Disasters

Earthquake damage

Protecting Affordable Housing After Natural Disasters

Research shows that low-income communities suffer most and take the longest to recover from disasters, which can often wipe out affordable housing stock and displace vulnerable households.

February 16, 2022 - The Conversation

Downtown Honolulu as seen from the top of Diamond Head

Five Actions to Combat COVID-19 in Hawaii

A data-driven approach is needed to figure out how the disease has spread in the islands and what can be done to contain it.

August 25, 2020 - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Wine Country Fires

In California, Struggles Over Insurance Regulation in the Era of Climate Change

Setting insurance rates by looking to the past to predict the future doesn’t make sense with increasing environmental uncertainties, argues the California insurance industry.

July 13, 2019 - Voice of San Diego

Texas Flood

2017 Set a New Precedent for Natural Disasters

Floods, hurricanes, wildfires, drought, freezes, and tornadoes—the list of disasters that struck the United States this year covers every corner of the country.

December 30, 2017 - Vox

Crumbling Bridge

Decreased Net Spending Equals Crumbling Infrastructure

Public spending is not high enough to keep up with normal decay, much less extreme weather events. Yet politicians focus on building new infrastructure instead of saving what we have.

September 12, 2017 - Jacobin

London Fire

How Building Standards Failed London's Grenfell Tower

Fire safety experts are rushing to explain the horrific scene in London's Kensington neighborhood last night—after a fire destroyed a residential high rise. The building was recently retrofitted to meet efficiency standards.

June 14, 2017 - The Guardian

Lawsuit Puts Climate Change Preparation Onus On Cities

A class-action lawsuit filed by Farmers Insurance Co. against the city of Chicago raises questions on municipal responsibility to prepare against 'foreseeable risk.'

May 22, 2014 - The Washington Post

Density Giveth and Taketh Away

In a prescient article for the events of this week, John Seo looks at how the global march towards increased density (in technology, land use, and financial markets) has consequences, both beneficial and catastrophic.

October 30, 2012 - Foreign Policy

Tokyo to Include Tsunami-Hit Areas in 2020 Olympic Bid

In preparing a bid to host the 2020 Olympics, Tokyo is planning to include areas that were ravaged by the recent tsunami and earthquake.

June 28, 2011 - Daily Mail

Earthquakes Threaten Many Third-World Cities

Port-au-Prince is not an outlier. Many other major cities in developing and poor countries lie along earthquake fault lines and are in danger of destruction.

February 27, 2010 - The New York Times

Group of Builders and Designers Brainstorm Haiti's Future

Every day since the earthquake that shattered Haiti earlier this month, a group of 50 planners, architects and developers have met to brainstorm and strategize the rebuilding of their country.

January 27, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

The Role of Design and Architecture in Saving Haiti

This episode of DnA wonders whether design and architecture will be able to help Haiti revive itself.

January 20, 2010 - KCRW

Watching Urban Change Via Satellite

Recent earthquake response efforts in Haiti showed how comparing satellite imagery could help to identify physical changes in the damaged country and assist rescue workers. That same sort of imagery could play a similar role for urban planners.

January 18, 2010 - Nate Berg

Worst-Case Tsunami Scenario Mapped

The event of a huge earthquake off the Aleutian Islands could send a devastating tsunami towards the West coast of the U.S. Researchers have released maps of what a worst-case scenario might look like for coastal communities.

December 20, 2009 - San Francisco Chronicle

'Disaster City' Trains Rescuers for Real-Life Catastrophes

Disasters happen. Being prepared is almost always the ideal, but rarely the reality. A disaster training facility in Texas is trying to change that.

August 3, 2009 - Popular Science

Learning from Katrina, Three Years Later

Three years later, Hurricane Katrina has had lasting effects on New Orleans. It's also taught America some lessons about how to react to natural disasters -- and how not to.

August 30, 2008 - Governing

Tornado Clears Way for LEED Platinum Building

The 5-4-7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas gets a LEED platinum designation- evidence that the town, which was 95% destroyed by a tornado in May, 2006, is making good on its sustainable rebuilding plan.

June 13, 2008 - Kiowa County Singnal

Opportunities in Tornadoes

Parkersburg, IA, reeling from a recent tornado that devastated the town, could look to nearby Charles City for a silver lining.

June 2, 2008 - Des Moines Register

Earthquakes, Building Codes and the Politics of Architecture

Mark Kingwell observes the sharp -- and deadly -- contrast between shining Shanghai skyscrapers and the poorly-built prefab concrete structures in China's rural areas that proved to be deathtraps in the recent earthquake.

May 26, 2008 - The Globe & Mail

Did Corrupt Building Practices Contribute to China's Earthquake Disaster?

As rescue work continues in the aftermath of the earthquake in China's Sichuan province, many -- including the state-run media -- are asking questions about why so many buildings collapsed, and blame corruption and shoddy construction methods.

May 16, 2008 - The Globe & Mail

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.