World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Location Is Important, But So Is Timing
This column from The Washington Post discusses the other most important criteria for development: timing.
Friday Funny: Pigeon Problems? Put 'Em On The Pill
Pigeon poop is driving officials crazy in towns across the world -- crazy enough to propose putting the birds on birth control to cut down their populations.
Carbon Control From The Sea
World-renowned environment experts have proposed a system of huge tubes placed in the world's oceans that would cycle nutrients to encourage booms in the population of algae -- organisms that naturally consume and sequester carbon.
Is LEED's Success Demeaning Its Value?
The U.S. Green Building Council's green building certification system LEED has become the industry standard in recent years, but is the system's intended goal of encouraging environmentally-friendly buildings being limited by its success?
Could Planning Decisions Form A New Climate Change Policy?
Land use, housing location, and the "everyday decisions" of planners are the backbone of a new way of looking at climate change policy, according to this article from the Los Angeles Times.
Looking For The Best City Sounds
Researchers in the UK are working to create a database of urban sounds -- both the good and the bad -- in an effort to help planners, designers, and architects create cities everyone wants to listen to.
Weighing BRT
This four-part blog from Wired gives a nuts-and-bolts look at bus rapid transit, using examples of planned systems, successful systems, and troubled systems.
Modernism In Fragments
Nathan Glazer's From a Cause to a Style: Modernist Architecture's Encounter with the American City reveals how this influential social movement's good intentions shaped the look of the 20th century.
The Business Behind Bike Rentals
Two outdoor advertising firms are the operators behind the scenes in most of the world's bicycle rental programs, including a recently launched system in Paris. The two firms continue to battle for control of future systems, and advertising rights.
Report Says Sprawl Will Offset Any Reductions In Auto Emissions
A new report from the Urban Land Institute says that even with increased fuel efficiency in cars, an increasing rate of vehicle miles traveled due to sprawling development will counteract any reductions in emissions.
How Experiences In The Virtual World Can Improve Real Life
In this column, urban planning professor Justin Hollander asserts that online games such as “Second Life” have the potential to enable genuine public participation in civic affairs.
World's Financial Centers Thrive Despite Tech Boom
Predictions that our high-tech age of connectivity and wire-free communications would drain big cities, the world's financial centers remain heavily populated and their economies are thriving.
World Ag At Risk From Global Warming
World agricultural productivity could decline between 3-16% by 2080. Developing countries will experience the biggest drop.
Municipal Wi-Fi Networks: Easier Said Than Done
After a flurry of announcements regarding blanketing cities with free Internet access, the actual forecast for these wireless networks looks rather bleak.
Outsourcing Pollution: The Dirty Side Of Clean Alternatives
Physicist and renowned environmental leader, Vandana Shiva, talks about globalization, emissions trading, and environmental justice.
The Most Polluted Places In The World
This article from Time magazine looks at the 10 most polluted places in the world, the types and causes of the pollution, and the number of people affected.
Will China Follow In America's Footsteps?
Scientists who studied pollution from a pair of major cities in both the U.S. and China urge the rapidly developing nation to learn from the past environmental mistakes in the U.S.
Do 'Carbon Offsets' Really Work?
Is the idea of buying "voluntary carbon offsets" to become carbon neutral more hype than solution?
Traffic Signals That Predict And Prevent Crashes
High-tech traffic signals have been developed that predict and warn drivers of possible collisions.
Running Low On Farmable Land
The quality of the world's soil is rapidly diminishing and many scientists are concerned that by 2050 there will not be enough arable land to grow the food to feed the steadily growing population.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
