Energy

Harnessing the Power of Water on Its Way to Your Tap

Jim Dwyer takes a look at a proposal to produce clean energy by tapping into New York's extensive and abundantly fed water delivery system.

May 11, 2012 - The New York Times

Is Vienna the Quintessential Smart City?

Adie Tomer looks at how Vienna contributes to Europe's smart city movement through innovations in sustainability, place-making, and data utilization.

May 10, 2012 - The New Republic

Why the Military Matters in the Fight for Clean Energy

Reese Neader and Daniel Goldfarb discuss military-driven innovation in technology, and how it will ease our transition away from dependence on foreign oil.

May 9, 2012 - Good

Buy More Coal to Use Less

Lauren Gravitz describes an unconventional solution to combat climate change, encouraging "countries with means" to "buy up coal, oil, and other deposits while they’re still in the ground--then leave them there."

May 2, 2012 - Fast Coexist

Bringing Ways to Reduce Cities' Energy Expenses to Light

Often seen only when they're out, streetlights are a "secret energy drain" on city budgets. Nate Berg looks at some promising efforts to take a substantial bite out of municipal budgets through the replacement of old streetlight bulbs.

May 1, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Creating Urban Life Out of Decay

Peter Aspden celebrates the symbolism communicated in the transformation of the detritus of industry into loci for cultural regeneration, as represented by the Tate Modern and its planned expansion.

April 30, 2012 - The Financial Times

World Fails Clean Energy Report Card

A newly released report by the International Energy Agency hands out dismal grades to the nations of the world for their efforts in developing clean energy technologies. Brad Plumer shares the results.

April 30, 2012 - The Washington Post

Germany, Japan Increase Coal Burning Post Fukushima

Japan was not the only nation to shutter its nuclear power plants after the March 11, 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami. Germany followed suit. Consequently, both nations have seen a dramatic increase in coal burning, thus increasing emissions.

April 24, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Making Energy Conservation a Local Prerogative

Coinciding with Earth Day, PBS is airing a series of programs highlighting the ways in which local communities are working to conserve energy in order to save money and save the environment.

April 22, 2012 - PBS

Retrofitting Buildings in Bulk

Emily Badger looks at how a simple idea in energy retrofitting can be tailored to work for the largely untapped market of small to mid-size commercial properties.

April 18, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

The Truth Behind Decarbonizing

Brad Plumer examines the global need to abate climate change amidst a new report showing carbon emission reductions being claimed by countries around the world can be deceiving.

April 17, 2012 - The Washington Post

New Report Ties Fracking to Rise in Earthquakes

Joe Romm reports on a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) paper that ties the unprecedented rise in earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 and greater across a broad swath of the country to man-made sources.

April 9, 2012 - Climate Progress

Asking What Comes Next, as Maryland Tries to Move Beyond Sprawl

McKay Jenkins looks at the challenges confronting Maryland as the state tries to reckon with the devastating consequences of the era of sprawl and prepare for an additional one million people over the next twenty five years.

April 5, 2012 - Urbanite

Great Lakes Turbines Get Second Wind

Just months after a proposal to build the first wind farm to be located offshore on any of the Great Lakes was shelved, five neighboring states have struck a deal with the Obama administration to develop offshore wind farms more quickly.

April 4, 2012 - The Buffalo News

Will the Near Future be a Harsh Climate for Suburbs?

In this excerpt from her new book, "Before the Lights Go Out" author Maggie Koerth-Baker warns of the converging crises of peak oil and climate change on suburban areas.

April 3, 2012 - Scientific American

The Pivotal Parallels of Water and Energy

Nate Berg examines the nexus between water use and energy use, and the need to bring this frequently overlooked connection to the attention of planners and designers.

March 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

U.S. Moves Toward Energy Independence

You'd never know it from the hype on rising gas prices, but the U.S. is moving toward that elusive goal of oil independence due to the convergence of two factors: falling oil consumption and increasing domestic production over the last half-decade.

March 26, 2012 - The New York Times

Oil Drilling Myths Exposed By Paul Krugman

New York Times economics writer and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman analyzes two major reasons for increasing oil drilling - reducing unemployment and lowering gas prices, and describes why it does neither.

March 20, 2012 - The New York Times - The Opinion Pages

Harvard Study: Cheap Natural Gas Decreased 2009 Climate Emissions

A new report attributes a 9% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's power plants in 2009 to the relatively cheap price of generating electricity from natural gas versus coal.

March 19, 2012 - Homeland Security News Wire

Guinness Goes Green

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, Kaid Benfield profiles the sustainable practices of the most Irish of emblems, Guinness Beer.

March 17, 2012 - Switchboard

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.