World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Empowered Design, By 'The Crowd'
Crowdsourcing offers a viable resource for planners to empower communities and engage citizens to collectively innovate solutions to complex urban problems.
Hidden in Plain Sight: Re-Appropriated Spaces
The projects depicted here re-use and re-appropriate public space, filling gaps in the built environment with parks, open areas, and pedestrian walkways.
Denied: Proposed LNG Export and Gas Pipeline in Oregon Rejected by FERC
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied a contentious $7.5 billion Liquefied Natural Gas export facility, pipeline, and power plant in Coos Bay, Ore., which had received environmental clearance.
Cities Should Ban Cheating Diesel Cars Until They're Fixed
Those Volkswagen cars fitted with the cheat device are a health hazard to city residents. Actually all diesel vehicles are. But the fact that those cars are effectively polluting over 40 times the legal limit means we should take immediate action
The Dawn of the Electric Car
The electric car is poised to have its moment. In fact, the 2020s could be the decade of the electric car.
Putting Geniuses In Their Place(s)
Eric Weiner's "The Geography of Genius" offers a delightful, if limited, analysis of cities throughout history where "genius" has arisen and offers inspiration for planners who want to make cities more than just places to live and do business.
Smart Design = Smart Policy? Not So Fast
After a few decades watching—and sometimes helping—great ideas die of overexposure to reality, I'm convinced it's not enough to just listen to folks you're hoping to help. You have to make something happen. A well-conceived charrette helps.
Facebook Is Mapping the World's Buildings
A mapping project lead by Facebook's Connectivity Lab is gathering data from all over the atmosphere, and beyond, to make a comprehensive map of the world's buildings.
Can a New Master Plan Fix What Ails São Paulo, Brazil?
Facing an ever expanding shortage of affordable housing and growing inequality, São Paulo's new master plan hopes to change the face of the city.
How Antonin Scalia's Death May Affect the Paris Climate Accord
Scalia's death means that the Supreme Court is left with eight remaining judges. In the case of a tie vote, the decision from a lower court is upheld with some restrictions. A tie vote on the Clean Power Plan may be good news for the environment.
How the Built Environment Shapes Music
From Motown to grunge, techno to hip hop, modern music came to life in garages, living rooms, churches, and warehouses. Urban design has been instrumental to what we listen to every day.
Fortunately, Unfortunately: A Children's Primer on Urban Evolution
Scott Doyon rewrote a classic children's book as a history of US cities since World War II. Fortunately, it's a quick read. Unfortunately, it's up to all of us how it ends.
New Study Reveals Causes of Lower American Life Expectancy
A study published February 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association points to three reasons for the life expectancy being lower for Americans than in other developed nations. Care to guess what they are?
The Impossible 'Dream Cities'
A book review of the newly released book, "Dream Cities," by Wade Graham.
Mapping the Trends in Pollution
Good news for the United States is found in a recent series of maps by NASA. Air pollution has significantly improved around the country.
Planning History: The Roman Empire and Public Health
Although the cities of the Roman Empire are typically regarded for their focus on health and hygiene, they may have struggled to manage many poor sanitation parasites.
What If Gordon Freeman Was a Civil Engineer?
The video game INFRA trades your typical Russian ultra-nationalists and Nazi zombies for a city on the verge of ruin. The protagonist, an engineer, is tasked with the seemingly mundane tasks that will bring the place back to life.
Op-Ed: Sharing Cities We Can Trust
Duncan McLaren and Julian Agyeman launch a withering critique of the sharing economy as we know it, and envision "sharing cities" built around technologies that put community before commerce.
Accounting for the Indecision of Pedestrians
A post on Ars Technica digs into the complicated world of pedestrian modeling and identifies a culprit in the problems with existing models: indecisive people.
Charrette: A Social Innovation Lab
When charrettes and public design workshops reach their most inclusive and transparent forms, do they become social innovation labs? Hazel Borys thinks so.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
