Europe

Coronavirus and Urbanism

Tourism-Based Urban Economies Will Have to Innovate to Survive the Pandemic

It is time to make bold, disruptive changes to Barcelona's economy, according to this article, by fueling innovation, sustainability, and policies to improve residents' quality of life.

September 15, 2020 - Cities of the Future

Kids Crossing the Street

Debunking Traffic Safety Myths as Pedestrian Fatalities Increase

Angie Schmitt, former editor at Streetsblog USA, has written a new book about pedestrian fatalities, which works to dispel some of the myths about traffic safety in the United States.

September 9, 2020 - Curbed

Metro Paris

Students Under 18 Ride for Free on Paris Buses and Trains

The city of Paris is taking another step to entice more people out of cars and onto transit.

September 7, 2020 - Bloomberg CityLab

City Sounds

The Sounds of Cities: Three Aural Vignettes

Monocle's The Urbanist podcast explores urban acoustic ecology to unveil the sonic signature of the coronavirus pandemic, the Greek island of Corfu, and Vienna streetscapes.

August 25, 2020 - Monocle/The Urbanist

SoMa San Francisco

Madrid Has the Bike Infrastructure Model the U.S. Needs

A happy accident, Madrid may have stumbled onto a bike infrastructure program with great results. Only time will tell if "slow" lanes yield long-term positive results.

August 20, 2020 - Streetsblog USA

DJ dude

I Love the Nightlife: Reopening Entertainment Scenes

The first chapter of a forthcoming report form VibeLab, a nightlife consultancy firm, makes a variety of pertinent suggestions for facilitating al fresco events and safely regulating crowds in a new context.

August 6, 2020 - Bloomberg CityLab

Indoor Kale

Lockdown Benefits Urban Farmers In Paris

Pandemic induced lockdown kept Parisians within 1 km of their homes during lockdown, benefiting urban farmers and advocates for a diversified local food supply.

July 29, 2020 - Citymetric

London

The Renewed Challenge: Sustaining a City's Culture and Character

From the outset, defining the culture and character of a city is a daunting task, especially when the city around you disappears.

July 8, 2020 - Sustaining Place

Airport

EU to Bar Travelers from U.S. and other High-Infection Countries

In another pandemic reversal, a "safe country" list was completed by EU officials to take effect July 1 to prevent the reintroduction of the coronavirus. President Trump banned travelers from Europe in March to reduce the introduction of the virus.

June 29, 2020 - The New York Times

Soviet Planning

Watch: How Soviet Planners Created a Different Kind of City

The latest video from City Beautiful looks at the legacy of planning from the Soviet Union.

June 26, 2020 - City Beautiful

Ça c'est Paris

Who Stands to Benefit from Speed Limit Reductions on the Boulevard Périphérique in Paris?

Proposed plans to reduce the speed limit and narrow the Boulevard Périphérique have sparked debate in Paris. If reelected, Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants to implement these changes in addition to other urban-mobility effective policies.

June 25, 2020 - Bloomberg CityLab

Coronavirus Protest

Academic Studies: Staying at Home Saved Millions of Lives Globally

Separate coronavirus studies from the University of California at Berkeley and Imperial College London published June 8 in the journal Nature show the life and health-saving value of domestic stay-at-home orders, global lockdowns, and other measures.

June 15, 2020 - The Washington Post

Coronavirus Social Distancing

Coronavirus Success Stories

While the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 infections and deaths, a small group of nations defied the odds and has shown remarkable success in containing the coronavirus. NPR investigates what they share in common, with a focus on New Zealand.

June 8, 2020 - NPR

Social Distancing

Pandemic Endgame

On Monday, the 73rd World Health Assembly convenes virtually for two days. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with a WHO spokesperson about how long we can expect to live with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

May 18, 2020 - NPR Weekend Edition Saturday

Coronavirus

The Great Scandinavian Pandemic Experiment

Perhaps no nation has captured more media attention in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic than Sweden. Unlike most of Europe, it never went into lockdown, relying mostly on voluntary social distancing. The state epidemiologist devised the plan.

May 13, 2020 - Financial Times

Central Park from Rockefeller Center Historic Photo

Design in the Time of Cholera: How Pandemics Reshaped the Built Environment

Some of the most beloved public parks and essential advances in public sanitation can be traced back to their roots in the Cholera outbreaks in the 1800s.

May 8, 2020 - History

Air Travel

For Coronavirus Aid, Air France Must Stop Competing With Rail

France is proposing a momentous step toward clean transportation.

May 6, 2020 - International Railway Journal

Lithuania

Public Spaces Converted to Open-Air Cafes to Make Space for Social Distance

The Lithuanian capital city of Vilnius has taken an incredible step in reopening for business while requiring strict social distancing practices.

April 29, 2020 - The Guardian

Bike Traffic

Bikes Take Priority in Post-Lockdown Paris

Faced with the task of rethinking its transportation systems in the face of the ongoing public health crisis, Paris and the Île-de-France are clearing the way for people on bikes.

April 24, 2020 - Forbes

Street Fiori Oscuri

Milan Commits to a Less Car-Centric New Normal

Milan is making changes to its streets to ensure that the city's residents and employment base don't overwhelm the city with new automobile traffic when the city reopens for business.

April 22, 2020 - The Guardian

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.

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.