Sustainability

Although "two of the hottest buzzwords in urban planning" - resilience and sustainability - are often used interchangeably, in many cases they actually work against each other. David Biello examines why both are crucial for the future of our cities.

October 23, 2012 - Slate

An informative, detailed, and attractive infographic from the vacation rental website HouseTrip compares the environmental credentials of London, New York, Vancouver, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Stockholm, across a range of categories.

October 21, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Urban agriculture is a hot topic in sustainability, food, and planning circles. From roof and deck gardens to community gardens to urban farms, urban agriculture has captured the imaginations of activists of many stripes as well as gardeners and eaters. When I mention that my academic work focuses on food access in urban areas, the most common response I get is “oh, you mean like urban ag?” As this interest in urban agriculture grows, some are asking whether food sovereignty – the ability for a population to produce enough food to feed itself – is a feasible goal for American cities. 

October 11, 2012 - Lisa Feldstein

Chicago's backyards may turn into oases of sustainability with a new program aimed at creating incentives for 'greener' practices in the city's private gardens.

October 5, 2012 - Switchboard

In the triple bottom line of profits, planet, and people, it's people that tend to get the shaft. Scott Doyon lays out seven ways to change that.

October 5, 2012 - PlaceShakers

As the state modernizes its infrastructure, concerns of continued coastal erosion and future sea-level rise raise questions of where to place key infrastructure.

September 29, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Darby Minow Smith profiles Katherine Gajewski, Director of Philadelphia's Office of Sustainability, and looks at the efforts she's leading to give vision to the next phase of the city's history.

September 24, 2012 - Grist

"It's like the gardener's version of graffiti," says one. In San Francisco, activists hope to transform once-purely ornamental street trees into fruit-bearing ones, to provide fresh fruit to the local community.

September 13, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

As China continues to mature into a developed nation, efforts aimed at making its largest cities more environmentally sustainable and healthy may be putting a damper on the country's economic growth.

September 7, 2012 - The New York Times

By better integrating the natural and built environments, while enforcing standards of livability, Copenhagen seeks to transform its Saint Kjeld’s neighborhood into "a showcase area for climate adaptation technology," reports Damian Holmes.

August 30, 2012 - World Landscape Architecture

Vacant lots in American cities consume vast amounts of land, which many are now recognizing as places of opportunity. Some cities and citizens are transforming once empty urban spaces into vibrant community-fostering places.

August 23, 2012 - The Nature of Cities

Astrophysicist Adam Frank takes a bird's eye view of the beautiful and perilous ways in which cities - "the defining element of human civilization" - exhibit the laws of thermodynamics.

August 22, 2012 - NPR

August 20, 2012 - Edward J. Jepson Jr.

Rives Taylor pens an editorial for Urban Land advocating for "engineered resilience", which he describes as "next-generation sustainability" that "adds adaptability and the protection of human life" to planning for the well-being of the planet.

August 6, 2012 - Urban Land

Scott Doyon discusses the dangers of simplification and the counter-intuitive soundbite, which work against the creation of partnerships that are essential to solving some of our biggest challenges.

July 31, 2012 - PlaceShakers

As Congress presses to eliminate funding for many of the federal government's sustainable planning initiatives, increased collaboration among agencies around smart growth policies may be irreversible.

July 22, 2012 - Streetsblog

Upending the adage that nothing gets done in D.C. these days, last week the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) released their long range plans for remaking the Southwest area of the capital, capping two years of intense debate.

July 16, 2012 - THE DIRT

The Economist takes notice of Houston's efforts to create a more sustainable and attractive city, a not uncomplicated task in the capital of America's energy industry.

July 15, 2012 - The Economist

Julie V. Iovine laments that while walkability is the watchword of the day, architects have to design what they're hired to design -- and that often means designing iconic buildings that turn a blind eye to pedestrians.

June 24, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Bank of America is one of a handful of major banks to pump money into green initiatives, where they see an opportunity for new capital and a chance to improve their images.

June 13, 2012 - The New York Times