2008 - AlterNet

Lessons From Below Sea Level

Global warming is exacerbating the threat of flooding in low-lying areas such as Holland and California's Sacramento Delta. Politicians in California are looking to Holland for examples of how to prevent flooding from happening.

January 16, 2008 - NPR

Offshore Wind Power Plant Overcomes Major Obstacle

An offshore wind power farm proposed for construction in the Nantucket Sound has been found to have only minimal environmental effects, clearing the way for the project's federal approval as soon as the end of the year.

January 15, 2008 - The Boston Globe

Sky Islands of North America: A Globally Unique and Threatened Inland Archipelago

"Sky islands" are a globally unique convergence — the north-south overlap of two major cordilleras spanning the temperate and subtropical latitudes, covering some 40 distinct mountain ranges in the southwestern U.S. But they are at risk.

January 15, 2008 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

Mayors' Climate Change Vows Result In Little Action

Despite the signatures of hundreds of U.S. Mayors, the Climate Protection Agreement that says cities will take the lead on addressing climate change has resulted in little action, according to this article.

January 14, 2008 - Voice of San Diego

Political Climate Change?

Sierra Magazine asks Matt Stoller, Michael Bocian, David Orr and Newt Gingrich to square off on how climate change will figure in the 2008 Presidential election.

January 14, 2008 - Sierra

A Case Study in 'UnSprawl'

Located seven miles south of the town of Loreto in Baja California Sur, the Villages of Loreto Bay is an 8,000-acre new urbanist development that strives to be North America’s largest sustainable resort development.

January 13, 2008 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

Environmentalists May Delay High Speed Rail In California

With the $10 billion bond slated for the November ballot in California, the latest twist in the long saga of delays is that environmentalists, unhappy with the proposed route into the Bay Area from the Central Valley, threaten to litigate the EIR.

January 10, 2008 - East Bay Express

Thinking Beyond the Olympics in Beijing

With the 2008 Olympics heading to Beijing, Chinese officials are looking at ways to reduce pollution and improve air quality by the time the games begin. But locals are also starting to think about life after the games.

January 10, 2008 - The New York Times

Leave Planning To Planners

In this column, APA Executive Director Paul Farmer expounds on the other professions that are inappropriately making planning decisions, and discusses how New Urbanists are close to repeating the mistakes of other modernist movements.

January 9, 2008 - Planning

Chinese Farmers Lead Revolt Against Polluters

Echoing the peasant revolutions that led to the creation of modern China, farmers are rising up against the factories they accuse of contaminating rivers and destroying their livelihoods.

January 9, 2008 - AlterNet

Interest Groups To Determine Future of More Than 140,000 Acres

Following PG&E's bankruptcy, the private nonprofit Stewardship Council was assigned the task of conserving and reorganizing PG&E's 140,000 acres located in the Sierra Nevada and Upper Cascade Mountains.

January 8, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Urban Innovators on List of Planet Heroes

The Guardian has released a list of the "50 people who could save the planet," including some urban innovators who are changing the way the world thinks about cities.

January 7, 2008 - The Guardian

Simple Solutions To California's Water Shortage

Years of low rainfall are causing many in California to think hard about diminishing supplies of water. In this commentary, author Peter Gleick argues that wise water use and management -- not big-scale infrastructure projects -- is the solution.

January 7, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Historic Sites Disappearing As Three Gorges Reservoir Rises

The reservoir at China's Three Gorges Dam will fill to capacity this year, flooding more than 400 square miles of land, including some precious historic sites.

January 7, 2008 - NPR

Australian High-Rise Projects Prompts Protests

A $1.7 billion high-rise development proposal that would jut out into the Brisbane River has prompted the protests of many planners and architects in Brisbane, Australia.

January 5, 2008 - The Australian

'Nature-Deficit Disorder'

In this interview from Land&People, author Richard Louv discusses his research into the importance of interaction with nature in child development, and explains his concept of "nature-deficit disorder".

January 3, 2008 - Land&People

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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.