Public Health
Deep Economic and Racial Injustice Found in California Pollution Exposure
A new study confirms the facts of environment justice that has long been common knowledge in affected communities. Now the evidence can be mapped, as well.
Study: Kids Do Worse in Schools Near Traffic
Moving to a school with higher levels of traffic pollution could impact students' academic performance, according to new research.
Federal Government Intervenes to Halt Planned Supervised Injection Site in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania-based prosecutors and the Department of Justice in Washington are mounting a legal challenge to a proposed supervised injection site in the works in Philadelphia.
All the Ways Congestion and Long Car Commutes Are Bad for Public Health
The status quo is unhealthy for everybody.
London Starts New Program to Track Air Quality
A network of monitoring devices will bring together technology and data analytics to help inform residents about air pollution.
Bill Would Make California's Urban State HIghways Safer for Non-Motorists
Sen. Scott Wiener introduced legislation to make state highways that run through villages, town, and cities, often acting as main streets, accommodate the safety needs of walkers, cyclists, and transit users when undergoing capital improvements.
EPA Targets Co-Benefits in Rulemaking—Public Health to Suffer
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a critical change in the cost-benefit analysis used in the mercury rule that applies to coal-fired power plants. By eliminating the principle of co-benefits, public health impacts would be severe.
Using Artificial Intelligence to Measure Urban Tree Canopies
Machine learning has opened a new frontier in urban forest management.
Report: Walking to Work Pays Off for the Economy
A new report by Victoria Walks, an advocacy organization in Australia, quantifies the benefits of choosing to walk. The report also benefits the multiplier of the choice to invest in pedestrian infrastructure.
HUD's Spotty Record on Inspections
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is desperately in need of reform in its system of inspections and enforcement of living conditions in public housing.
U.S. Life Expectancy Continues Downward Trend
Drug overdoses and suicides caused American life expectancy to drop in 2017 for the second consecutive year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most notable is the gap between the urban and rural suicide rate.
More Seniors Living in Suburban and Rural Areas; Aging-in-Place Solutions Needed
Less dense communities provide specific challenges in providing services to residents in need of extra care. More seniors living in suburban and rural communities will require new and scalable solutions.
Trump Announcement Unites Big Oil and Environmentalists
President Trump announced at a campaign rally in Iowa that he would lift the ban on summertime sales of a 15 percent blend of ethanol, expected to increase smog levels. Both environmentalists and the oil industry oppose the action.
Weekly Scooter Media Brief: September 21-27, 2018
Recent electric scooter news is defined by tragedy.
The Sad State of Traffic Safety
A feature article at the major local daily newspaper in Houston tackles traffic safety and puts the onus on engineers, police, and politicians to come to terms with the destruction they've wrought.
The Far-Reaching Consequences of Remaking the Mercury Emissions Rule
The EPA intends to review the rulemaking process behind the mercury rule, the subject of a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2015, to place more value on a rule's compliance cost to industry and less to its beneficial impact on human health.
Oil and Gas Drilling Issues Loom Large in Colorado on Election Day
Unlike prior initiatives that sought drilling bans, Prop. 112 would greatly increase setbacks from buildings to such an extent that it could doom much of the industry. A competing initiative would make the change a "taking" and require compensation.
Climate Change Hitting California Faster Than Scientists Expected
Extreme heat, rising seas, and other impacts of climate change are turning deadly faster than predicted, California officials warn.
Cleaning-Up the World's Dirtiest Fuel by 2020
A 2016 rule approved by a specialized agency of the U.N. is forcing large ships that burn bunker oil, the dirtiest type of fuel, to either burn a more costly low-sulfur variety, apply scrubbers, or turn to LNG.
Making Older Coal Power Plants More Efficient Without Making Them Cleaner
At the center of the EPA's newly proposed Affordable Clean Energy rule is doing away with a permitting process known as New Source Review that requires coal power plants to add scrubbers and other expensive pollution control equipment when upgraded.
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.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
