Carbon Footprint
Study: Retrofitting Old Buildings Has Lower Total Carbon Footprint Than New Construction
A study of over a million Chicago buildings assessed their ‘embodied carbon’ footprint over their lifetimes, showing that demolishing an old building in favor of a new one almost always produced more emissions.
Urban Ag Activists Up In Arms About New Study
Researchers looked at the carbon footprint of urban farming versus conventional, and the results were surprising.
California First in the Nation to Limit Embodied Carbon in Buildings
California’s Building Code accomplished a first-in-the-nation step to mitigate carbon emissions from the construction and maintenance of buildings, by limiting embodied carbon in some commercial and school buildings.
Mapping Climate Impact at the Neighborhood Level
A consumption-based analysis illustrates the differences in average household emissions across census tracts.
Georgia's Efforts to Reduce Carbon Emissions
The state is diversifying its energy sources to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, in line with federal climate goals.
Is Remote Work Actually More Environmentally Friendly?
An online calculator helps companies determine the broader impacts of their decisions to continue working remotely or return to the office.
One U.S. State Boasts 33% Fewer Carbon Emissions Per Capita Than Any Other
California, the largest state by population in the United States, is responsible for 33% fewer carbon emissions per capita than any other state, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Texas Program Pays Landowners to Leave Coastal Lands Untouched
In an effort to preserve coastal Texas ecosystems and fight global warming, a new nonprofit is paying landowners to not develop their land.
Demystifying Mass Timber
Quayside, Sidewalk Labs' smart city in Toronto, calls for ten tall buildings made entirely of wood. Here's why proponents think mass timber is a good idea, and what obstacles stand in its way.
On the Massive Carbon Savings of Gentle Density
A thought experiment compares the carbon impact of three new single family homes with the same block if it contained a duplex, a triplex, and a fourplex.
Royal Dutch Shell: Big Oil with a Conscience?
Big Oil companies are not all alike. Royal Dutch Shell is the first one to part ways with a major oil industry trade group over differences on climate change. It's also linking executive pay to goals to reduce the company's carbon footprint.
New Tool Calculates the Carbon Footprint of Cities
Google's Environmental Insights Explorer multiplies the power of Google Maps for the benefit of the planet.
Reducing Cities' Carbon Footprints
There is more than one way for a city to systematically reduce it carbon footprint.
The Resource Cost of Where We Live
Environmental impact isn't just a measure of what people buy, where we live affects the environment more than what we own or choose to drive.
Op-Ed: Newer Model Density Falls Short of its Promise
The general principle is simple: more density equals lower prices and less environmental impact. But suburbia's imprint is deep, both on cities themselves and on how we expect to inhabit them.
Ice Cream, Heavy Trucks, and Carbon Emissions
An op-ed by Jostein Solheim, CEO of Ben & Jerry's, supports the second phase of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles that would become effective 2018.
Affluence Still at Home in the Suburbs
Commentators often say an influx of wealth is transforming American cities. But if prosperity is really still suburban, what are the consequences for the environment?
As the Seas Rise, Cities 'Dither'
The world’s coastal cities now face an impossible situation as a result of climate change. While the impacts and catastrophes become inevitable, why do cities like San Francisco dither rather than act?
What Can NASA Learn About Fighting Climate Change By Observing L.A.?
In the mountains surrounding L.A. stand some of the most advanced environment analyzing technology in the U.S. The result of this analysis could be "a groundbreaking development in the worldwide fight against global warming."
The Neighborhood Carbon Challenge
A neighborhood in Corvallis, Oregon, is the pilot site of a neighborhood-wide "carbon challenge" in which residents try to reduce their carbon footprint.
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
