Climate Change

Post-Helene Reflections on Solastalgia and Community
Solastalgia is an increasingly relevant word that refers to the homesickness one feels when still at home, caused by distress due to environmental change in one’s home environment – for example, after a hurricane or wildfire.

Planning Year in Review 2024: An Ongoing Housing Crisis, the Fight for Climate Resilience, and a Mixed Bag for Transportation
A pedestrian safety crisis, rising housing instability, and destructive extreme weather events set the stage for an eventful year.

How US Communities Are Building Resilience Against Flooding
Flooding causes over $400 billion in damage in the United States every year.

Maui's Deadly Firestorm: Investigating the Tragedy and Lessons for the Future
FRONTLINE's Maui’s Deadly Firestorm investigates the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, uncovering critical failures in preparedness and response while examining the tragedy’s causes, impact, and lessons for future disaster prevention.

Storms and Sea Levels: The Growing Threat to California’s Piers
California’s aging piers face growing threats from climate change, with intensifying storms, rising repair costs, and structural vulnerabilities forcing tough decisions about their future preservation.

How US Cities Can Prepare for Climate Disasters
Resilience, encompassing infrastructure, governance, economic strength, and social cohesion, is critical for cities to mitigate rising climate risks like flooding, wildfires, and heat, ensuring long-term recovery and adaptability.

How Cities Are Adopting Green Solutions to Combat Flooding
Cities are increasingly adopting nature-based solutions like floodable parks and green roofs to combat flooding, offering cost-effective, multifunctional benefits while requiring careful planning and integration with traditional infrastructure.

Planetizen’s Top Urban Planning Books of 2024
Top of mind in 2024 were the far-reaching impacts of climate displacement, zoning as a solution to the housing crisis, and the potential for safer roads and better public transit in American cities.

New Jersey to Consider Charging Fossil Fuel Companies for Pollution
A proposed law would make companies liable for damages caused by burning fossil fuels.

December Wildfires Could Signal Shifting Fire Season
A mix of strong seasonal Santa Ana winds and an unusually dry year is fueling winter wildfires in California.

Housing as a Climate Resilience Strategy
Ensuring that housing, including in informal settlements, is safe and healthy for its residents is a key tool in the fight to build more sustainable and equitable communities in the face of climate migration.

Global Report Shows Urban Forests Failing to Meet Vital Standards
The study reveals significant gaps in urban forestry, emphasizing the urgent need for reforms, innovative planting solutions, and expanded tree canopy to combat climate change and improve urban health.

Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Climate Action
These solutions offer cost-effective, sustainable methods to combat climate change, but require government action to reallocate subsidies, integrate natural assets into financial systems, and develop biodiversity credit markets.

Preparing for Climate Migration
Billions of people will have to relocate in the next decades. Are governments prepared?

USDOT Launches Climate Adaptation Plan
The plan outlines the department’s key priorities in building resilient infrastructure and ensuring environmental justice in historically disinvested communities.

Improving South Los Angeles Through Strategic Tree Planting
The University of Southern California Urban Trees Initiative is planting 250 trees in South L.A. neighborhoods to improve shade, combat climate change, and enhance community well-being through collaboration and data-driven approaches.

Hawai'i Researchers Tackle Climate Challenges in National Parks
University of Hawaiʻi researchers are using advanced remote sensing technologies to protect cultural resources in five Hawaiʻi national parks from climate change impacts while training students in cutting-edge environmental science techniques.

Phoenix Announces Shade Action Plan
The city has outlined 11 strategic priorities aimed at addressing the risks of extreme heat and protecting vulnerable residents from its impacts.

Opinion: Supporting Electric School Buses is the Right Thing to Do — and Fiscally Conservative
Why switching school bus fleets to electric vehicles is good for students, the environment, and school districts’ finances.

New Yorkers Face New Climate Risks
A two-acre fire in a city park prompted city officials to ban grilling while urging residents to conserve water to limit the impact of a historic drought.
Pagination
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.
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