World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Point No Point

Friday Funny: The Instagram Account of Saddest Place Names Is Actually Kind of Sad

Did you know there's a place called Point No Point, in Hansville, Washington? It's quite pretty, actually, but is that reason enough to go there?

October 9, 2015 - Quartz

City Action on Climate Change

Can cities be at the forefront of tackling climate change? According to forthcoming research by Arup and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, cities play a crucial role in addressing this pressing issue.

October 8, 2015 - Doggerel

First West Coast LNG Export Facility Gets Critical Federal OK

On Sept. 30, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the final environmental impact statement for a contentious $7.5 billion Liquefied Natural Gas export facility, pipeline, and power plant in Coos Bay, Ore. More approvals are still needed.

October 6, 2015 - Portland Business Journal

Coding for Character: Doing Away With the Zoned Out Nature of Cities

What's keeping the historic parts of your city or town from staying up-to-date and well-loved? Usually, the laws.

October 6, 2015 - PlaceShakers

Bike Commuting

How Commutes Influence Happiness, Health

More evidence is piling up that commuting by anything but private automobile can increase happiness, social capital, and health.

October 5, 2015 - Gizmodo

Ocean Grove Sidewalk

Sidewalk Cafes—Silver Bullets of Walkable Places

No single tool builds "walk appeal" as powerfully as sidewalk cafes, which are both a cause and an effect of places we love to walk.

September 29, 2015 - The Original Green Blog

Energy Factory II

A Real-Time Map of Global Air Pollution

A quick look at a real-time map of air pollution around the world shows how much healthier the air in the United States is than in China.

September 27, 2015 - CityLab

Office Building

Why We're Not Meant to Live in Boring Cities

Features like blank street facades literally turn us off, decreasing mental stimulation and bringing on restlessness and stress. Research points to worrying consequences for people who find their city, well, boring.

September 22, 2015 - Aeon

Mercedes-Benz Developing Self-Driving Limousines

Manifesting predictions that many self-driving vehicles will serve as a new form of taxi service, Mercedes-Benz recently revealed some of its plans to develop a fleet of on-demand limousines.

September 21, 2015 - Quartz

Tin Pan Alley in London

Small Clubs Make Creative Hubs: the Importance of Live Music Venues

Cities like London are losing their creative edge because the small music venues that foster it are being pushed out.

September 17, 2015 - The Guardian

On the 'Tree Wealth' of the World's Countries

A closer look at the data of a study revealing the number of trees on the planet shows several ways to compare and contrast the relative resources, in the form of trees, of countries around the world.

September 17, 2015 - The Washington Post

New York Skyline Fisheye

Happy City, Boring City? Why Liveability Does Not Equate With Greatness

A funny thing about the cities that top liveability indexes all over the world: they tend to also lack a few characteristics sought after in more challenging cities.

September 14, 2015 - Financial Times

Congestion versus mobility

Carbon-Saving Urban Development Makes Economic Sense

A new report stresses the importance of international cooperation on low-carbon development.

September 14, 2015 - The Guardian

Transit Ridership

Comparing the World's Transit Systems

How does New York stack up compared to London, Tokyo, or even Moscow?

September 7, 2015 - Business Insider

Tracking the 'Bikeshare Boom'

The latest in CityLab's chronological explorations of multi-modal infrastructure examines the rise of bikeshare into a global and ubiquitous phenomenon.

September 6, 2015 - CityLab

Toyota Places $50 Million Bet on Driverless Car Research

Toyota is racing to keep up with Google and Uber on driverless car technology.

September 6, 2015 - AP via The Australian

From Net Zero Energy to Net Zero Water: A New Frontier in Sustainability

The Net Zero Water Toolkit helps individuals and organizations make water resource planning decisions based on local conditions rather than targeting historical demand and allowing water quality impacts to flow downstream.

September 4, 2015 - Brendle Group

Technology Enables a New Understanding of the World's 3.04 Trillion Trees

A news study, combining satellite imagery and field study, dramatically increases the estimated trees in the world. What has not changed: how quickly humans are killing those trees off.

September 4, 2015 - The Washington Post

How the 'Internet of Things' Is Changing City Operations

The potential of "Smart Cities" is still very much under negotiation. Data-Smart City Solutions at Harvard University surveyed what cities are doing so far to take advantage of the Internet of things.

September 3, 2015 - Data-Smart City Solutions

Klyde Warren Park

The Google Street View Perspective on Public Space Transformations

A recent trend in returning the use of streets and other public space to the use of humans and other modes of transportation other than the car is more striking with some historical perspective.

September 2, 2015 - Tech Insider

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.