Environmental Sustainability
Early Exposure to Public Transportation Can Lead to More Sustainable Travel Later in Life
Michael Smart and Nicholas Klein guest blog about their recent article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
'The Well-Tempered City': An Epic Book, and Why
In a review of Jonathan F.P. Rose's new book, 'The Well-Tempered City,' Chuck Wolfe enthusiastically endorses Rose's refreshing world view.
'Rust Belt Riders' Grow New Composting Service in Cleveland
Waste management and composting take an entrepreneurial twist through Cleveland millennials' burgeoning home-grown business.
Should Architects Be Citizen Scientists?
Can self-contained urban food systems exist in the core of our cities? Architect Darrick Borowski of New York based firm ARExA developed a model to determine just that.
Op-Ed Decries Santa Monica's Airbnb Ban
By exiling short-term renters, the coastal city of Santa Monica shifts its housing burden onto neighboring areas. That burden, according to this op-ed, contradicts the city's sustainability commitment and further limits scarce residential options.
What Droughts Say About Planners and Water Officials
When water policy and land use planning operate in separate spheres, it's more difficult to design for efficient resource use. Better communication is needed in the drought-stricken southwest.
Seattle Eco-District Fosters Green Development
In a bid to knit sustainability into large-scale community development, Seattle's Capitol Hill EcoDistrict is exploring several avenues toward greener land use.
Are Asia's Planned Cities a New Colonialism?
While they look clean and green on the drawing board, Asia's planned developments might be nothing more than cloned commercialism set in concrete. By undermining local culture, this 'smart city' approach may also prove unsustainable.
Los Angeles Releases Ambitious 'Sustainable City Plan'
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has ambitious plans to modernize the city. This week his administration laid out a sweeping sustainability agenda on matters of critical importance to the future of the nation's second largest city.
Miami's High-Rise Orthodoxy Hides a Better Way
Alastair Gordon lambasts Miami's high-end architectural extremes. A horizontal, nature-inspired urbanism might better address contradictions between breezy luxury and inland poverty.
Does Beauty Still Matter?
The design of urban landscapes has become dominated by a growing call for them to be ecologically resilient. But isn't it important what they look like?
Single Households: Older, Urban, Increasing, and More Sustainable
The number of single households has grown three-fold since the 1950s. More sustainable and more likely to live in cities than married households, singles experience a major problem: metro areas are not planned for them but for nuclear families.
How could Ventura transform?
A short documentary exploring the development challenges that the City of Ventura faces.
Remaking Southern California Cities
A video created for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) presents a serious look at what infill development would look like in Ventura and Fullerton.
Dongtan Eco-City: A Model of Sustainability?
Dongtan Eco City was planned for completion for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. By that time, 5,000 people should be living there. However, the planned housing, water taxis, sewage‐recycling plant and energy park all failed to materialize.
Greenest Developments in Asia
Warren Karlenzig looks for the best examples of sustainable developments in Asia to serve as examples for the growing region.
Civilization Planning?
When we think of cities in antiquity, we don’t hesitate to think of them in association with their respective civilizations. After all, the words civic and civilization share the same root word in Latin, civitas. Similarly, we can now say that we live in a globalized civilization largely structured on what author Jeb Brugmann refers to in his new book Welcome to the Urban Revolution as the global City. However, in our focus as planners on addressing concerns with current development projects and other local issues we might be forgiven for sometimes losing touch with this larger picture: that the city is still the focal point and driver for those processes we refer to as civilization.
Invest in Nature’s Infrastructure
According to the Census Bureau, the United States will have over 400 million people by 2040. How will population growth – 100 million more Americans over the next three decades – impact the quality of your environment? The answer will depend on the choices we make as a society, says James A. LaGro, Jr.
Arcosanti Revisited: The Sustainable Utopia
A short video profile shows renewed interest in Arcosanti, the utopian community founded by architect Paolo Soleri. Could Soleri's 40 yr. old utopia be the wave of the sustainable future?
Phoenix Takes a Green Turn
This article from Grist looks at the city of Phoenix as it teams with Arizona State University to shift the city's direction from endless sprawl to a smarter, more environmentally-conscious growth pattern.
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
