Louisville, Kentucky has recently been named the "most rapidly growing urban heat island" in the U.S., but what led to this title? Jeff Byles traces how cities are becoming increasingly warm through a number of different factors, including economic.
"No solution to extreme heat will succeed without facing another unsettling fact: neighborhoods with the highest temperatures and the least amount of open space and vegetation are also the most economically disadvantaged. In his eye-opening book on Chicago’s 1995 heat wave, sociologist Eric Klinenberg cited 'significant associations between disaster mortality and neighborhood poverty, low-quality housing, lack of vegetation, and concentrated urban heat island effects.' Design strategies that boost social resilience, such as compact, walkable cities with high-quality public spaces, are essential to draw people out of their homes, foster social cohesion, and help reduce heat mortality."
FULL STORY: How to beat extreme heat
Twin Cities Climate Vulnerability: Extreme Heat
State climatologists are highly confident that heat waves are likely to trend upwards in future summers in Minnesota. To address extreme heat, researchers are identifying the factors that exacerbate extreme heat.
How Can Cities Adapt to Rising Temperatures? Change the Weather
Brian Stone of the Georgia Institute of Technology writes about a recent article he co-authored in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Mining the City
Rapid urbanization and climate change will make it harder for cities to provide crucial resources for their citizens. In this article, Arup consultants Amy Leitch and Laura Frost examine how the built environment can fill this emerging need.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.
In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
Detroit Says Problems With Property Tax Assessments are Fixed. Advocates Disagree.
With higher-valued properties under assessed and lower-valued properties over assessed, advocates say there's still a problem with Detroit's property tax system.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont