World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

How Will Bike-Centric Urbanism Reshape Our Cities?

For the past half-century, the automobile has played a profound role in shaping the form of our cities and suburbs. A new book examines the effects cycle-centric planning will have on the built environment.

July 22, 2013 - The Guardian

Extreme Heat Is Bad News for Transportation

Extreme temperatures aren’t just a public health concern: they also affect how we get around.

July 22, 2013 - Better Institutions

The Unintended Message of the High-Rise Race

Throughout history, cities that built the tallest towers were the newbs and rubes of urbanization, proclaims land use attorney Bill Adams in this light hearted put-down of the architectural race for rarified air.

July 21, 2013 - UrbDeZine.com

Reclaiming the Commons Through Civic Participation

As the Occupy Movement, Gezi Park protests, and everyday urban reclamation projects demonstrate, power and politics are embedded in place. As public spaces disappear, reclaiming the commons becomes increasingly important, say Leo Hollis.

July 20, 2013 - Aeon

A Guide to Capturing Arresting Urban Photos

Vexed in your attempts to capture the true character of a place through photographs? Richard I'Anson shares the secrets to taking great city snapshots.

July 19, 2013 - The Guardian

How Can We Cultivate Transformative Urban Ideas?

Civic Entrepreneurs, or 'Visionistas', are the dedicated, creative, and perhaps a little crazy, citizens who dream up big ideas for transforming a city, or their piece of it. Otis White suggests how we can encourage such dreamers to become doers.

July 18, 2013 - Governing

Can the CIA Control Climate Change?

The CIA, in partnership with other U.S. government agencies, is funding a $630,000 scientific study into the plausibility and potential effects of climate engineering to reduce global warming. Let the conspiracy theories begin.

July 18, 2013 - Grist

As Tall Tower Trend Goes Global, Africa Aims High

As the planet slowly emerges from the global recession, skyscraper construction is surging once again. One area seeking skyline augmentation is a continent that has heretofore shied away from the height race: Africa.

July 17, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Architectures for Art and Crime

Art, architecture, and incarceration collide in essays on prison design from the Panopticon to the Golden Gulag.

July 16, 2013 - Places Journal

New Study Shows Human Health Benefits of Soot-Scrubbing Trees

A new study published in the journal Environmental Pollution makes the first conclusive case for the ability of urban foliage to reduce fine particle pollution, reducing breathing problems and saving lives in the process.

July 15, 2013 - The Baltimore Sun

Michael Bloomberg: Global Transportation Dynamo

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's progressive transportation advocacy isn't limited to the five boroughs. From bike lanes in Turkey to auto-rickshaws in India, his philanthropy is funding transportation and road safety projects worldwide.

July 15, 2013 - The New York Times

Friday Reality Check: An Honest Car Commercial

Leave it up to the fine folks at Copenhagenize, the cycling crusaders, to produce a fake commercial based on the real dangers of car driving, rather than the fantasy sold by car companies in their advertisements.

July 12, 2013 - Copenhagenize

Urban Walls Serve as Canvas for Visual Wonderment

Rick Poynor composes a photo essay that documents compelling street art found along his recent travels in Portugal and Spain. For Poyner, its not the wall-filling murals that interest him, but rather 'collectively composed street marking'.

July 12, 2013 - Observatory

Urban Observatory

New Tool Facilitates Stunning City Comparisons

The creator of the TED conference has teamed up with Esri to develop an innovative interactive exhibit and online mapping tool to compare 16 global cities along 16 data points, including: population density, open space, and traffic.

July 12, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Has President Obama Turned the Corner on Climate Change?

Analysts have noted a change in the president on climate change in his second term. Call it a "message shift". Rather than addressing it in terms of the need for clean energy and renewables, he now speaks directly to the perils of climate change.

July 11, 2013 - The Hill

6 Promising New Apps for Design Professionals

'Forget clipboards and cameras," says Heidi Moore. She spotlights six new apps (and five 'tried-and-tested' ones) that can solve your measuring, note-taking, and networking needs on your phone.

July 11, 2013 - Architect

House Reps Shoot the Moon With Proposal for New National Park

Reps. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.) have introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would create America's first extraterrestrial national park - the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historic park.

July 10, 2013 - CNN

Rua Goncalo de Carvalho

Is This the World's Most Beautiful Urban Street?

Sure, we were pulled in by the article's provocative title, but we'd have to agree that under the arched canopy of Tipuana trees along Porto Alegre's Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho can be found one of the most wondrous and unique urban streets in the world.

July 10, 2013 - Inhabitat

Watch North America's Cities Grow Up

A Canadian real estate startup has created striking animated 3-D visualizations of the evolution of the skylines in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.

July 10, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Call Off the 'Peak Car' Celebrations

Planners and environmentalists have applauded the seven-year decline in America's auto ownership levels with understandable enthusiasm. But around the world, automobile production has never been higher.

July 9, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

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.