Energy
Montana Landowners Bring Wind Power Project to a Standstill
Phil Taylor of the New York Times writes about an ensuing battle between a Montana wind power transmission project, backed by eminent domain rights, and Montana landowners, fighting for cultural conservation of their land.
Rethinking Cities "From the Ground Up"
Michael Totty of The Wall St. Journal says cities need to be rethought to be leaner and greener. His list of suggestions includes district-level heating systems, micro wind turbines, and walking and biking.
Creating Energy from Subway Motion
Like systems used in electric vehicles like the Prius, an energy company think it could attach flywheels to subway trains and use the kinetic energy of their movement to generate energy that would feed back into the system.
Fake City in Middle of Nowhere to Be Used as Simulator
A tech firm is building a simulated city across 20 miles of New Mexico desert as testing grounds for new green technologies and renewable energy.
Historic Preservation Jobs Are Local
With Missouri's Historic Preservation Tax Credit on the chopping block, Citiography outlines seven reasons the state should keep this program. Creating local jobs is just one.
Refineries' High Hopes For Diesel Fuel
It may not be apparent to American motorists, but the U.S. oil refinery industry is ailing. Reduced VMT, mandated ethanol use, and escalating vehicle fuel efficiency standards caused a decrease of gasoline consumed. Diesel may revive the industry.
Will Obama's Support of Advanced Batteries Encourage Sprawl?
The Obama administration has pumped $2.5 billion in stimulus funds into the advanced battery industry, with the goal of creating manufacturing jobs. But will supporting green cars mean supporting sprawl in the long-term?
"Living Building" Vision Comes to Life
In a bold move to secure its place as the bastion of sustainability, Seattle sets out to build a series of the "greenest commercial building on earth."
Melbourne Ranked as Most Livable City
With high scores in five broad categories, Melbourne, Australia received the highest spot in livability rankings from The Economist's research unit.
Skyscrapers and the World of Tomorrow
Are skyscrapers the way to achieve great density, or a form of retro-urbanism that should be retired? With a debate simmering in the planning world over the energy efficiency and urban necessity of tall towers, Planetizen's staff decided to determine the answer once and for all.
Ebenezer Howard's "Garden City" Revisited
Nina Rappaport of UrbanOmnibus explores the history of the urban factory, examining the social, economic, and environmental benefits of the modern vertical factory industry.
Mouse Utopia, and the Density Scare
John B. Calhoun wrote in the 70s about studies he'd conducted that looked at how mice would react when "overcrowded". Since his utopias often turned ugly, he (and many others) extrapolated the results to humans, giving density a bad name.
The Boon in British Cycling
A new report from the London School of Economics looks at the “cycling economy” that is taking the United Kingdom by storm and the economic benefits generated by individual cyclists.
Eliminate All Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Says Org
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), a Canada-based research group, is calling for world leaders to band together to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.
Like it Or Not, We're Married to Coal
Coal is still the largest power source in the United States: 45% of our energy comes from it. News21 has an evocative multimedia site exploring our inescapable dependence on coal.
My Future City is Houston?
The BMW Guggenheim Lab has released an online urban planning game called "Urbanology," which asks a serious of questions to determine the type of city you think is the future.
Governor Backs Environmental Alternative To 'Big Solar'
Environmental opposition to large solar and wind projects in the desert usually based on their biological impacts has long baffled many renewable power advocates. CA Gov. Jerry Brown expressed support for the alternative, 'distributed generation'.
The Vertical Garden City: Towards a New Urban Topology
The true evolution of Ebenezer Howard's Garden City has yet to be realized, says Chris Abel, and today's digital design technology is poised to create a revolutionary vertical version.
Windfarm Concept Inspired by Schools of Fish
Current wind farm technology requires a lot of space between blades. A new report proposes that "counter-rotating vertical-axis wind turbines" would draw power more efficiently on less land.
Closing Coal Plants Difficult With Nation's Energy Needs
Across the heartland and the East Coast record heat waves have caused enormous electricity usage, but no blackouts have occurred. Yet there are concerns that EPA regulations that cause older coal plants to shut down could have dire consequences.
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.
Ada County Highway District
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
