Europe
Autonomous Vehicles and Streets: A Guide to Potential Impacts
As the arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs) becomes more of a reality, cities need to start considering how this new technology will affect streets and street networks. This brief guide provides an overview and resources on this topic.
The Era of the Electric Vehicle is Approaching
A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that due to a plunge in battery prices and improvement in battery technology, electric vehicles will be cost-competitive with gasoline vehicles in eight years. By 2040, they will outsell them.
Take a LiDAR Tour of Dublin
The potential of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to redefine mapping and modeling will be on display in the city of Dublin, Ireland, after NYU researchers released the largest ever LiDAR data set.
Interior Secretary Issues Order to Expedite Drilling on Public Lands
Secretary Zinke's order is part of the "energy dominance" agenda of the Trump Administration to make the U.S. a major energy exporter. The order will reduce the time needed by the Bureau of Land Management to process permitting for new wells.
Looking at Copenhagen with Jealous Eyes
Copenhagen's positive attributes are clear, but how transferable are they?
The Dutch: Ready to Export Their Flood Control Expertise
For those who want it, the Netherlands is willing to share the fruits of its centuries-long relationship with the unruly seas. In Rotterdam, lots of local urban solutions are also on display.
Can Planning Offer a Line of Defense Against Terrorism?
Planning for resilience might mean more than preparing for climate change, according to this opinion piece. Urban terrorism, in its current, tragic form, will require planners to prepare for the worst.
Oslo's Car-Free Dreams Easier Said Than Done
Touted as a leader among the European cities moving toward car-free streets, Oslo's ambitions of removing all cars from the city center has hit some roadblocks.
Muscovites Revolt Against Relocation Plan
Plans to decommission existing public housing blocks and replace them with newer high-rises has angered middle-class residents in Moscow who fear the loss of their homes and investments.
Friday Eye Candy: Ancient Rome's Maps, Reimagined as a Transit System
There are surprisingly few maps of ancient Roman roads, and many fewer maps of ancient Roman roads that resemble big-city subway maps. An intrepid student has improved upon that situation, however.
Beuvron-en-Auge: 15th Century Town Planning Stands the Test of Time
Another reason European placemaking has North American applications: it wasn't always perfect. Hazel Borys looks to simple town planning lessons from a village in Normandy.
In Europe, Self-Drivers Focus on Augmenting Transit
Unlike the American focus on luxury personal self-drivers, the European approach favors small self-driving buses that can ferry riders to larger transit lines.
Inadequate Diesel Vehicle Testing Results in 38,000 Global Fatalities Annually
While the study stems from research that found Volkswagen diesel cars had used 'defeat devices' to pass emissions tests, the new study points to inadequacies in the tests themselves, resulting in 50 percent higher pollution than testing permits.
Beating the Heat (Island Effect) with the Japanese Tradition of Uchimizu
Can a few splashes of water on hot pavement reduce the heat island effect? Researchers find evidence to support a traditional Japanese method of cooling the environment.
Paris Targets Vacant Second Homes With 60% Tax
7.5 percent of homes in the French capital have no one living in them.
Infrastructure for Distracted Pedestrians: Streetlights in the Ground
Responses to the new pedestrian infrastructure in Bodegraven are likely to say these crosswalk signals in the ground are victim-blaming or Millennial-coddling.
Uncertain Future for Electric Vehicles if Fuel Efficiency Standards Relaxed
The U.S. EPA has signaled that it will withdraw an earlier decision to maintain the 54.5 miles per gallon target. Should that happen, a major casualty will be electric vehicles, according to one prominent EV advocate interviewed on NPR.
Rome's Urban Planning Chief Quits in Stadium Dispute
Paolo Berdini, Rome's councilor for urban planning, has resigned from his position after clashing with the city's mayor over a new soccer stadium for AS Roma.
Architecture's Top Prize Goes to a Relatively Unknown Trio From Spain
The Pritzker Prize, sometimes called the Nobel Prize of architecture, was announced this week, going to Spanish firm RCR Arquitectes.
The Curious Case of the Irish Housing Market
In Ireland, there's one house for every 2.35 people. According to industry experts, that's twice as many vacant homes as a normal, healthy market should have. So why then is the country considered to be in a housing crisis?
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.
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
