Environment

Malibu Zuma Beach

YourCoast App Will Make California's Public Beaches More Accessible

The app, developed by tech mogul Sean Parker (of Napster and Facebook fame), brings technology and environmental regulation together to give people the information they need to get to public beaches.

December 20, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Hurricane Harvey Houston

Texas Has a Lot of Work to Do to Prepare for Future Hurricanes, Says Report

A new report outlines a long list of measures the state needs to take to prevent catastrophic outcomes. However, it avoids directly discussing climate change as a cause of increasingly severe natural disasters.

December 19, 2018 - Dallas News

Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

California Delta Project Facing Approval Challenges

The plan to update the state’s water system has hit a major snag.

December 18, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Broadway Bus Lane in Everett

A Vision for the Future of Transportation in Massachusetts

A long awaited report on the future of transportation in the Bay State was released last Friday. Among the recommendations: a phaseout on the sales of gas and diesel powered light duty vehicles and allowing cities to enact cordon congestion pricing.

December 18, 2018 - The Boston Globe

Electric Bus

California Orders All Electric Buses by 2040

Converting all the public transit buses in California would save reduce carbon emissions in the state by 1 million metric tons by 2040.

December 18, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Kentucky

Updating the Land Development Code to Protect Trees in Louisville

The Louisville Metro Council has tasked the Louisville Metro Department of Planning and Design with updating the code to preserve and add trees to the city.

December 18, 2018 - WFPL

Climate Change Conference

Implementing the Paris Climate Agreement in Katowice, Poland

Representatives from nearly 200 nations have been attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Katowice since Dec. 2 to work on implementing the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Scheduled to end Friday, it will be extended two days due to discord.

December 17, 2018 - The Independent

Gas Station 7-Eleven

Who's Advocating Rolling Back Fuel Economy Standards?

Conventional thinking is that the auto industry, wanting to sell more fuel-gulping SUVs, are pushing for weaker fuel economy standards, but Hiroko Tabuchi, climate reporter for The New York Times, exposes Big Oil's stealth campaign.

December 17, 2018 - The New York Times

U.S. Department of the Interior

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Resigns Amid Scandals

With a tweet from the president on Saturday morning, the public learns that yet another embattled cabinet member will lose his job. Zinke, a former congressman from Montana, is the subject of numerous investigations and controversies.

December 17, 2018 - The New York Times

General Court

EU Commission 'License to Pollute' overturned by top European court

The General Court of the European Union upholds action brought by cities: annuls in part the European Commission’s regulation setting excessively high NOx emission limits tests introduced following Dieselgate scandal

December 15, 2018 - Cities of the Future

Subway Station

Athens Fights Rising Temperatures

At the recent Smart Cities Conference in Barcelona, Mayor Kaminis of Athens highlighted how the city is helping residents survive the increasingly hot summers in the Greek capital.

December 14, 2018 - Cities of the Future

Climate CHange

Carbon Pricing Strategies Under Consideration in Seven States

Several states, and even the federal government, are considering adopting carbon pricing plans.

December 14, 2018 - InsideClimate News

Bay Area Wetlands

EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Propose Revision of Wetlands Definition

Fulfilling a promise he made as a candidate, the Trump administration proposed a redefinition of what is classified as a wetland, with the result being the loss of federal protection of millions of acres of waterways and wetlands.

December 14, 2018 - NPR

Wildfire

California Fire Chief: Consider Ending Development in Fire Prone Areas

When will California listen to the experts and stop building in fire prone areas? Not today.

December 13, 2018 - Associated Press via KCRA

Hybrid Bus

Twin Cities Set Ambitious Target for Electric Buses

The planned opening of a new bus rapid transit line is the impetus for a larger-scale shift to electric buses by Metro Transit.

December 13, 2018 - Star Tribune

Hoover Boards and Bus Transit

Cities Need to Create Level Playing Fields For New Mobility (That Tilt Towards Community Goals)

The new mobility landscape requires a few key roles from government.

December 12, 2018 - Urbanism Next Blog - Sustainable Cities Initiative

Port of Morrow

Advocates for Oregon's Carbon Pricing Plan Proceed Cautiously

With the re-election of Gov. Kate Brown and Democrats increasing their majorities in both legislative chambers, Oregon appears poised next year to pass the Clean Energy Jobs bill which caps carbon emissions, but opponents could put it on the ballot.

December 12, 2018 - The Bulletin (Oregon)

Oil

Are Environmentalists Turning Away From Carbon Taxes?

Economics 101: It's difficult to reduce an activity if there's no price attached to it, so why are many environmentalists increasingly turning away from wanting to price carbon emissions?

December 11, 2018 - Politico

Arctic Mining Town

Massive Mine Encroaching on Swedish City

The Swedish city of Kiruna will have to move after one of the world's largest iron mines opens a crack in the earth that is spreading straight for the city.

December 11, 2018 - The Guardian

Tejon Ranch

Wildfire Risks Make Southern California Development a Gamble

The Tejon Ranch development would bring thousands of homes to a highly fire-prone area in L.A. County.

December 10, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

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.