Future

Aerial view of several multicolored Autopia cars on tracks with riders in Disneyland.

Disneyland's Autopia finally goes electric (sort of)

Today, the 'futuristic' ride still spews out gas fumes. Disney says it is testing new electric prototypes.

May 9, 2026 - Gizmodo

Close-up of signs being held up at climate change protest

Report: 100 Trends Urban Planners Need to Know About

APA’s third annual Trend Report for Urban Planners is out and offers a comprehensive look at potential drivers of change that could impact communities and the work of planners for decades to come.

February 11, 2024 - American Planning Association

Autonomous Vehicles

What the Future Looked Like Before the Coronavirus

Common Edge surveyed mayors and urban designers for ideas about what the next decade holds in store for cities. There were plenty of challenges in facing the world before the pandemic.

March 18, 2020 - Common Edge

Little Rock 1871

The Long-Term Thinking Cities Need

A roundtable of discussion of prominent urbanists examines the questions of urbanism with a long-term mindset.

June 26, 2018 - CityLab

E-Bike

Five Things You Need to Know About E-Bikes—An Urban Transportation Paradigm Shift

When you have a small electric motor, a battery, and a throttle on your bicycle, it becomes very difficult to make any more excuses. Here's why...

December 11, 2014 - Ian Sacs

The Dichotomy of California's Frontier Myth: 'Hell-A' and Utopian San Francisco

“[There] is something about the frequency with which California and 'the future' are used synonymously,’ writes Kristin Miller. But the future looks much different when set in Southern California as compared to Northern California.

March 6, 2014 - BOOM: A Journal of California

In "Her," the L.A. of the Future Speaks to Some of Today's Anxieties

In his latest film, “Her,” Spike Jonze presents a one-of-a-kind vision of L.A.'s future.

January 20, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Making the Cities of the Future Work

In this series from Glass House Conversations, journalist Greg Lindsay asks what the successful cities of the future will look like, and whether or not they should be built from scratch.

May 22, 2011 - Glass House Conversations

Maintaining a Public Sphere in Sentient Cities

Cities are becoming smarter, as buildings and infrastructures become retrofitted with sensory technology. The question this raises is how this will change our perception of the public sphere, according to Martijn de Waal.

May 7, 2011 - The Mobile City

Urban Mobility, 2025

This post from This Big City looks at how transportation needs to evolve, and some of the ways it could in the near future.

May 6, 2011 - This Big City

Skyscrapers of the Future

The 2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition turned up some unusual and futuristic designs for future skyscrapers and other structures, from a reimagined Hoover Dam to a Ferris Wheel-shaped wind turbine.

April 24, 2011 - Popular Science

Cities to Supplant Nations as Drivers of Future World

Parag Khanna suggests that cities are the building blocks of humanity, and will take increasing control over the future shape of the world in the coming decades.

January 11, 2011 - What Matters

The Future of Australian Cities

Anton Roux and John Stanley of ON LINE opinion outline the future for Australian cities.

November 1, 2010 - ON LINE opinion

Four Visions for Future Living

In the face of climate change and sea level rise, Popular Science offers four designs for urban lifestyles of the near future.

October 17, 2010 - Popular Science

A New Dimension in Luxury: Down

Terra Vivos is a luxury community built entirely underground, and it can withstand a blast from a nearby 50-megaton nuclear bomb. Arnie Cooper takes a tour.

October 8, 2010 - Popular Science

LA and New York in 2030

Newsweek picks the brains of architects to offer these visions of what the cities of New York and Los Angeles will look like in 2030.

July 22, 2010 - Newsweek

A Driveable Future

An auto company has a new design competition to imagine a future city that is car-friendly.

June 25, 2010 - Scientific American

Where Americans Will Be in 2050

Where will Americans live? Everywhere. The third article in a three-part series based on Joel Kotkin's new book, "The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050," looks at where Americans will live and how our communities will grow to accommodate them.

March 23, 2010 - AOL News

What Lies 20 Years Ahead for London

The Guardian asks prominent thinkers what sort of city London will be in 20 years.

February 4, 2010 - Guardian

The Trouble With Modeling the Future

Demographic modeling is a critical tool in urban planning. But what happens when the model is wrong?

December 15, 2009 - New Geography

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.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

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.