World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Industry Wins a Round Over Building Efficiency Requirements

New regulations prohibit cities from enacting stricter efficiency standards in new buildings.

March 11, 2021 - Huffington Post

Wind farm and greenhouse gas farm, together

Can Emissions Reductions Last Beyond the Pandemic?

The dramatic reductions in carbon emissions during the last year only highlight how drastically humans must change behavior to meet climate goals.

March 10, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

Norway Biker

Planning Communities for Children and Families

Child in the City asks “If you could see the city from an elevation of 95 cm, what would you do differently?” It provides a toolbox of specific policies and planning practices for creating more child-friendly communities.

March 9, 2021 - Child in the City: Planning Communities for Children & their Families

Mt. Hood and Traffic

Carbon Emissions Back on the Rise—Along With Cleaner Energy

Climate-friendly government policies and recent investments by energy companies are accelerating the growth of renewables.

March 9, 2021 - Bloomberg

Coronavirus Protest

Pandemic Watch: We've Been Here Before (but at Lower Case Levels)

The White House COVID-19 Response Team explains why governors are wrong to lift mask mandates and ease restrictions by putting the current level of coronavirus infections in the country in perspective, i.e., comparing it to the two prior surges.

March 8, 2021 - The White House

Urban Symmetry

The Surprisingly Important Role of Symmetry in Healthy Places

New research suggests there might be a "symmetry deficit disorder" in today's built environments, with significant impacts on health, well-being, and even sustainability.

March 8, 2021 - Michael Mehaffy

Congestion

Reversing Car Dependency

A new report examines how governments can encourage citizens to use alternatives to private cars in order to reduce car dependency.

March 1, 2021 - International Transport Forum

China

10,000 Cities—and Counting

A novel approach to quantifying the world's urban population provides insight into a changing world.

February 28, 2021 - Next City

Plane and Train

Noise Pollution Harms the Heart, Too

New research shows that excessive noise levels have significant negative impacts on heart health.

February 28, 2021 - The Atlantic

Self-driving minibus

Still No Flying Cars: The Underwhelming Progress of Autonomous Vehicles

While we're still far from a Jetsons-style reality, understated autonomous features could be the key to safer transportation.

February 23, 2021 - City Monitor

Electricity

Watch: Electric Cars and the Grid

The YouTube channel Engineering Explained takes on one of the big questions in a post-fossil-fuel transportation future.

February 21, 2021 - Engineering Explained

Polar Vortex

California-Style Rolling Blackouts Come to Texas

As bad as the power outages are in Texas, they would be much worse if the independent energy grid operator hadn't initiated rolling blackouts. In an extensive interview with CBS Austin, Bill Magness, the head of ERCOT, explains what went wrong.

February 18, 2021 - CBS Austin

Pandemic Board Game

Are We 'Rounding the Corner' in the Pandemic?

All the coronavirus data is moving in the right direction in most of the U.S., yet 130,000 additional Americans are projected to die from COVID-19 by June according to one widely used model.

February 16, 2021 - CNN

Ocean Grove Sidewalk

Defining the Buzzword: What's a 15-Minute City?

What does it mean to be a 15-minute city?

February 14, 2021 - CNU Public Square

COVID-19 Pandemic

Will Israel Show Us the Way Out of the Pandemic?

If vaccinations are key to ending the pandemic, Israel may get there first as it has the highest rate by far of any nation. Paradoxically, it also has the world's second-highest rate of daily new COVID-19 cases.

February 14, 2021 - The New York Times

City Bird

For the Birds: Why Designing for Birds is Good for Everyone

A new book spotlights how bird-friendly design makes for healthier and more pleasant cities for all species.

February 12, 2021 - Fast Company

COVID Testing

Awaiting the Mutant Storm(s)

Coronavirus infection, hospitalizations and most recently, deaths, are declining, but public health experts warn that more transmissible variant strains of the coronavirus threaten to overwhelm hospitals in the next few months.

February 4, 2021 - CIDRAP News

Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman, with three grandchildren and her adopted daughter

Repositioning Black Urbanists in the History of Planning

The history of planning is dominated by a few iconic figures—all white.

February 2, 2021 - Planning Magazine

Washington, D.C.

Planning Trends to Watch in 2021

The nation is now tasked with the challenge of changing course in the middle of multiple, global crises. The necessity of finding a way to overcome the failures of the past and lay the groundwork for a new kind of future has never been more clear.

January 31, 2021 - James Brasuell

Coronavirus and Urbanism

Post-Pandemic: Living with COVID

With coronavirus Infections decreasing and vaccinations increasing throughout the nation, health and science reporters are writing about what the end of the pandemic may look like—from a disease perspective.

January 31, 2021 - National Geographic

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.

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.