Water

Drought Policy and Flooding Streets in LA

While residents ration water for lawn-watering, Los Angeles has experienced double the breaks in water mains as in previous years. The breaks have destroyed streets and flooded businesses, leaving many looking for answers.

September 29, 2009 - The New York Times

Eight Smart City Innovations

This series of infographics and posts from Good looks at innovations within a variety of world cities that improve city organization and operation -- from traffic to energy production to water conservation.

September 26, 2009 - Good

The Model Stormwater City

Portland is well-known for many things in the urban planning community. Now, it's being recognized as a leader in stormwater management.

September 20, 2009 - The Oregonian

Architecture for A Water-Poor World

Matsys, an experimental architecture firm, used the book Dune as a starting point for its design of a terraced, sunken city form focused around preserving water.

September 19, 2009 - BLDBLOG

EPA Seeks to Change Water-Guzzling Grass Usage

This year, the Environmental Protection Agency will expand its WaterSense program to label newly built homes which are 20 percent more water-efficient than standard homes. The label's landscaping clause is causing a stir among grass enthusiasts.

September 18, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

Watching Where the Water Goes

Monitoring how much water is diverted from rivers and pumped from wells is notoriously difficult. But now, researchers have developed a new way to track usage.

September 15, 2009 - The Washington Post

Deadly Water Going By Unregulated

This investigation from The New York Times examines water pollution records from across the country and finds more than half a million violations that are causing deadly pollution to local water resources.

September 15, 2009 - The New York Times

Cities Facing Turf Questions

Water saver or environmental hazard? Questions are compounding about artificial turf as more homeowners ditch their grass for fake lawns. Contradicting city policies muddy the issue in the arid Southwest.

September 4, 2009 - Miller-McCune

Heart of California's Agriculture on Life-Support

Water restrictions on farms in the state have atrophied jobs in the fertile Central Valley, giving communities some of the highest rates of unemployment in the state. As jobs dry up, the need for aid is surpassing what's there to give.

September 3, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

Dwindling Resources in a World of 9 Billion

The population is expected to climb to 9 billion within the next 50 years. As a result, crucial natural resources will dwindle. This article looks at four that will be much harder to come by in the future.

August 31, 2009 - Gizmag

Measuring Environmental Impacts With the 'Water Footprint'

A Dutch hydrological engineer has developed a new way to measure the environmental impact of humans: the "water footprint".

August 28, 2009 - Der Spiegel

Toilet to Tap to Farm

Farmers in the Monterey Bay area of California have been feeding their artichoke plants with recycled urban wastewater. And they've been doing it safely for years.

August 27, 2009 - Miller-McCune

A Survey of American Drinking Fountains

Public drinking fountains are a useful if underappreciated urban amenity. The New York Times asked eight illustrators around the U.S. to watch one fountain in their cities and report back.

August 17, 2009 - The New York Times

Turf Troubles

When mandatory water conservation rules took effect in Glendale, California, homeowner David Wood installed artificial turf to maintain the green front yard emblematic of the American Dream. But his new fake lawn is against the law.

August 9, 2009 - Glendale News Press

Learning Water Conservation on the Golf Course

As water resources dwindle, golf course managers are becoming go-to experts on conservation.

August 7, 2009 - The New York Times

Superbarrels to Save the City

Collecting an reusing rainwater is one way cities can deal with diminishing freshwater supplies. The more people can collect, the better. And people can collect more water if they have bigger containers.

August 1, 2009 - Governing

California Bill Seeks Sharp Cuts in Per-Capita Water Use

The state of California is looking to reduce its per-capita water usage 20% by 2020, a plan that's moving forward in the state legislature. The plan could mean drastic changes for many cities in the arid parts of the state.

July 31, 2009 - Miller-McCune

London's Sexiest Olympics Architecture is for its Infrastructure

As it prepares to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, the City of London is getting closer to completion on some of its event-related infrastructure. So far, the best buildings are more nuts-and-bolts than flash, according to this piece.

July 30, 2009 - Blueprint

Un-Damming America's Rivers

Dams are increasingly being removed in the U.S. as part of an effort to save fish.

July 30, 2009 - Good

Water Tunnel Beneath Bay to Protect San Francisco in Face of Quake

Utilities officials in the San Francisco Bay Area are hoping to secure their water resources in the face of another devastating earthquake by building a 5-mile long water tunnel beneath the Bay.

July 29, 2009 - San Jose Mercury News

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.