This year's Chelsea Flower Show in London offers some innovative examples of how gardens can flourish in cities.
"Although you might think of English gardens as flowery borders and clipped hedges, the May show proved England's position as the center of progressive gardening. The event featured close to 50 display gardens, some nearly a quarter-acre large, and most created by Europe's leading landscape designers. Sustainability was the unspoken theme, broadly interpreted and elegantly executed."
"The ultimate in sustainable design and winner of best-in-show was "600 Days With Bradstone," a stunning combination of the ancient and the futuristic, designed by Sarah Eberle and sponsored by the hardscape company Bradstone. Eberle spent eight years researching what she calls a "terrestrial space garden" that would support an astronaut for an extended stay on Mars. That may sound far-fetched, but many of the concepts apply to any homeowner looking to create an interesting, environmentally conscious space despite challenging natural conditions."
FULL STORY: Pretty yet practical

Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86
Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record
The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

Over 71K Office-to-Apartment Units in the Pipeline for 2025
Adaptive reuse projects are continuing to bring thousands of new housing units onto the market as demand for office space remains low.

How Houston Can Be a Model for Housing Reform
The city builds more new housing than almost any other and has dramatically reduced homelessness, yet low-income families struggle to find affordable housing.

Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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.
City of Brookings
City of White Salmon
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service