North Americans learn sustainability methods and models from Sweden's eco-municipalities which use a democratic planning process called the Natural Step framework.
"[Sweden's] 70 'eco-municipalities'...have voluntarily committed to integrating sustainability principles as official, across-the-board policy. From rural villages to the urban capital of Stockholm, the communities arrived at decisions and crafted innovative green solutions using a holistic, democratic planning process called the Natural Step framework (TNS). TNS combines a scientifically based definition of sustainability with a systems approach to community planning...
To become sustainable, societies need to meet four "system conditions": reduce or eliminate the use of substances extracted from the Earth's crust (like oil) and produced by society (like synthetic chemicals); reduce or eliminate the degradation of ecosystems (like sprawling development); and at the same time, meet human needs. Participants envision a better future, then figure out how to get there using community assets."
Read the full story: Building Sustainable Cities: Scandinavia's "Eco-Municipalities" Show The Way
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
California city breaks ground on transit connector
The project includes three mobility hubs and a pedestrian bridge.
After public outcry, Massachusetts city releases housing development tracker
Cambridge’s tracker currently shows 250 housing projects in various stages of development.
40 years after approval, Chicago breaks ground on new park
The park honors Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the city’s first permanent non-native settler.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority