Technology

Michigan Dairy Farm To Produce Energy From Manure

A grant has been awarded to a large dairy operation in a Michigan County to build a bio-digester to both produce electricity and reduce pollution that officials hope will become widespread in the future.

October 26, 2006 - Muskegon Chronicle

The Bus Rapid Transit Of The Future

Plans for a new futuristic mode of transport blends maglev technology with an ordinary bus.

October 8, 2006 - The Economist

Global Civilization or Bust?

Science and technology gurus convened at Wired Magazine's NextFest forum in New York to share startling visions of life -- or not -- in the 22nd century.

October 7, 2006 - LiveScience

Google Launches Transit Mapping Service

Google is testing its new transit trip planning service in six U.S. cities.

September 28, 2006 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Uruguay: Latin America's New Outsourcing Capital

With a population of only three million, Uruguay has rapidly become Latin America's outsourcing hub. In partnership with one of India's largest technology consulting firms, engineers in Montevideo work while their counterparts in Mumbai sleep.

September 26, 2006 - The New York Times

The Putzmeister And The Tower

An interactive diagram that explains how the world's second largest concrete building is being built with the help of the Putzemeister, a small but integral part of the building's construction.

September 25, 2006 - The Chicago Tribune

Benefits Of Plug-In Hybrids Overrated

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles have been promoted as achieving over 100 mpg. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy reports on the energy and emissions benefits of this new technology, showing it varies on geography and technology.

September 25, 2006 - American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy News Release

Boston Sidewalks May Go Rubber

The Boston City Council is considering an initiative that would require all new sidewalks in the city to be rubberized, using tiles of recycled tires as the city's walkways. Concrete cracking from tree root growth could become a thing of the past.

September 16, 2006 - The Boston Globe

Carbon Sequestration In the North Sea

Norway's oil giant Statoil has been injecting carbon dioxide deep into the North Sea floor for 10 years as a carbon sequestration method intended to reduce its "carbon dioxide taxes" to the Norwegian government.

September 15, 2006 - The Los Angeles Times

Documenting The American Landscape

The Center for Land Use Interpretation's Land Use Database is a repository of information about unusual and exemplary sites throughout the United States.

September 13, 2006 - MetropolisMag.com

Big Three U.S. Auto Makers Commit To Fuel Efficiency

Falling gas prices are not deterring Detroit from it's new mission of fuel efficiency. All three domestic auto manufacturers are committed to achieving 30 mpg for mid-sized vehicles, driven largely by consumer demand.

September 12, 2006 - The Wall Street Journal

Will Deep Water Drilling Prevent The End Of Oil?

The new oil and gas field discovered in the Gulf of Mexico is of epic proportion -- not only in amount of oil (increasing US reserves by 50%), but the technology used to tap it. A new wave of deep water drilling is to be expected.

September 11, 2006 - The New York Times

Technology Unlocks World's Biggest Oil Field

Three times larger than Saudi Arabia's proven reserves, the oil shale deposits in the Western United States are already being tapped, and are expected to eventually produce 10 million barrels/day in potentially an environmentally friendly manner.

September 9, 2006 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Electronic Signs Lead To Suburban Opposition

While downtown advocates encourage lights and signs with animated activity in Columbus' core, complaints have arisen over those flashy signs on suburban arterials.

September 8, 2006 - The Columbus Dispatch

Critics Concerned As Cities Cash-In On Red-light Cameras

Critics cite many concerns--privacy, safety, accuracy, fairness--but cameras are gaining ground and cities are cashing-in on the hefty fines paid by offenders.

September 8, 2006 - MSN

New Clean Diesel Fuel Debuts

In the most important fuel improvement since lead was removed from gasoline a generation ago, 97% of the sulfur from diesel fuel will be removed, dramatically reducing particulate emissions, resulting in improvements to health and longevity.

September 5, 2006 - The Oakland Tribune

Seattle Hosts 'Sustainable Neighborhood' Expo

High Point in West Seattle, the country's largest urban sustainable, mixed-income community, will be host to the first ever green living expo.

September 2, 2006 - Yahoo! News

Stockholm's Traffic Management Solution

Because of Stockholm's unique layout spread around an archipelago connected by many bridges, traffic is notoriously bad. The solution could lie in a tiered pricing structure for tolls on motorists depending on what time of day they travel.

August 31, 2006 - The Wall Street Journal

Six Achievable Steps To Confront Global Warming

A new report from U.S. PIRG identifies achievable strategies for the United States to reduce global climate impacts by 20 percent.

August 29, 2006 - US Public Interest Research Group

Avoiding Public Transit Cooties

Entrepreneurs and transit agencies are trying to help riders cope with their fears of germs on trains and buses.

August 28, 2006 - The Toronto Star

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.