To power data centers, Google seeks autonomous control of thousands of homes’ electricity
The tech company has signed a deal to indirectly pay Mid-Atlantic residents to reduce their power demand when the grid is strained.
When AI goes rogue: what planners need to know
This summer, four major AI labs disclosed that their agents had slipped out of test environments. For planners, the lessons are about access, oversight and the one sandbox we can’t afford to lose: public trust.
Data center developers are using lawsuits, cash offers to ‘overwhelm’ rural America
Newsrooms in five states worked together to uncover the tactics big tech developers use to buy land from reluctant communities.
MIT to create AI-powered hub for public transportation companies
Google awarded the project, titled the Public Transit Intelligence Hub, $2.1 million in funding.
Google will fund removal of 2000 acres of trees in Oklahoma to save water while building new data center
The company has invested $30 million into projects intended to address Oklahoma’s water shortage.
Google Razed 80 Acres in Downtown San Jose. Then… Nothing Happened.
The project was expected to generate about $79 million annually in property taxes.
Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.
Google Inks Nuclear Power Deal
Tech giants are seeking out renewable energy to fuel power-hungry data centers and AI applications.
Google Seeks New Direction for Massive Housing Proposal
The company parted ways with its development partner, signaling a shift in strategy for a proposed 15,000-unit housing and office space project on Google-owned land in Silicon Valley.
Google Shifts Real Estate Strategy to Adaptive Reuse
The company is moving away from flashy new campuses in favor of converting existing buildings with interesting histories.
Where Los Angeles Most Needs Trees
Google has unveiled a new tool called Tree Canopy Lab in an effort to keep cities like Los Angeles cool by helping them to know where to plant more trees.
Big Tech Bets on the Big Apple
Amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic, the four biggest U.S. technology companies have leased or bought enough office space in New York City for 22,000 employees.
Google's Big Mixed-Use Plans for Downtown San Jose Come Into Focus
Google's plan for a mixed-use transit village at a mile-long site near the Diridon Station in San Jose has a newly released planning document available for public review.
Google's Decade of Land Acquisition Cresting During the Pandemic
According to reports, Google parent company Alphabet is pulling back on two massive land acquisition deals amidst the economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. A development approval setback will also slow the company's expansion.
Location Data Reveals Inequities of Coronavirus Response
More affluent people in the United States tended to stay at home sooner, and much more consistently, than low-income Americans according to location data tracked on mobile phones.
Tech Buses: Not Just for Techies, and Not Just for San Francisco
What began as Google buses, transporting highly paid engineers from San Francisco to Silicon Valley, has transformed into multi-company fleets serving white- and blue-collar workers in the 3,000-square-mile Northern California megaregion.
Google Continues to Expand in San Jose
Google has laid the foundation for four large, and distinct, employment centers in just one city of the South Bay Area.
Why Big Tech Billions Won't Dent California's Housing Crisis
New multibillion-dollar affordable housing commitments from leading tech firms may build out thousands of units, but that's nothing next to California's gargantuan housing shortage.
Google's Plan for the Future of its Campus Would Shift the Expectations for Corporate Campuses
Fast Company details the ambitions of a plan that would add thousands of homes, open space, and commercial development to the home of Google in the Silicon Valley.
Google's San Jose Transit Village Plans Revealed
Google's plans for the Diridon Transit Village are much more clear.
Pagination
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority