Sustainability

Elevating Environmental Journalism: A Masterclass in Climate Storytelling
Pulitzer Prize finalist Rosanna Xia visited the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, sharing her climate reporting expertise through sea level rise field tours, engaging storytelling workshops, and an inspiring public lecture.

A Sustainable Future for LA: Updating the OurCounty Plan
Los Angeles County is updating its Sustainability Plan to refine its vision for climate action, environmental justice, and community well-being, with residents encouraged to participate by taking the OurCounty 2025 Update Community Survey.

Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.

Sustainability Expert Becomes Dean of USC’s School of Public Policy
Chris Boone, a sustainability leader, becomes dean of the USC Price School of Public Policy, where he aims to advance interdisciplinary solutions and sustainability initiatives while building on the school’s legacy of public policy leadership.

Rethinking Suburban Development: New Trends in Creating Livable Communities
Discover new trends in suburban development focused on creating more livable, sustainable communities for future growth.

Building Resilient Communities: Insights from the LA County Cities Summit
The Los Angeles County Cities Summit convened local leaders to share strategies for advancing sustainability, addressing climate resilience, extreme heat, and other pressing environmental challenges through policy and community-driven solutions.

Recycling’s Real Impact: Challenges, Misconceptions, and the Path Forward
Recycling offers modest environmental benefits but faces significant challenges in effectiveness and scalability, requiring systemic changes like reducing plastic production and exploring alternative waste reduction strategies.

How US Cities Can Prepare for Climate Disasters
Resilience, encompassing infrastructure, governance, economic strength, and social cohesion, is critical for cities to mitigate rising climate risks like flooding, wildfires, and heat, ensuring long-term recovery and adaptability.

Students Drive Solutions for Environmental Justice Through Video Challenge
The Environmental Justice Video Challenge empowers students and communities to collaboratively address environmental inequities through innovative data-driven strategies, resulting in impactful projects and fostering local leadership.

Denver Plans to Update Landscaping Regulations
The city will change its landscaping rules to prohibit “non-functional turf” and encourage native and climate-resilient vegetation.

Retrofitting Old Cities for Sustainability
Explore strategies for retrofitting old cities to enhance sustainability while preserving historical integrity and managing logistical challenges.

San Francisco Tops ‘Urban Mobility Readiness’ List
An annual analysis of global cities assesses public transit, technology, and sustainability.

Housing as a Climate Resilience Strategy
Ensuring that housing, including in informal settlements, is safe and healthy for its residents is a key tool in the fight to build more sustainable and equitable communities in the face of climate migration.

Commentary: Colorado Will Forge Ahead With Conservation Work
While federal policy may become less friendly to environmental efforts, support from state legislators and agencies can prevent the state from backsliding.

Harnessing Waste Heat Through Thermoelectricity
Heat from industrial installations and buildings can be captured to create renewable electricity.

Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Climate Action
These solutions offer cost-effective, sustainable methods to combat climate change, but require government action to reallocate subsidies, integrate natural assets into financial systems, and develop biodiversity credit markets.

How Los Angeles County is Advancing Sustainability
A recently released report by the Chief Sustainability Office (CSO) shows that L.A. County is making progress on meeting the goals of the OurCounty Sustainability Plan.

America’s 10 ‘Greenest’ Cities
A new analysis ranks cities based on their environmental quality, energy consumption and production, transportation, density, and other factors.

Book Review: Combining Sustainability and Smart Growth
A review of The Sustainable Urban Design Handbook, by architects Nico Larco and Kaarin Knudson.

Western Conservationists, Tribes File Legal Motion to Defend Public Lands Rule
Some states and industry groups have sued to stop the Bureau of Land Management from enforcing the new rule, which promotes the conservation and restoration of public lands and shifts focus away from extractive uses.
Pagination
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service