Europe

Faroe Islands

Friday Funny: Sheep View Goes Where Google Street View Can't

Some local residents of the Faroe Islands created Sheep View 360 to document the 18 rocky islands that make up their home—and now Google is lending a hand.

September 2, 2016 - The San Jose Mercury News

Moscow, Russia

Moscow's Erratic Shift Towards a Walkable City

Moscow's Mayor has pushed an agenda to beautify the city, create social spaces, and make the city more walkable, but critics see the move towards walkability as more of a forced march.

August 23, 2016 - Foreign Policy

Wind

The Good News that Almost Was for U.S. Offshore Wind Advocates

The anticipated approval of the largest proposed offshore wind farm in the U.S., a 90-megawatt facility off Montauk on Long Island, was unexpectedly delayed. But what will soon be the nation's first offshore wind farm did receive some good news.

July 24, 2016 - Innovate Long Island

Barcelona's Answer to a Car-Centric City: Superblocks

Barcelona wants to be the world’s best city for people. To reclaim the public space and community living that residents lost to cars over the last century, the city is transforming mobility and access to public space by introducing the superblock.

July 21, 2016 - Cities of the Future

Alleys as a Community Asset

Often overlooked, alleys can be transformed into valuable community spaces

July 17, 2016 - CityLab

Bollards

Pedestrians Need Protection from Motor Vehicles Used as Deadly Weapons

As of press time on Friday, the death toll from the Nice Bastille Day massacre is 84, injuries exceeding 200, a record for an act of alleged terrorism committed by a single person. It also sets a record for death by the use of a motor vehicle.

July 16, 2016 - NBC News

Horrific Head-On Train Crash in Southern Italy Leaves 25 Dead

Two commuter trains traveling toward each other on a single track crashed in the Puglia region of southern Italy on Tuesday morning. Human error is suspected. The trains and track lacked automatic train control and automatic braking.

July 13, 2016 - The New York Times

Barcelona

Barcelona Facing New Housing Problems, and Airbnb

Barcelona is facing increasing pressure on its housing market, primarily in rental prices. The Mediterranean city, which last year became the third most popular European destination after Paris and London, is facing a new housing crisis.

July 6, 2016 - Cities of the Future

Roman Aqueduct

The Place of Water in Urban Design: An International Perspective

How cities around the world have approached thinking about how water management fits in to urban planning.

July 5, 2016 - The Planning Report

Sweden to Test Overhead Power Lines for Heavy Transport

Electric roads (no, not solar powered pavement) will get a test run in Sweden.

June 29, 2016 - Green Car Congress

Kirkuk Infrastructure Rebuild

Report: China Outspending North America and Western Europe on Infrastructure

There might still be such a thing as too much infrastructure spending, however.

June 16, 2016 - Bloomberg

La Rambla

Barcelona 'Superblocks' Aim to Cut Down on Cars

Seeking relief from noise, pollution, and incessant traffic, the city of Barcelona has a bold plan to repurpose street space. "Superblocks" will route cars around the perimeter, leaving interior streets open for walkers and bikes.

June 16, 2016 - The Guardian

Electric Cars

Gas and Diesel Cars Could Be Banned in Norway by 2025

Norway's four major political parties appear to agree to a ban on gasoline and diesel-powered passenger vehicles by 2025. And they are not alone. Efforts are also underway in The Netherlands and India, according to the news site Electrek.

June 13, 2016 - Electrek

Paris Skyline

Paris to Begin Serious Car Restrictions on July 1

The carefree days of driving any-old-junker-they-please are over for Parisians, and they'll be even further obsolete when the calendar changes from June to July.

June 3, 2016 - CityLab

Swiss Federal Railways

Swiss Complete World's Longest, Deepest Tunnel in Record Time

The Gotthard base tunnel under the Swiss Alps is an "engineering tour-de-force" at 57.5 kilometres in length. Its nearest rival is the Seikan Tunnel in Japan, at 53.9 km.

June 2, 2016 - The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Pont Neuf

In Paris, Tough Talk on Income Segregation

As is so often the case worldwide, many Parisians live in communities distinguished by class. The city government wants to change that by inserting thousands of public housing units in wealthy central districts.

May 31, 2016 - CityLab

Robert F. Kennedy Bridge

Revisiting the Legacy of Robert Moses

A visit from the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to see Robert Caro, author of "The Power Broker," provides a refresher on the works of Robert Moses and Caro's writing.

May 16, 2016 - The New York Times

The Next Economic Frontier: Cities

Urbanists, test your knowledge of urban economics. Familiar with the concept of agglomeration externality? Finance professor and Bloomberg View writer Noah Smith opines it's a major reason why American cities are not as productive as they should be.

May 9, 2016 - Bloomberg View

Seeing Eye People

Safety Improvements for Texters Around the World

Cities are experimenting with safety measures for pedestrians who text while they walk, but the projects could benefit everyone.

May 8, 2016 - The Guardian

Bicycle Infrastructure Fail(s)

An op-ed by Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize Design Company.

May 6, 2016 - Cities of the Future

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.