World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
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.
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.
How Commutes Influence Happiness, Health
More evidence is piling up that commuting by anything but private automobile can increase happiness, social capital, and health.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Carbon-Saving Urban Development Makes Economic Sense
A new report stresses the importance of international cooperation on low-carbon development.
Comparing the World's Transit Systems
How does New York stack up compared to London, Tokyo, or even Moscow?
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.
Toyota Places $50 Million Bet on Driverless Car Research
Toyota is racing to keep up with Google and Uber on driverless car technology.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Road Safety Upgrade the World Desperately Needs: Self-Driving Cars
The headline chosen here summarizes the argument put forward by Vox's Joseph Stromberg, who believes that self-driving cars will be a serious upgrade over the average human driver.
Bus Rapid Transit Hits Global Milestone
There are now 402 bus rapid transit (BRT) lines operating around the world, according to data from BRTData.org.
Pagination
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