Urbanization

For Urbanizing Beijing, "Putting Farmers in Flats" Not Enough

Tom Miller, author of "Urban Billion," discusses the pitfalls and shortcomings of a too-quickly urbanizing Beijing in this interview with David Pierson.

December 24, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

N.Y. Exhibition Celebrates Collaborative Design

A new exhibition curated by the Cooper-Hewitt in New York illustrates how the design community is trying to reshape itself as more collaborative than 'pedagogic or paternalistic.'

October 14, 2011 - The Atlantic

India's Urban Population Forecasted To Double In The Next Twenty Years

The UN released new demographic projections Thursday that forecast India's urban population will more than double in the next thirty years. UN Under Secretary General Joan Clos said there is an urgent need to discuss urban issues in response.

September 29, 2011 - India Current Affairs

Why Latin America Needs a Planning Revolution

Futile efforts to deal with rampant urbanization could fetter the region's robust economy and squander its potential to become a global economic powerhouse, according to the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).

August 15, 2011 - The Economist

China's Urban Development Closing in on its Military Bases

New development is spreading uncontrolled throughout much of China, and it's closing around many of the country's military bases.

July 16, 2011 - Reuters

City Population Change from 1955 to 2015

This interactive map from the BBC tracks growth and urbanization in global cities from 1955 up through 2015.

May 19, 2011 - BBC

The Economic Forces Behind Urbanization

This podcast from The Guardian explores why cities have grown in population and what economic forces are behind this shift.

March 20, 2011 - Guardian

An Urbanized and Unequal Planet

In this piece from Metropolis, Joel Kotkin argues that as the world urbanizes, cities are becoming increasingly unequal and do not provide the opportunities they once did.

February 25, 2011 - Metropolis

Jon Stewart Discusses The Importance of The City with Edward Glaeser

The Daily Show host interviews Edward Glaeser of Harvard University to discuss his new book, "Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier."

February 16, 2011 - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

European Urbanism: Lessons from a City without Suburbs

Athens, Greece has all the elements of good urbanism - density, diversity, destinations, distance (to transit) and design. So is Athens a poster child for good urbanism? Fanis Grammenos takes an in-depth look.

February 10, 2011 - Fanis Grammenos

Culture Flight: The Forgotten Villages of Hong Kong

The industrialization of Hong Kong created hundreds of abandoned villages on the outskirts of the city. Today, these rural villages struggle to rejuvenate their economies and preserve their traditions.

January 19, 2011 - The New York Times

From Mega-Cities to Meta-Cities

RThe impact of cities is spreading beyond local and even national borders, argues Robert Neuwirth in this piece from What Matters.

January 13, 2011 - What Matters

7 Reasons Why Big Cities Matter

Writing for City Journal, Mario Polese argues that big cities are more important than ever, and backs up his argument with seven reasons they're luring people, from economies of scale to falling transportation and communication costs.

December 3, 2010 - City Journal

A Very High Density Future for Cities

Architect Peter Weingarten discusses the importance of high-rise buildings, and why the future of cities will be very high density.

November 30, 2010 - Gensler on Cities

Urbanism As a Process

As populations shift to cities, the concept of urbanism begins to take on more relevance across the planet. In a recent book, author Jeb Brugmann explores what urbanism means as a trend and a process.

November 2, 2010 - Policy Innovations

Population & Global Warming: Urbanization Increases Emissions

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows how population growth increases greenhouse gas emissions. More importantly, two demographic factors shape the increase, urbanization and aging -with opposite effects.

October 25, 2010 - BBC News - Science & Environment

Urban Living Linked To Heightened Risk of Schizophrenia

For some time researchers have noticed more instances of non-affective psychosis in urban populations than in rural groups. Now the American Medical Association has found "certain elements of city living raise the risk of developing schizophrenia."

September 19, 2010 - The Atlantic

Shanghai's Faux World Cities Fail to Catch On

A decade after its inception, Shanghai's One City, Nine Towns project, an ambitious attempt to manage the city's massive population growth via the creation of international-themed satellite communities, has failed to deliver hoped-for results.

July 7, 2010 - Assembly

Video: Time to Urbanize Suburbia

The Washington Post's Ezra Klein suggests readers watch this 20-minute TED video featuring Georgia Tech's Ellen Dunham Jones, author of "Retrofitting Suburbia." Jones talks to the importance of making suburbs greener by retrofitting to urbanize them.

July 6, 2010 - Washington Post: Ezra Klein

As Developing Countries Urbanize, Food Booms

A new study shows that agricultural output in the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China will be three times as great as those in the developed world. Increasing urbanization is seen as one of the drivers of this growth

June 17, 2010 - BBC

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.