Greening

Don River Toronto

Toronto River Project Will Provide Greenspace and Flood Control

The massive Port Lands infrastructure project will transform an industrial area by carving out a new island.

January 14, 2020 - The Star

Sierra Nevada Drought

The Earth's Vegetation Stopped Expanding 20 Years Ago

Until the late 1990s, the amount of vegetation worldwide was increasing. But then it stopped, and a new study links this troubling trend to climate change.

August 27, 2019 - Scientific American

Pioneer Square, Seattle

Seattle Residents Wary of Urban Greening Efforts

Parts of the city desperately need more trees, but some residents worry about the long-term effects of tree planting in neighborhoods.

August 15, 2019 - Crosscut

Detroit Vacant Properties

How Urban Ugliness Increases Stress

The definition of blight may be in the eye of the beholder, but it may also be subconscious. Broken windows, abandoned buildings, and weed-filled yards may actually create stress and degrade health, according to a small study out of Philadelphia.

April 26, 2015 - Fast Co.Exist

The Doctor Is In: How Medicalization Effects Contemporary Planning and Architecture

Giovanna Borasi & Mirko Zardini examine the state of pervasive anxiety afflicting the urban populations of the West and how "medicalization" and an ambition for total well-being are effecting architecture and urban planning.

March 7, 2012 - Places

Can't Buy Me Love--Or Plan For It

This morning I embarked with three dozen volunteers to plant 10 trees in Pigeon Town, a neighborhood in western New Orleans. The group was completing an eight-hour training on urban greening initiatives, learning everything from pruning methods to how to work with municipalities to find funding for beautification projects—which have been proven to improve everything from real estate values to crime statistics. The training did not, however, cover what we were supposed to do when we heard gunshots ring out. That we had to improvise.

November 30, 2011 - Jeffrey Barg

'Greening the Ghetto'

Low income housing can also be green housing. A new trend in home design and community activism is giving even inexpensive housing a green sheen.

September 7, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

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.

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.