World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Integrating Conservation into Planning Processes

Conservation areas can provide a variety of benefits to localities, including improving public health, raising property values, and sustaining ecosystems. Proactive conservation strategies are the best way to ensure those benefits accrue.

April 25, 2013 - APA Sustaining Places Blog

Children of the Past Envision the City of Tomorrow

How did childhood visions of future cities differ for kids growing up in the 1980s when compared to the 1960s or today? Matt Novak shares a short film from 1983 that captures the prescient urban visions of students.

April 24, 2013 - Smithsonian

The Right Mix of Skills is Key to Effective Community Design

According to Arianna McBride, the recipe for good community design must effectively balance community wisdom with expert knowledge. She shares three ways that planners can facilitate the type of participation that leads to great places.

April 24, 2013 - Citizens' Institute on Rural Design

Ways to Fail at Form-Based Codes 02: Make it Mandatory Citywide

Ambition is good, but don't bite off more than you can chew. Hazel Borys applies this valuable lesson to form-based codes.

April 23, 2013 - PlaceShakers

To Fend Off Emerging Threats, Evironmental Protections Need a Revamp

The environmental awakening of the 1970s led to landmark federal laws that have helped heal our natural systems. The growing “Rights of Nature” movement seeks to create new protections to respond to emerging ecological threats.

April 22, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Hamburger Banhof

10 Rail Stations on the Road to Recovery

As golden age of train travel came to an end, the fate of the world's train stations became unclear. But by utilizing their grand, flexible spaces, creative designers have found a variety of ways to keep the relics relevant.

April 20, 2013 - Flavorwire

Mielparque Nikko Kirifuri Resort

Still Learning: An Interview with Denise Scott Brown

In excerpts from an interview with Planetizen contributor Sean Varsolona, Denise Scott Brown of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates offers insights and provocations on sustainability, New Urbanism, and the social awareness of today’s young urbanists.

April 19, 2013 - Sean Varsolona

Friday Funny: Train Junkies Start Young

Our ongoing efforts to identify the world's biggest transit freaks got a boost last week from The Onion, who documented the travails of 3-year-old train junkie Logan Gunter.

April 19, 2013 - The Onion

IEA: No Progress in Cleaning World's Energy Sources

According to a newly released report by the Paris-based International Energy Association (IEA), "Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2013", notwithstanding some bright spots, there is little progress in reducing the carbon content of energy sources.

April 19, 2013 - The Hill's Energy & Environment Blog

Resurrecting Ancient Cities from the Dead

Rather than continually build new towns on the outskirts of today's cities or struggle with creating a sense of place in newly constructed environments, could we resurrect old settlements to connect the old with the new?

April 17, 2013 - Humanitarian Space

Atlanta Artist Paints Suburban Ennui

Today's suburbs have discarded the human-scaled patterns they once promised. This newly resurfaced series of paintings from Atlanta artist Meg Aubrey will leave you longing for the world we neglected to build.

April 16, 2013 - PlaceShakers

Environment Explains Obesity

Tara Haelle examines the growing consensus among scientists that environmental factors, rather than genes or sloth, are the primary cause of childhood obesity. The onus is on planners and policy makers to create environments that nurture health.

April 15, 2013 - Scientific American

How to Win at the 'Planning Game'

Julia Vitullo-Martin reviews Alexander Garvin's new book, "The Planning Game," which examines four case studies for lessons on how shrewd investments in the public realm can revitalize a city.

April 15, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Get Your Garden Room Right

Springtime is outdoor living time. Make the most of yours with Susan Henderson's handy guide to garden rooms.

April 14, 2013 - PlaceShakers

The Invisible Answer to Bike Helmet Hair

Developed by industrial designers Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, the Hovding is an "invisible bicycle helmet" that may be the key to unlocking anxiety over mandatory helmet laws.

April 12, 2013 - Upworthy

Another Reason to Keep Kids Away from Traffic: Cancer

Add cancer to the growing list of ailments being linked to childhood exposure to vehicle emissions, say researchers from UCLA, USC and UC Irvine.

April 11, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Paolo Soleri, Visionary Who Merged Architecture with Environmentalism, Dies at 93

Soleri, the founder of the experiential community of Arcosanti, who in many ways presaged the modern sustainability movement, passed away on Tuesday at Cosanti, his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

April 10, 2013 - The New York Times

Ghan Train Australia

The World's Most Amazing Train Trips

With the pleasures of train travel again attracting customers around the world, the staff at Executive Travel magazine have put together a list of the most scenic journeys traversed by rail.

April 10, 2013 - Huffington Post

What Does it Take to Become an Architecture Critic?

"Minimize description and maximize observation" were among the nuggets of advice delivered by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Blair Kamin to a recent class of Harvard students eager to learn how to think and write like an activist critic.

April 10, 2013 - Nieman Reports

Is It OK Now to Have More Babies?

For those concerned about world population, a new study from Spain rebuts prior studies, including the U.N. 2011 report that project population reaching 10 billion by 2100. The new report projects it peaking at 8 billion in 2050, then declining.

April 9, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

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.