Technology
'The Earth in Your Pocket'
That's how developers at Google describe the release of Google Earth for the iPhone. Boing Boing's Joel Johnson wonders why it wasn't released for Android first.
Real-Time Subway Monitoring
In a trial run starting in December, monitors in one New York City subway station will display the exact location of every train on the line, giving riders a more accurate idea about how long they'll have to wait for the next train.
Oil Price Plunge Dampens Green Technology
The new 'oil shock' is one of plummeting oil prices and its effect on alternative technologies and energy. Combined with the credit crisis, the fallout in some green technologies is shown by difficulties in attracting capital and customers.
Neighborhood Mapping A Booming Business
Bernt Wahl is a pioneer of neighborhood mapping techniques. This profile in Wired profiles this growing industry, and Wahl's struggles with intellectual property. Who owns your neighborhood?
Property Rights Redux
Roy Gothie, a planner for the Maryland State Highway Administration, argues that 'only a societal decision to redefine an individual's rights regarding property can restore [Chesapeake Bay].'
Tesla Laying Off Employees and Delaying All-Electric Sedan
Electric car start-up in Silicon Valley said Wednesday that it would lay off employees and delay production of its second car, the Model S, until 2011.
Hunkering Down Never Looked So Good
Raised and fortified homes in Beachtown, a community in Galveston, Texas, took a direct hit from Hurricane Ike, and survived, intact.
T. Boone Meets Gov. Palin To Talk Energy
Oil, gas and wind man T.Boone Pickens is clearly interjecting himself and his plan into presidential, and vice-presidential politics. Recently, he sat down with Sarah and Todd Palin to promote his plan of using natural gas as a transportation fuel.
Green Technology for Cities
Writing from the Connected Urban Development conference in Amsterdam, reporter Scott Smith says that "the sustainable future will be a networked future."
Environmentalism Over Aesthetics
John Barber laments cities' tendency to (rightfully) favor environmental consciousness over aestheticism. Low-carbon street lighting is the latest eco-trend to retrofit, and potentially blight, the streets of Toronto.
New Jersey to Lead in Wind Power
By 2020, New Jersey will have tripled its wind energy use.
Canada's High-Tech Hub
Ottawa's high-tech sector has burgeoned. More of its residents are employed in fields of engineering and science than in any other Canadian city, making it a high-tech hotbed not unlike those of the U.S.
Folding Bikes Increasingly Popular on Rail
In the Bay Area, where transit and cycling are encouraged and on the rise, cyclists are increasingly turning towards folding bikes to enjoy unrestricted access to the two major rail systems, BART and Caltrain, due to conventional bike limitations.
The Rise of the Amateur Mapmaker
The explosion of amateur mapmaking opened up by online services like Google Earth has expanded the reach of maps for a variety of uses. Professional mapmakers, on the other hand, foresee problems of quality and accuracy.
Reconsidering the Trailer Park
A new study finds that manufactured housing (also known as mobile homes), despite their reputation, offer important advantages for low-income households.
'Growing Water' Project Gets a Hand
The architecture studio that won The History Channel's City of the Future competition last year has gotten some help making its ideas possible.
A Critical Look at WiFi's Successor
The implementation of WiMAX technology has been touted as the bridge to the digital divide. And while some less developed countries have taken advantage of its cost-effectiveness, U.S. companies seem more interested in the bottom line.
Using Prison Technology to Avoid Roadkill
Colorado Department of Transportation has launched a pilot program that uses technology that detects wildlife in order to help drivers avoid hitting them.
Carbon Tax: A Norwegian Case Study Since 1991
Norway's carbon emissions have increased 15% since imposing a carbon tax in 1991, unlike neighbor's Sweden and Denmark where emissions decreased with their carbon taxes. Unlike the oil industry which became carbon-lean, Norway's drivers didn't change
Rail Safety Bill Mired In Amtrak Politics
Federal legislation that would require and partially fund Positive Train Control technology, which, had it been installed by Metrolink, would have prevented the Sept. 12 crash, is held up in the Senate by a fiscal hawk wary of funding Amtrak.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
