World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Can the 'Wikipedia of Maps' Challenge Google?
Google starts charging for its maps, and an open source alternative -- with support from Microsoft -- begins to challenge Google's dominance.
Anticipating the Impacts of Extreme Weather On World's Major Cities
A new report from the UK's Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Change offers specific impact projections for 24 countries. CNN offers a slide show of recent calamities.
Top 2011 Design Milestones for the Public Good
Archinect's John Cary compiles a comprehensive list of most forward-thinking designs in 2011 that have impacted people's lives, and the way they interact with the built environment.
The World's 10 Most Impressive Modern Churches
The tradition of celebrating Christmas in church has not changed, but the buildings have. Architects are redefining our urban landscape and not stopping short at sacred buildings.
Urban Eye Candy: Best City Time Lapse Videos
Eric Jaffe at Atlantic Cities assembles his collection of the best time lapse videos of cities.
14 Unusual "Pop-Up Shops"
The temporary shop, formerly the type of thing one would only see at the holidays - think fireworks, or Christmas trees - is now hot.
U.S. Now Exports More Petroleum Products Than It Imports
Petroleum products are defined as refinery products, such as fuel. The U.S. passed a threshold in November. The EIA recorded 689.4 million barrels of oil refinery products imported and 753.4 million barrels exported in the first 9 months of 2011.
Potholes as Parks?
Writing in Grist, Chuck Wolfe provides a counterintuitive look at what to do about potholes and how they could become "the universal darlings of walkable urbanism".
The Benefits of Urban Forests
Poor air quality has led to an explosion of a health problems among vulnerable populations, claims the American Society of Landscape Architects. This video explains how urban forests provide environmental benefits to densely populated cities.
The Unbelievable Mass of Walmart
When Walmart comes to your town and wants to build a SuperCenter, you may not understand the sheer magnitude of the entity that it is. This helpful infographic explains how huge the world's largest retailer really is.
How Planning is Like Growing Tomatoes
An organic system is rarely the sum of its parts. Nothing demonstrates this as clearly as sinking your teeth into a store-bought tomato, writes Ben Brown.
European Cyclist's Federation (ECF) Study on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emmissions
In the fight against climate change, it is still unclear how, according to SustainableCitiesCollective, "the world’s nations will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve limited temperature rise." A recent ECF study sheds light on the topic.
GIS Whizzes Get Antarctica on Google Maps
The editor of the Antarctic Sun says that while Antarctica has always been viewable in Google Maps, the imagery was "about as sharp as the graphics in Pong." The folks at the Polar Geospatial Center came to the rescue.
Placemaking With Zip Lines
Chuck Wolfe admires the creative thinking which has reinvented the dramatic setting between two Italian hill towns.
Folding Bikes Gain Popularity in Brazil
Maria Fernanda Cavalcanti, a resident of Brazil, writes that folding bicycles "...have been catching the attention of urban cyclists everywhere."
Is Smart Growth a United Nations Plot?
Tea Partiers, anti-smart growthers and Wendell Cox all agree: Agenda 21, a United Nations program adopted in 1992, contains dangerous ideas that if implemented could damage economic growth and cement world government control over the U.S.
Exxon Predicts Energy Future For World At 2040
By 2040, half of all cars will be hybrids or running on alternative fuels; energy demand will be flat for the developed world but will increase 60% for developing nations, and non-conventional oil sources will handily meet the demand of 110m barrels.
London Taxi Drivers' 'Knowledge' Alters Brain Makeup
London requires more topographical knowledge of its taxi drivers than any other city in the world. Now researchers have found that acquiring 'the knowledge' required to gain certification physically changes a human brain.
New Study Finds Twitter Reinforces Place-Based Networks
A new study that explores the geography of twitter networks finds that rather than making place obsolete, their intensity can be predicted by location and proximity, suggesting they enhance location based relationships.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
