World

Back in 2009, Olympic officials were claiming that the Sochi Winter Games would be the "greenest" games ever. But besides a large carbon offset, the Olympics' sustainability efforts have been underwhelming.

February 10, 2014 - The Guardian

The former three-term New York City mayor, already president of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group has been appointed to a special United Nations envoy position on cities and climate change by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

February 8, 2014 - Reuters

People watching on the train: we all do it. But some of us do it better. Like October Jones, who uses his commute downtime to animate his fellow passengers.

February 7, 2014 - BuzzFeed

This week's guest 'Shaker, Rob Dalton, talks roundabouts, bollards and buffers to get your feet into a 禪 Zen street.

February 5, 2014 - PlaceShakers

Demographic and economic trends, and improving transport options, including more carsharing services, are contributing to a long-term decline in automobile ownership and use.

February 5, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently completed an economic analysis of white roofs versus their green and black counterparts. The debate over the relative merits of white versus green roofs is far from over, however.

February 5, 2014 - Inhabitat

An article by Tom Slater takes on several sacred cows of the current planning discussion, most prominently among them what he describes as “the anaesthetising spell of resilience.”

February 4, 2014 - OpenDemocracy - OpenSecurity

Do transit stations with sleeker designs boost ridership? Evidence suggests that the answer may be yes. But does that mean that we should spend limited transit funds on better architecture?

February 3, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

City Hall isn't what it once was. Here are eight new positions that your local government should be hiring for this year.

February 2, 2014 - Future Cities

Connected communities aren't just about fun and frolic. When the goin' gets rough, they can make the difference between life and death.

February 2, 2014 - PlaceShakers

Nomenclature changes, especially for cities with chronologies spanning centuries and even millennia. Test your knowledge of historic, even ancient, place names.

February 1, 2014 - Guardian Cities

In the eighth installment of the Urban Juxtapositions series profiled in Planetizen on January 16, Chuck Wolfe asks if we are using the right language when it comes to densifying urban spaces.

February 1, 2014 - myurbanist

It's hard to keep up with the endless quest to present the world's knowledge in map form, but luckily we've got Max Fisher as a guide. He's collected 40 more fascinating maps that explain world history, present conditions and future scenarios.

January 31, 2014 - The Washington Post

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

January 30, 2014 - Future Cities

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

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

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

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

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

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