Environment

Greenest American Roofs Are In Chicago

Filling empty Chicago rooftops with plants seemed a little strange six years ago when Mayor Richard Daley installed a garden on the roof of city hall. But now more than 200 buildings in Chicago boast rooftop gardens, and the trend is spreading.

July 14, 2006 - The Christian Science Monitor

Californians May Soon Be Cooking With Cow Power

With the largest dairy herds in the U.S., California could generate up to 5% of its natural gas from cow manure.

July 13, 2006 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Will Tampa Be The Next New Orleans?

A University of South Florida professor predicts that a hurricane with similar intensity as Katrina would cause even greater devastation to Tampa Bay than was experienced by New Orleans in 2005.

July 12, 2006 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Planning for Good Health

Sacramento's MPO thinks it's time to re-establish the old link between public health and city planning. But is smart growth really healthier? And whose responsibility is it to build healthy cities anyways?

July 12, 2006 - The Next American City

U.S. Population Goes Coastal

Every day 1,500 new homes rise along the U.S. coastline. National Geographic asks, "Are America's coastlines are in danger of being loved to death?"

July 12, 2006 - National Geographic

How To Make Melbourne The Most Livable Again

Architects, artists, urban planners, developers, designers and historians comment on the world's formerly most livable city, why it's lost the title and how to can reclaim it.

July 11, 2006 - The Age

The Greening Of The U.S. Building Industry

National Public Radio's Chris Arnold tracks how the green building movement is sweeping the construction industry in the United States.

July 11, 2006 - Weekend Edition Sunday, National Public Radio

Bjorn Lomborg's Latest Global Warming Experiment

The WSJ's Kimberly Strassel interviews Bjorn Lomborg on his latest economic exercise -- asking eight U.N. ambassadors to prioritize global projects. Global warming ends up at the bottom. Again.

July 9, 2006 - The Wall Street Journal

Landmark Years In U.S. Environmental History

Richard A. Cellarius, past president of the Sierra Club, lists five landmark years in the nation's environmental history.

July 9, 2006 - The Arizona Republic

Global Warming Linked To Forest Fires

Findings from a new study indicate that the increasing number of forest fires in the West may be due to global warming.

July 8, 2006 - The San Francisco Chronicle

New Water Limits Could Halt Development

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is setting new limits on how much water can be used by towns in the Charles River watershed, drastically altering the development plans of many towns.

July 8, 2006 - The Boston Globe

Can We Conserve Our Way Out of Global Warming?

Robert Samuelson questions whether we can conserve our way out of global warming.

July 8, 2006 - The Washington Post

Friday Funny: Could A Goldfish Survive In Water From L.A. River?

The Los Angeles Times sets up a Goldfish cam and two goldfish -- Little Antonio and Little Ed -- named after the mayor and a city councilman) to see if fish can live in a tank filled with water from the Los Angeles River.

July 7, 2006 - The Los Angeles Times

9 Tips For Achieving Energy Independence

A North Carolina based weekly has published a helpful list of ways for residents to reduce their energy consumption.

July 7, 2006 - The Independent

A Model For Eco-friendly Development

A visionary development plan promises transit villages, solar energy, local farms, water recycling, sensitive architecture, and walkable neighborhoods. Will it be a model for other communities seeking eco-friendly development?

July 6, 2006 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Seasonal Workers Hit The Hay

A farmworker advocacy group is working with Virginia farmers to provide housing for the seasonal workers that tend their fields. Houses made of hay are the affordable and energy-efficient solution to this need for seasonal housing.

July 6, 2006 - Richmond Times-Dispatch

Four Reasons Why We Don't Care About Global Warming

Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, looks into the human brain for reasons why we ignore threats such as global warming.

July 5, 2006 - The Los Angeles Times

When Farm Subsidies Go Bad

The Washington Post finds that the government has paid over $1.3 billion in agricultural subsidies to non-farmers, under a decades-old policy intended to eliminate subsidies. The policies are changing land use patterns in the Farm Belt.

July 3, 2006 - The Washington Post

LEED Recommendations For Public Health and Urban Design

This report evaluates the current state of research linking public health and neighborhood design and provides recommendations for integrating the knowledge into the LEED-ND rating system to improve public health.

July 1, 2006 - U.S. Green Building Council

Hong Kong's Big Air Pollution Problem

A new study shows the city's air quality ranks below New York, London, Paris, and even Los Angeles.

July 1, 2006 - The Standard

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.