World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Landscape Urbanists and New Urbanists to Settle Debate After Class, Behind the Gym
After months of debate over which ideology should guide the future of cities and urban development, New Urbanists and Landscape Urbanists at Harvard University are planning to settle the argument with a fistfight.
PR Consultant Re-Brands Shrinking City as 'Taking a People Diet'
With the recent announcement that Detroit's population has declined nearly 25% over the last decade, the city has hired a public relations specialist who promptly denied any problems in the city, arguing that it is simply on a "people diet".
Cash-for-Vote Scandal Rocks Top 10 Livable Cities List
Officials in Portland are accusing nearby Vancouver, British Columbia of bribing judges to buy their first place spot in a recent top ten list of the world's most livable cities.
9 Months After 9-Day Traffic Jam, A Baby Boom in Beijing
Nine months after a horrendous traffic jam clogged a Chinese roadway for 62 miles outside Beijing for 9 whole days, area hospitals have seen a fivefold increase in births.
Buses Add Car Racks to Ease L.A. Drivers' Uneasy Transition to Transit
Rising gas prices have pushed many in L.A. to ditch their cars in favor of public transit. But the switch has been tough for some car-tethered Angelenos, so the MTA has added car racks to its buses for those not ready to leave their cars behind.
Smart City Accidentally Downloads Virus
A brand new city in South Korea -- wired with smart grid technologies, a real-time control platform, deep sensing, simulation, and advanced analytics -- has accidentally downloaded a major computer virus.
Landscape Architects' Influence Grows
As green spaces and public areas increase in demand, more and more projects are being awarded to landscape architects rather than architects, some foresee a potential professional turf war.
Small is Beautiful (and Necessary)
Building sizes have been creeping upward for centuries, but green building expert Jason McLennan argues that smaller structures are better, more beautiful, and ecologically inevitable.
What Canadians Can Learn About Sustainable Transportation
As a part of its series on pressing issues that should inform the current Canadian federal election, the Globe and Mail examines how other cities around the world have undertaken affordable transportation innovations to ease traffic congestion.
The McMansions of the Future
Livejournal has posted a series of paintings that ran as part of a 1961 Motorola advertising campaign that depict a futuristic lifestyle and featuring cavernous modern living spaces.
Tools of Inspiration
Landscape architect and designer Ken Smith talks about some things that inspire him, such as William H. Whyte's classic book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.
Visualizing the Cost of Water
This visualization compares the costs of providing water in cities across the world, and shows how those costs have grown or shrank in recent years.
The World's Water-Smart Cities
This collection of city profiles looks at cities around the world that are making major improvements to the way they handle and provide water.
Wetlands and Airports: A Surprisingly Effective Combination
When the airport was built in Santa Barbara, California, engineers dammed the surrounding wetlands to prevent flooding and to keep birds from gathering. A new restoration refutes those conclusions, and paves (or unpaves) the way for other airports.
Reconstructing Bucky's Dymaxion Car
Architect Norman Foster, who worked with Buckminster Fuller towards the end of his life, recently rebuilt Fuller's Dymaxion Car to exacting specifications. Metropolis Magazine interviewed Foster about what we can still learn from the Dymaxion design.
The Economic Forces Behind Urbanization
This podcast from The Guardian explores why cities have grown in population and what economic forces are behind this shift.
A Video Explanation of Congestion Pricing
This video from Streetfilms explains the concept of congestion pricing and looks at how it can affect cities and their mobility.
Best World Cities for Walkers
This slideshow from Grist takes a tour of the top ten cities in the world for walking.
Top 10 Websites - 2011
Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.
A More Design-Savvy World
Architecture critic Paul Goldberger says that the real change in the last couple of decades is that high-quality design has become more mainstream, even if a lot of stuff is still "lousy."
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
