Environment

Sea Level

Making the Bay Area Resilient By Design

The Resilient By Design Bay Area Challenge has produced nine designs to address sea-level rise and flooding around the San Francisco Bay Area.

June 22, 2018 - ASLA The Dirt

Coal-Fired Power Plant

First: Oklahoma Can Regulate its Own Coal Ash

Oklahoma will now be able to regulate coal ash disposal without answering to federal regulators.

June 21, 2018 - Governing

egislative Assembly of Ontario

Doug Ford, Elected Ontario Premier, Promises End of Cap and Trade

The brother of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford decisively won the election on June 7 to be the next premier of Ontario, ousting current Premier Kathleen Wynne. His first order of business: end the province's emissions trading program.

June 20, 2018 - Toronto Sun

Washington Monuments

D.C. Updating its Sustainability Plan

The District of Columbia is updating its Sustainable DC plan, originally crafted in 2012, and seeking feedback on draft goals set for 2032.

June 20, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

New York jail

The Happy Jail

Where do the street trees come from, and where does the compost go? Rikers Island was New York City's growing outpost for years. But does “greening” the jail always improve things for prisoners?

June 19, 2018 - Urban Omnibus

26-Year-Old Civil Rights Complaint Finally Ends

The legal controversy over the Genesee Power Plant in Flint, Michigan has finally ended, with a court forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to better investigate and resolve complaints of environmental discrimination.

June 19, 2018 - Pacific Standard

Oahu

New Law in Hawaii Makes Developers Consider Sea-Level Rise

Hawaii Governor David Ige signed a bill that requires developers to consider rising seas in all environmental impact studies.

June 18, 2018 - Next City

Nuclear Power

Trump Rebuffed by Federal Energy Commissioners on Coal and Nuclear Power Bailout

Last month the Trump administration directed Energy Secretary Rick Perry to require grid operators to purchase power from aging coal and nuclear power plants, enabling them to keep operating as a matter of "national security." Regulators disagree.

June 18, 2018 - InsideClimate News

New York Sandy Power Outage

Wanted: A Regional Planning Approach to Climate Change

The effects of climate change—rising seas, extreme weather—will require coordinated action around the New York region. Regional planning, in other words.

June 18, 2018 - Curbed NY

Tideland

The Chesapeake Bay Comeback

Scientists say the Chesapeake Bay hasn't been this healthy in more than three decades. It's a testament to federal environmental regulations.

June 17, 2018 - The Washington Post

Grant Program Deploys Smart City Tech for a Variety of Purposes Around Georgia

A grant program under the direction of Georgia Tech, with support from Georgia Power and the Atlanta Regional Commission, among others, has awarded grants for the development of "smart community" technology.

June 15, 2018 - SaportaReport

California State Capital

Friday Eye Candy: The Comfort of Street Trees

It's getting hot out there. Plant all the trees.

June 15, 2018 - YouTube

Sea Level Rise

2017 Set a Record for 'Sunny Day Flooding'

Expect more of the same in 2018 and 2019.

June 14, 2018 - The Guardian

San Diego Gaslamp District

Looking Back to Find the Future of San Diego

An advocacy group is republishing the 1974 regional plan for sustainability, and finding that it's just as relevant now as it was then.

June 13, 2018 - Bisnow

Renewable Diesel

California and Auto Industry Agree on Vehicle Emissions Standards

Normally having the California Air Resources Board and the auto industry in agreement on emissions standards would be enough, but the Trump administration wants to ensure that California plays no role in setting standards.

June 11, 2018 - Bloomberg News

Texas Suburb

Study: There's a Lot of Vacant Land in Texas Cities

All that empty acreage means that these big, rapidly developing cities don’t really have to sprawl.

June 11, 2018 - CommercialCafe

In New Jersey, Beach Parking Located Right on the Sand

This summer, the seashore town of Wildwood is charging a fee for people with the right cars to park in a very convenient location.

June 11, 2018 - The New York Times

Flooding

Houston Has a $1.15 Billion Harvey Recovery Plan

Houston is taking steps to finalize and approve a plan to spend $1.15 billion in federal disaster relief funding after Hurricane Harvey.

June 9, 2018 - Houston Chronicle

Solar Power

There's More Renewable Energy Than Ever

But it's still not enough to produce a net reduction in emissions from energy production.

June 8, 2018 - Quartz

Green

The Search for a New Green Building Standard

The need to slash emissions from buildings is increasingly urgent, and critics say LEED won't get us there.

June 8, 2018 - CityLab

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.