Climate Change

Primary Image
Flooding at the Whitehall Street station, New York

How Extreme Weather Threatens Transit Systems

As weather events become more intense and unpredictable, transit agencies must take steps to protect their aging infrastructure from flooding, storms, and extreme heat.

August 18, 2022 - Next City

Denver Union STation TOD

Colorado Could Reject Highway Expansion in Favor of Climate-Friendly Planning

A proposed transportation strategy could shift the state’s focus away from driving and toward incentivizing public transit use, walking, and biking.

August 15, 2022 - Colorado Public Radio

Rendering of Memorial Park land bridge

ASLA Commits to Profession-Wide Climate Action

The American Society of Landscape Architects has assembled a task force to create an action plan focused on climate change and biodiversity.

August 10, 2022 - ASLA The Dirt

Stanford

Stopping Climate Change Requires Doing, Not Studying

A $1.1 billion donation to Stanford seeks to mitigate climate change. As impressive as that gesture is, the real solutions to climate change lie in hearts and minds around the world—and not in Palo Alto, California.

August 4, 2022 - California Planning & Development Report

Sandbags in a flood with flooded buildings in background

Infrastructure Must Catch Up With Climate Change

The worsening effects of extreme weather events are accelerating the deterioration of critical infrastructure, leaving communities more vulnerable.

August 4, 2022 - Axios

Louisiana Flooding

$7.3 Billion Federal Resilience Funding Program Announced

The Biden administration announced guidance for $7.3 billion in funding under the PROTECT Formula Program at the end of July.

August 4, 2022 - Federal Highway Administration

Climate Change

'Inflation Reduction Act' a Mixed Bag for Climate Action, Planning Innovation

A roundup of all the emerging news and commentary regarding the Inflation Reduction Act, which last week broke through a Congressional roadblock to resuscitate some, but not nearly all, of the Build Back Better legislation that failed in 2021.

August 1, 2022 - James Brasuell

Portland

Portland Releases 43-Step Climate Action Plan

A draft plan outlines suggested actions to build resilience, minimize carbon emissions, and protect vulnerable residents from extreme weather events.

July 29, 2022 - Smart Cities Dive

Sprawl

Connecting Land Use and Transportation Planning to Save the Climate

The United States will have to make major changes to long-standing land use and transportation paradigms to prevent the worst outcomes of climate change. How to make those changes was the subject of a recent podcast.

July 27, 2022 - The Sustainable City Podcast

Lawns and Suburban Homes

The Rise of Artificial Turf

Once scratchy and unrealistic, artificial grass has come a long way. Now, it’s quickly becoming a popular lawn replacement as droughts and climate change make traditional lawns harder to maintain.

July 19, 2022 - Bloomberg CityLab

Power Plant

Ways the EPA Can Still Fight Climate Change

Despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision to limit the EPA’s ability to regulate emissions from power plants, the agency still has a range of tools at its disposal for enforcing pollution controls and reducing harmful emissions.

July 18, 2022 - High Country News

Coal-Fired Power Plant

Report: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reductions Not Hitting Paris Agreement Goal

The United States is making modest gains in the power and transportation sectors, but emissions in the industrial sector are holding steady, absent new reduction initiatives.

July 15, 2022 - Rhodium Group

Los Angeles STreet

Can Los Angeles Join the Anti-Gas Station Movement?

A growing number of cities in California have prohibited the construction of new gas stations. Los Angeles could soon consider an ordinance to do the same—in a landmark move for the city some believe to be a symbol of car-dependent sprawl.

July 14, 2022 - Los Angeles Times

Gas Pump

High Gas Costs Making a Small Dent in Carbon Emissions

Americans are driving slightly less due to high prices at the pump, but this reduction in driving is only making a small impact on overall U.S. carbon emissions.

July 11, 2022 - Denver Post

Joe Biden exits a limousine, surrounded by security and staffers, on the way to the Marine One helicopter on a pad near the water in New York City.

Biden’s Environmental Legacy (So Far)

President Biden campaigned on promises to restore many of the environmental regulations rolled back by the previous administration, while promising new efforts to tackle environmental injustice and climate change.

July 5, 2022 - The Washington Post

Coal Mining and Power Station

Did the Supreme Court Gut Federal Power?

The Supreme Court limited the EPA's power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Some commentators believe that this decision will virtually eliminate EPA power—but the decision is too ambiguous to support such a clear conclusion.

July 3, 2022 - Michael Lewyn

New Jersey Power Plant

Supreme Court Guts the U.S. EPA’s Ability to Limit Carbon Emissions

The consequences of this ruling have long been foretold. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now officially barred from the fight against climate change, Congress will have to act to reduce carbon emissions.

June 30, 2022 - Yahoo News

Utah

Shrinking Great Salt Lake Is a Ticking Time Bomb

Climate change and population growth are shrinking the Great Salt Lake. The environmental consequences are dire.

June 27, 2022 - The New York Times

Chicago Lake Michigan Trees

Protecting Chicago’s Tree Canopy

Advocates for urban greening are asking the city to boost its tree planting efforts and protect existing trees, which are a key tool for fighting the effects of climate change and worsening heat waves.

June 24, 2022 - Chicago Tribune

Pick-Up Truck

Friday Funny: The Onion Satirizes the Federal Government’s Electric Car Fetish

The totally satirical, not-at-all-real website The Onion is back with another planning-related fake news take.

June 24, 2022 - The Onion

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.