United States
Coalition Promises $4 Billion to Green Affordable Housing
A collection of non-profits working with HUD is promising to spend $4 billion on updating affordable housing across the country to be more sustainable.
Portable, Stackable Housing Units
GOOD Magazine highlights designer Michael McDaniel's Reaction Housing System, a temporary shelter that can be stacked up and loaded onto a flatbed 20 at a time.
Coal & Oil - Biggest Health Culprits, Says National Academies
The National Academy of Science has released a report showing that health effects from burning fossil fuels cost the economy about $120 billion a year. Global warming was not included due to uncertainty, so it's focused mostly on air pollution.
High Speed Rail: It's About Place
So says William Schroeer the State Policy Director at Smart Growth America, speaking at the High Speed Rail Conference in D.C. last weekend.
Jane Jacobs, Economic Guru?
Jacobs' ideas about urban planning bumped her to the top of her Top Urban Thinkers list, but economists are turning to her other books to rethink local economies.
What Does Main Street Look Like?
What does Main Street America look like today? A journalist, a public radio producer, and two Harvard PhD students set out to visit actual Main Streets across the country to find out.
Cash for Blunders
"Cash for Clunkers" was upside-down and wrong-headed, rewarding bad behavior rather than punishing it, says Libertarian Richard A. Epstein.
The Barcelona Model of Reviving Industrial Areas
American cities are struggling to figure out how to transition formerly industrial areas to become vibrant and successful parts of the city once again. Neal Peirce says they should look to Barcelona, which accomplished it ten years ago.
The Prius Power Drain
PG&E CEO Peter Darbee says that it wouldn't take very many all-electric cars to create a serious drain on local power generators.
Las Vegas: A Model of America's Problems
The problems facing urban America can be exemplified by looking at the city of Las Vegas, according to this piece from the Brookings Institution's Mark Muro.
The Challenge of Dividing High Speed Rail Funds
The federal government has dedicated $8 billion to high speed rail projects. But with $50 billion worth of proposals, the challenge lies in how best to divide the funds.
Where There's a Will...
A Stanford professor and a UC Davis researcher say we could make the switch to 100% renewable energy by 2030... if we really want to.
More Americans Living Car-Free
The New York Times Automobiles Section discusses the growing population of Americans living car-free.
Traveling? Take a Bike!
Bicycle commuting increased 43% in the U.S. from 2000 to 2008. And as commuters get used to having their trusty bike to get around, more business travelers are taking their ride with them.
Cohousing Catches On
Cohousing, which is cooperatively-managed but independently-owned housing, is gaining popularity in the Northwest. A new cohousing project in Portland just opened its doors last weekend.
Zero-Waste Going Mainstream?
The New York Times examines a handful of places in the US embracing zero-waste policies, how they're doing it, and what challenges lie ahead.
'Local' is the New 'Green'
Global corporations like Frito Lay and Barnes and Noble are attempting to co-opt the word 'local' into their branding.
Foreclosed Homeowners Turning to Homeless Shelters
A new report shows a dramatic trend in homelessness: increasing numbers of former homeowners left with nowhere to live after foreclosure are turning to homeless shelters.
Good Parks Make Good Cities
That's Lynden Miller's motto, an artist and garden designer with a new book, Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape. The Wall St. Journal has a profile.
The Complex Legacy of Julius Shulman
With a recent documentary, Julius Shulman is back in the spotlight. But the uncritical view of Shulman's legacy leaves a lot out, says Christopher Hawthorne.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
