Europe
The Cost of 'Cool'
Thomas Rogers writes of the "Life and Death of a 'Cool' City," using the example of Berlin and the many "new Berlins" that have endeavored to follow its lead as the next big thing in Europe.
The Option of Sensing the City
In his second Huffington Post article on "place-decoding," Chuck Wolfe argues for considered attention to enhancing people's abilities to discern the city around them.
Learning to 'Place-Decode' the Elements of Urbanism
Chuck Wolfe champions the role of France's attachment to place as a laboratory for decoding the essential elements of urbanism.
Euro-Envy Reconsidered: Talkin' Time, Distance, and Change
Most North American urbanists turn to Europe for inspiration and direction. Some of that brilliance, Ben Brown reminds us, is due to time and distance.
Chicago Metra Rail Struggles with High Rates of Suicide
Chicago's Metra commuter rail service has a big problem on its hands: Distressed people are resorting to using train tracks to end their lives at a higher rate than in other major cities. Would partnering with a suicide-hotline agency stem the tide?
Planned Epicurean District in Paris Raises the Specter of Gentrification
A new corridor planned as a haven for local gourmet food in the quiet Haut Marais neighborhood of Paris concerns residents with the threat of gentrification.
Interpreting the 'Timeless and Time-Bound' in Cities
In his latest essay on interpretation of the urban environment, Chuck Wolfe suggests that if we take away context clues cities become matrices -- with blank cells to complete -- where each of us personalizes how space meets time.
Tourism's Negative Effects in Italian Art Cities
With about 353 tourists per resident in the historic city center of Venice, many residents are fleeing the crowds and moving onto the mainland, making the city a "monument-attraction," rather than a viable living space.
Book Review: 'How Paris Became Paris'
"How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City," by Joan DeJean, is full of creative insights on the symptoms of urban modernity as well as bold statements about how Paris came to be one of the world's great cities.
6 'Epic Architecture Fails'
Jason Fargo follows the announcement that the FBI will soon set up shop outside of the infamous and despised J Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C. by listing six buildings that residents of cities "love to hate."
Revisiting the Common Sense Elements of City Life
Chuck Wolfe revisits five instances of how we can learn from the urbanism we already have.
The Value of Fast Transit—Under Construction in Paris
The proposed Grand Paris Express program, which began construction this summer and is expected for completion in 2030, will serve 2 million people a day at "wildly fast speeds." Then there's light rail in the United States.
Study: Parks Make for Better People
Tom Jacobs details the findings of a study out of France that finds evidence of what researchers call "green altruism"—or people treating each other better after period of immersion in a natural environment.
Post-Car? Helsinki's Plans for a Tech-Enabled Mobility Network
Helsinki, capital of Finland's, is working to create a "mobility on demand" system that integrates shared and public transit in a single payment network. The idea is that with such a system in place, residents would no longer need cars.
Breaking the Carbon Emissions Cycle in the Transport Sector
Cracking the upward GHG emissions curve in the transport sector has proved exceedingly difficult. Research from Aalborg University in Denmark suggests that in some industrialized societies this may be changing.
World Bank Study Finds Large-Scale Benefits for 'Climate-Smart Development'
A new study by the World Bank examines the benefits for policies addressing clean transportation, energy efficiency in industry, and energy efficiency in buildings in five countries and the European Union.
One Hundred Years of Exposure
An interview with artist and critic Jonathon Keats, who recently implemented a project in Berlin where participants will anchor pinhole "century cameras" around the city to record its changes over a period of 100 years.
French Employees Get Paid to Bike to Work
French companies attempt to boost bike commutes by paying employees who cycle to work.
More Cities Adopting 'Naked Streets'
In the second post in an ongoing "Shareable Cities" series, Mike Clay discusses "naked streets"—a democratizing, stripped-down street management concept that removes streetlights, crosswalks, and other signage.
EPA Releases Carbon-Cutting Rule for Existing Power Plants
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy announced on Monday the long-awaited proposed rule to reduce the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions. It calls for cuts of 30 percent by 2030, with the baseline year of 2005, to be finalized next year.
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.
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
