World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Friday Funny: Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Tax Plan is Straight Out of SimCity

Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain has been touting a plan where individuals, businesses and a national sales tax would all be 9%. Reporter Amanda Terkel says this sounds suspiciously similar to the default settings in SimCity.

October 14, 2011 - The Huffington Post

New Technologies Increase Citizen Investment In Cities

A recent Pew Research study revealed that 58% of 25-34 year old Americans own smartphones, and communicate with each other, and their city governments in new ways.

October 14, 2011 - American City and Country

N.Y. Exhibition Celebrates Collaborative Design

A new exhibition curated by the Cooper-Hewitt in New York illustrates how the design community is trying to reshape itself as more collaborative than 'pedagogic or paternalistic.'

October 14, 2011 - The Atlantic

New Cycling Initiatives in Ukraine

The city of Lviv in western Ukraine has begun a 9-year initiative to build 168 miles of bicycling infrastructure to the region.

October 13, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

The City of the Future (Will Require the Necessary Infrastructure), Today

While some may be disappointed by how cities aren't yet swarming with robots and automated cars, Frank Swain writes that it's a matter of when we humans can tailor our landscapes to enable the new technology.

October 13, 2011 - Slate

Drug Policy and the City

Today's war on drugs isn't all that different from Prohibition, writes Stephen Smith, at least in terms of the urban-suburban divide that underlies policy. As cities' reputations clean up, maybe drug policy will evolve accordingly, too.

October 13, 2011 - Forbes

Eliminating the Dreaded Left Turn

The FHWA says that 40% of all traffic accidents happen at intersections, and many of those are caused by left turns. A new type of intersection called the "diverging diamond" takes left turns out of the picture.

October 12, 2011 - Slate

Eleven of the Best Urban Design Ideas in the World

From a penthouse dwelling above an air-raid bunker to an "inside-out" building where plants grow on the walls through rainwater irrigation, Wendy Goodman and Justin Davidson have asked design experts to compile their favorite urban ideas.

October 12, 2011 - New York Magazine

The 50 Most Fascinating Cities from Fiction

Complex Magazine picks the 50 "coolest" cities from fiction - not necessarily utopias or places you'd want to visit, but cities that are "...so thoroughly imagined by their creators, you forget they aren't real."

October 11, 2011 - Complex

Masdar City Promotes Its Green Cred to Businesses

At the European Future Energy Forum (EFEF) 2011, Masdar City displayed business opportunities to companies in renewable energy and clean technology as well as service providers in that industry.

October 11, 2011 - AME Info

Top 6 Underused Airports In the World

"Build it and they will come," says Ysabel Yates. Unfortunately for these 6 large airports, they didn't.

October 11, 2011 - The Infrastructurist

Bicycling in the City is Good for You, Despite Air Pollution

A recent study shows that bicyclists absorb more carbon soot in their lungs than pedestrians or drivers. But new reports argue that the benefits of the exercise far outweigh the downsides.

October 10, 2011 - Twin Cities Daily Planet

The Future Of Residential Interaction

Terry Kerby speaks to professionals about the trend toward redeveloped and landscaped city center living and the re-evaluation of the merits of slums and suburbia that has sparked a resurgence of interest in high rise living and public space.

October 7, 2011 - The Guardian

Habitat for Humanity Releases Disaster Planning Report

Drawing examples from a vast supply of disasters in recent years, this 30-page report emphasizes planning and policy for not just housing, but also land tenure and community input, with long-term perspectives.

October 7, 2011 - Habitat for Humanity

Will Extreme Engineering Save The Planet From Climate Change?

More precisely, will "geoengineering" or "climate remediation" be able to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the earth's atmosphere? A new panel of climate experts will investigate.

October 6, 2011 - The New York Times - Environment

Richard Florida's Top Ten "Creative Class" Countries

Richard Florida ranks countries based on the proportion of workers in the 'creative class.' He ranks the U.S. 27th in the world, trailing a top ten including Singapore, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany and Switzerland.

October 5, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

The Growing Practice of Road Ecology

Laura Tepper explains "road ecology", the intersection between transportation planning and habitat conservation.

October 3, 2011 - Places

Death from Air Pollution is 2m Each Year, Says New Report

World annual death toll due to particulate pollution from indoor and outdoor sources is 2 million people each year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization.

October 3, 2011 - USA Today

Dutch Cycling Embassy Wants to Get the World Biking

A group of traffic and infrastructure consultants along with NGOS and academics have banded together to spread better bicycle infrastructure around the world.

October 2, 2011 - 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.