Urban Heat Island
How to Combat Urban Heat Islands
Cities consistently experience higher temperatures than the surrounding countryside due to the 'heat island' effect. With global warming exacerbating these effects, cities are trying to lower local contributors to urban heat.
Sunny California Is Getting a Whole Lot Warmer
With the number of days of 'extreme heat' on the rise, and dramatic increases projected, will global warming melt the Golden State?
Do We Stand to Gain When We Lose a Highway?
Ben Welle discusses the benefits of freeway removal programs both at home and abroad, and explores what cities have done to fill the void they leave behind.
White Roofs Don't Slow Global Warming, Says New Study
A recent study published by researchers at Stanford University shows how the heat island effect has little bearing on global warming and how painting roofs white actually may increase temperatures, writes David Malakoff for The Guardian.
Is Concrete the New Asphalt?
As oil prices rise, so does the cost of asphalt. Concrete, historically more expensive, is now becoming a viable cost competitor. Because of its lighter shade, its also been shown to contribute less to climate change.
White Roofs Can Be Wrong Roofs
White roofs have gained cachet as a solution to the urban heat island effect. But in places where there are more cold days than hot, a white roof that reflects warming sunlight might not make the best sense, according to this piece.
White Light, White Streets
Fighting global warming could be as simple as a paint job -- a global, sun-reflecting, white-wash paint job, according to scientist Hashem Akbari.
Is Residential Energy Use Affected By Urban Form?
In the current issue of Housing Policy Debate, Reid Ewing and Fang Rong argue that sprawling urban form contributes to higher residential energy use. Two responses -- one from Samuel Staley and another by John Randolph -- rebut the paper.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
