Environment

U.S.-Mexico

Arizona Congressman Sues for Environmental Review of Trump's Border Wall

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who represents an area covering about 300 miles of the border between Arizona and Mexico, would force the Trump Administration to complete an environmental review before completing its promised border wall project.

April 14, 2017 - Al Día

Bighorn Sheep

Road Salt Contaminating Fresh Water Lakes Around North America

According to scientists, increasingly salty lakes pose health risks not just to their fish and plant life but to the people who drink their water.

April 14, 2017 - The Washington Post

Natural Gas

Can 'Clean Coal Technology' Be Cost-Effective for Natural Gas?

Nations have sunk billions of dollars into carbon capture and storage for coal plants and have little to show for it. A new natural gas demonstration plant outside Houston is confident it is up to the task — without using federal grants.

April 14, 2017 - NPR

California Wildflowers

Friday Eye Candy: See California's 'Super Bloom' Via Satellite

What a difference a wet winter makes.

April 14, 2017 - KQED

Speed hump

City Councils Considering Removing Speed Bumps to Reduce Air Pollution Should Slow Down

According to a report in The Telegraph, some U.K. cities want to use air pollution as a reason to remove speed bumps, Peter Walker argues this idea is ludicrous.

April 13, 2017 - The Guardian

Lower Colorado River

America's 'Most Endangered Rivers' Face New Threats in 2017

The American Rivers advocacy group has released its annual report on the country's most endangered rivers, paying special attention to the threats posed to the country's waterways in new federal policies and budget plans.

April 12, 2017 - American Rivers

Pacific Northwest

A New Earthquake Warning System for the Pacific Northwest

Oregon and Washington are implementing sensors that can detect and report an earthquake to communities with as much as a minute or two of warning.

April 11, 2017 - KUOW

Mero Los Angeles

Best Fuel to Power Buses: Renewable Natural Gas or Battery-Electric?

Next month the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority will decide what type of buses to purchase to replace 1,000 aging diesel buses. Two op-eds in the Los Angeles Daily News present alternative viewpoints.

April 11, 2017 - Los Angeles Daily News

Cedar Rapids Flooding

A Toolbox of Green Infrastructure Solutions to Flooding Risks

A new one-stop shop for green infrastructure solutions is available to planners and engineers challenged by flooding.

April 11, 2017 - CityLab

Yosemite

A Big Legal Win for the Climate Change Fight in the Golden State

The nation's only state-run cap-and-trade program survived a legal challenge by the California Chamber of Commerce and the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation when a state court of appeal ruled 2-1 that the program doesn't amount to an illegal tax.

April 10, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Infill Development is Key to Meeting California's Emission Reduction Law

If California is going to meet the new, steep emissions reductions required by a law passed last September, one of the most effective strategies will be to promote infill housing, according to a new report from University of California at Berkeley.

April 8, 2017 - Builder

Feather River Dam

The Case for Dam Removal

Where aging infrastructure is concerned, most of us don't immediately think of old dams. But there are a lot of them. Environmental advocates want to see them go, and in recent years de-damming has picked up speed.

April 7, 2017 - Next City

Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Considering Options for Derelict Lakefront Power Plant

A planning consultant hired by FirstEnergy is putting out the first speculative ideas for the future of a contaminated lakefront site of a most demolished power plant.

April 6, 2017 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

The Villages Florida

How About Walkable 'Small Town-ism?'

With the high cost of land and housing in most major cities, why don't we just make the hundreds of "walkable" small towns in the United States more desirable places to live for average earners?

April 4, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Los Angeles City Hall

Sent A Strong Message, Los Angeles Leaders Respond With Planning Reforms

In the aftermath of the Measure S vote, members of the Los Angeles City Council have responded by pushing for expediting community plan updates and finding a sustainable source of funding for updating the region's plans.

April 4, 2017 - The Planning Report

Shishmaref

Managed Retreat from Sea Level Rise

Coastal communities are battling the near certain rising sea levels. As a result, many are faced with the choice to stay and rebuild their homes or begin the process of "managed retreat" away from vulnerable coastal areas.

April 4, 2017 - WBUR

Protecting the Environment

Breaking News: Supreme Court Rebukes Trump on Clean Water Rule

One of those Obama-era regulations that President Trump promised to ease is the Clean Water Rule, currently tied up in federal appeals court. The Department of Justice had asked the Supreme Court to discontinue the litigation.

April 3, 2017 - E&E News [Subscription]

Gas and Bikes

Gov. Jerry Brown and State Democratic Leaders Agree on Gas Tax Deal

Revised transportation funding legislation is needed to meet California's ballooning infrastructure deficit, but it needs a supermajority to pass, and it contains a fatal flaw for clean air activists.

April 3, 2017 - Streetsblog California

Hybrid Bus

Fuel Efficiency Just Became Much More Important

Two widely cited University of Michigan transportation researchers urge consumers to drive more fuel efficient vehicles to reduce their own carbon emissions as President Trump works to relax vehicle fuel economy standards.

April 2, 2017 - The New York Times

What a National Green Infrastructure Plan Looks Like

The American Society of Landscape Architects this week announced a list of green infrastructure priorities, full of specifics, without mentioning the Trump Administration.

March 30, 2017 - ASLA The Dirt

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.