World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
For the Sake of Santa, Please Don't Build Any More Suburbs
Santa is sounding the alarm: "Christmas is in jeopardy.” What's making St. Nick a little less jolly this year? New analysis shows that suburban development patterns are driving up costs at the North Pole, say Paul Knight and Kevin Clark.
How Cities Celebrate the Holidays
Kaid Benfield delivers a photo essay full of holiday cheer that shows the suburbs aren't the only places that know how to accessorize for the season.
The Year's Top Architecture Controversies
Who wants to read about the best buildings of the year when you can read about the most controversial? Architizer will guide you through the year's best in copycats, criticism, and crybabies.
Bicycling: Good for the Brain and the Body
The physical benefits of cycling are well known, but researchers are just beginning to understand how riding a bike benefits our brains, writes Simon Usborne.
Architecture for the End of the World
The good news is that we've survived yet another doomsday prophecy. Bad news - there's plenty more reasons to think our world is under threat. Vanessa Quirk looks at architectural responses to the threat - real or imagined - of apocalypse.
Coal Ascendant in the 21st Century
Coal burning is rising everywhere save the U.S. If no changes are made to promote alternatives, it will overtake oil as the world's top energy source within a decade according to a new report from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA).
Farmland Aplenty for Growing World Population
Worried about feeding the world's growing population, especially as it increases meat consumption and farmland is impacted by climate change? No fear - improved crop technology and slowing world growth will allow farms to be converted to wildlands.
What's in a Name?
"Detroit is the Paris of the Widwest", "Oakland is the Newark of the West Coast", "Chattanooga is the Cleveland of the Southeast" - a new website uses a navigable map of the world to catalog the many "X is the Y of Z" analogies found on Twitter.
Constructing the Perfect Gift List for Architects
Having a hard time finding the right set of t-squares or owlish black eyeglasses for the Howard Roark in your family? Check out the Holiday Gift Guide that Vanessa Quirk has assembled for ArchDaily.
Wilmington NC Lives Outdoors
When a city's tightly-gridded, walkable streets are developed with connected, convivial, complete neighborhoods, the temptation to walk, bike, and run overcome the lethargy of our modern lifestyle. See an inspiring photo essay from Wilmington, NC.
Beneath the Sea, Recognizing the Need to Turn Down the Volume
Humans are a noisy lot. In addition to fouling our cities with extreme sounds and exporting our din to wilderness areas, scientists are beginning to recognize and map the substantial impact of human-generated sound on the world's waters.
Six Magnificent Maps of 2012
The "best of 2012" lists are just starting to spread and, already, one of the most unique collections we've come across is Caitlin Dempsey's look at the year's most interesting maps. You don't have to be a cartographer to enjoy these visualizations.
Climate Talks End With Agreement and Bewilderment
Annual United Nations climate change negotiations concluded in Doha over the weekend with an agreement to extend the "increasingly ineffective" Kyoto Protocol a few years, while pushing off a more ambitious replacement agreement.
Top 10 Books - 2013
Planetizen is pleased to release its eleventh annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2012.
Re-Connecting Housing and Health for a Better Future
Elizabeth Burton reminds us of the close connection between housing and health, and proposes better ways to gauge how housing may affect the health and well-being of residents.
China's Cities Hold the Key to the World's Future
In a globalized world, China's economic, environmental and urban development has implications for us all, posits Henry M. Paulson Jr. The problems the country faces, and any potential solutions, revolve around its approach to urbanization.
Traditional Cities and Towns: Incubators of Incompetent Children
With tongue firmly in cheek, Scott Doyon asks urban dwellers, "Are your enviable surroundings crippling the children?"
Friday Funny: 14 Designer Pooch Palaces
With 14 examples of pup houses designed by famous architects such as MVRDV, Toyo Ito, and, of course, Atelier Bow-Wow, Web Urbanist shows that avant garde architecture is, most definitely, for the dogs.
Can Science Save Planning from Extinction?
In a recent paper, urban theorist Stephen Marshall rehashes Jane Jacobs's criticism of city planning as a pseudoscience built "on a foundation of nonsense." Can science and design be reconciled to provide planning a more stable foundation?
NASA Gives Light to the Globe at Night
This week, scientists unveiled unprecedented images of the Earth at night, as captured by a new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
