World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Pope Francis

In the U.S., Climate Politics Trump the Pope's Message

The encyclical "Laudato si: On the Care of Our Common Home" might have scored public relations points among environmentalists last year, but according to a new study, it didn't score any points with Catholics or the broader U.S. population.

October 27, 2016 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Brand New Subway

Top Websites - 2016

The annual list of the best planning, design, and development websites, representing some of the top online resources for news, information, and research on the built environment.

October 27, 2016 - James Brasuell

Joan Clos

'The World's Urban Planner': UN-Habitat's Joan Clos

The phrase "everything on the street" captures UN-Habitat head Joan Clos's approach to urbanization. In the wake of Habitat III, who is the man behind the conference's "New Urban Agenda"?

October 26, 2016 - Citiscope

Typus orbis terrarum

Atlas for the End of the World

In a new brief, Penn IUR Faculty Fellow Richard Weller writes about mapping that recognizes the interdependence of people and conservation.

October 25, 2016 - Penn Institute for Urban Research

Train-sploitation

An interview with a photographer about his unflattering pictures of train riders in Tokyo's crowded subway.

October 21, 2016 - CNN

Autonomous Car Mobility Services a $120 Billion Business by 2025

"American households will no longer aspire to own two cars in every garage, but instead will have mobility apps on every phone, to hail self-driving vehicles that they will share rather than own." Jeffrey D. Sachs, Columbia University

October 21, 2016 - EBN

Replicas of Mid-Century Towns Built to Aid the Memories of Alzheimer's Patients

The Glenner Town Square development in Chula Vista, California will be one of the first "immersive facilities" in the United States, designed to trigger memories for Alzheimer's patients.

October 17, 2016 - CityLab

Global Agreement Reached to Limit 'Super Greenhouse Gas Emissions'

An historic agreement reached by 170 global leaders in Kigali, Rwanda on October 15 to limit hydrofluorocarbons could have more of an impact on reducing climate change than the carbon emission agreement reached in Paris ten days earlier.

October 17, 2016 - The New York Times

Metro Paris

Comparing Transit Systems and Populations for 13 Worldwide Cities

A new study compares regional population densities to transit systems to find out which transit systems have maximized their reach.

October 16, 2016 - CityLab

Volcano

Friday Eye Candy: Watch as the Earth 'Breathes'

A new visualization from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History shows how the earth "breathes"—in the form of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and emissions.

October 14, 2016 - The Washington Post

Self-Driving Bus

The Self-Driving Bus of the Near-Term, Realistic Future

It might be fun to imagine a a world filled with self-driving cars, reducing traffic and improving safety with one silver bullet. The more realistic short-term scenario, however, deploys low-speed, self-driving buses on private campuses.

October 13, 2016 - Inverse

Denver Skyline

The New Definition of Global City, Fit for a New World

The Brookings Institution's Global Cities Initiative recently released a report proposing a new definition for global cities, which is actually seven definitions.

October 13, 2016 - Brookings

Airport

Global Leaders Agree to Reduce and Offset Carbon Emissions from Plane Travel

The day after the number of signatories to the Paris Climate Accord met its threshold for implementation, the international community agreed to tackle growing emissions from aviation, which was not covered by the Paris agreement.

October 9, 2016 - The New York Times - Science

Ça c'est Paris

Paris Climate Accord Will Take Effect November 4

October 5 was an historic day, hailed President Obama, as nations responsible for emitting more than 55 percent of world carbon emissions have now signed the Paris climate agreement, the threshold needed for the accord to take effect in 30 days.

October 8, 2016 - Reuters

Friday Eye Candy: The Poetry of the Urban

A survey of the long history of poetry connected of the urban experience—from the 18th century to the Beat poets of the 20th century and the Hip Hop artists of today.

October 7, 2016 - The Guardian

Passaic River Hydropower

Hydropower Isn't Totally Carbon-Free

Hydroelectric generation itself doesn’t produce greenhouse gases, but it does rely on the creation of reservoirs that release methane into the air.

October 7, 2016 - Crosscut

Coney Island Gentrification

Is a Universal Metric for Gentrification Possible?

The Guardian’s new "Gentrified World" series tackles a fundamental—but tricky—question: How can we measure gentrification?

October 7, 2016 - The Guardian

Phoenix Freeway Interchange

Friday Funny: Sprawl Can't Stop, Won't Stop

Imagine a built environment that starts from a central location of Scottsdale, Arizona, sprawling outwards until it covers 70 percent of all land on Earth.

October 7, 2016 - The Onion

Gentrification

Exploring the World for Lessons on Gentrification

The Guardian has launched a new series on gentrification, resistance, and solutions in cities around the world.

October 6, 2016 - The Guardian

Accessibility

Pushing for Universal Access in the New Urban Agenda

The New Urban Agenda, which sets a new global strategy for sustainable urbanization, still has shortcomings regarding universal access for people with special needs.

October 5, 2016 - Citiscope

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.