World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

What Can Ancient Cities Teach Modern Urbanites?

These 15 ancient cities can help modern urbanites plan more efficient and sustainable municipalities.

January 30, 2014 - Future Cities

Don Draper

Lessons from Don Draper (for Planners)

Aside from inspiring a classy wardrobe, what can urban planners learn from characters like Don Draper and Peggy Olson? What cues should urban planners and policy makers take from the field of advertising to help pitch planning ideas?

January 28, 2014 - Georgia Sheridan

Drug Testing Your City's Sewer System

If you really want to know how prevalent drug use is in your community, don't ask people–just test their wastewater.

January 27, 2014 - Environmental Health News

Pumping Gas

Whatever Happened to Declining Oil Consumption in the U.S.?

Last year, the U.S. increased oil consumption by two percent, surpassing the increase in China for the first time in more than a decade according to a new IEA report. How does this increase square with peak car, peak VMT, and peak oil consumption?

January 25, 2014 - Marketplace

It's Street Furniture; It's a Smart Device

Street furniture like benches, garbage cans, and bike racks are found in every city. But not all street furniture is created equal—new technology is redefining street furniture as the smart devices that run efficient cities.

January 22, 2014 - Woodhouse

Google Maps Store

How Technology Is, and Isn't, Affecting Street Life

By analyzing four public spaces using William H. Whyte's groundbreaking techniques for studying street life, a team of researchers led by Keith Hampton reached some surprising conclusions about how technology is changing our social interactions.

January 20, 2014 - The New York Times

What the Data Says About Life in the City

Cities can be undersold or oversold in equal measure, but they never fail to present a shortage of data. With its #citydata series, This Big City explores the sometimes surprising facts about cities that emerge from the din of urban life.

January 17, 2014 - This Big City

New Series: In the Urban World, Juxtapositions Matter

In an ongoing series, Urbanism Without Effort author Chuck Wolfe argues the importance of the overlaps, overlays and convergence points that define city life, and emphasizes the importance of reading and interpreting their everyday expression.

January 16, 2014 - myurbanist

Google Invites Itself into Your Home

It's already conquered phones and the Internet, and is moving rapidly into the automotive world, but Google's $3.2 billion purchase of smart device maker Nest provides the company with entree into the "connected home" market.

January 14, 2014 - PCWorld

Is Your Car Spying On You?

A new Senate bill aims to give drivers more control over the growing trove of data being collected by sensors and computers embedded in our cars. Most drivers are unaware of how much personal information is being recorded.

January 14, 2014 - The New York Times

Road Safety (and Lack thereof) Case Studies from around the World

An inordinate amount of traffic fatalities occur in developing parts of the world. In some countries, road deaths have surpassed diseases like AIDS and Tuberculosis as a public health threat.

January 14, 2014 - The Washington Post

New York Sandy Power Outage

Rockefeller's 100 Resilient Cities: 33 Chosen, What's Next?

In December, the Rockefeller Foundation chose the first 33 cities to receive funding and support through its 100 Resilient Cities Challenge. Here's what comes next.

January 13, 2014 - Future Cities

Open Office sign

Researchers Close the Book on Open Offices

A growing body of scientific research shows that open office plans harm wellbeing and job performance.

January 10, 2014 - The New Yorker

Is the Ban on U.S. Oil Exports Suppressing Gasoline Prices?

Yes, and that's a good thing, say opponents of lifting the 1975 ban on crude oil exports. Brad Plumer examines this argument and explains the two other chief reasons, the environment and refinery lobbying, to maintain the ban on exporting crude oil.

January 10, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Raising the Level of the Social Media Design Conversation

Architecture Critic Alexandra Lange, in her first op-ed for Dezeen, calls on architects to make better use of social media than just as a tool for shameless self-promotion.

January 9, 2014 - Dezeen

Shipping Container Text

Shipping Container Housing You Might Actually Want to Live In

For years, architects have promoted the possibilities of transforming shipping containers into housing. But design and functional challenges make that process difficult. With its shippable modular buildings, MEKA may have found a livable alternative.

January 6, 2014 - Treehugger

Is New Solar-Powered Ford a Game Changer?

Though their lack of emissions is admirable, the knock on electric vehicles is that their power is likely derived from dirty sources. Could a new solar-powered car unveiled by Ford kick-start the era of renewable energy-powered transportation?

January 6, 2014 - Fast Company Co.Exist

A screengrab from GIS software

5 City IT Projects to Watch in 2014

Here are five urban IT projects that are set to win big this year -- and serve as examples for cities everywhere.

January 5, 2014 - Future Cities

U.S. Oil Boom to Reduce World Prices While Global Coal Consumption Surges

Gas prices will drop due to surging U.S. oil production according to an U.S. Energy Dept. report. Another report from the International Energy Agency points to surging carbon dioxide emissions, not from oil but from coal burning, largely from China.

January 4, 2014 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

Self-Driving Cars Will Rule the Road by 2050

A new study by IHS Automotive predicts that 54 million self-driving cars will be on the road by 2035, and that every car will be autonomous by 2050.

January 3, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

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.

Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO

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.