The research is clear: For climate leadership, look no further than young people, people of color, and young people of color.

Ahead of the November election, environmental scientist and advocate Ayana Elizabeth Johnson reviews the polling on climate change to identify key "environmental voters." The upshot? Millennials and people of color—and millennials of color—could save the planet.
While concern for environmental issues falls decidedly along party lines, the "core constituency" for climate action is the same even within and across parties. Millennials are "twice as likely as older voters to care deeply about the environment," she writes, with 67 percent believing climate change should be a "top priority" for the federal government. Millennials are also "the generation most supportive of expanding wind farms, least supportive of expanding fossil fuel extraction, and most concerned about the lack of protection of animals, habitats, water quality, and parks."
Environmental protection also tends to be a higher priority for Latino, Black, and Asian voters than for whites:
"When it comes to climate change, the polling data is striking: 70 percent of Latinos and 56 percent of blacks believe the earth is getting warmer because of human activity, compared to 44 percent of whites. Additionally, 54 percent of people of color think addressing global warming should be a top priority for the government, compared to 22 percent of whites — a gap that has widened by 10 percent over the last decade as fewer whites consider it a priority."
Climate policy is increasingly on the radar of American voters overall, Johnson writes, but understanding this breakdown highlights an opportunity for advocates to turn out a new bloc of environmental voters.
FULL STORY: Young voters and voters of color are key to climate policy

The Right to Mobility
As we consider how to decarbonize transportation, preserving mobility, especially for lower- and middle-income people, must be a priority.

How Virginia Counties Use Zoning to Stifle Development
Some state legislators are proposing action at the state level as counties block development using zoning and development requirements even as housing prices rise sharply in the region.

The Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Remake Downtown
Urban cores around the country were transforming into live, work, and play destinations before the pandemic. The pandemic was a setback for this transformation, but it could also be a rare opportunity. It’s up to city leadership to seize it.

L.A. Times Editorial Board Calls for CEQA Reform
The Board argues that the environmental law, while important, has too often been ‘weaponized’ by NIMBY groups to delay or halt housing development.

Seattle Brings Free Transit to Public Housing
Linking transit programs to housing can lower administrative costs and streamline the process for riders.

Columbus Could Lower Downtown Speed Limits
The city council will vote on a proposal to lower speed limits to 25 miles per hour to improve safety and make downtown more walkable and welcoming to pedestrians.
York County Government
York County, Human Resources
Virginia Passenger Rail Authority
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
City of Piedmont, CA
City of Morganton
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.