Environment

Trump Picks Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to Head EPA
The selection of Scott Pruitt, a climate change denier, who is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, signals the incoming Trump Administration's antipathy for the environmental legacy of its predecessor.

The Geography of Oil and Gas Pipeline Accidents [Updated]
Safety is one trigger in the heated debate over whether fossil fuels should be transported by pipeline. While the industry insists the method is safer than others, the spread of accidents since 1986 is substantial.

Poverty and Pollution Blowing East
A new study shows how pollution and poverty can create a persistent cycle in poor neighborhoods.
Sustainability or Survivability? How Environmental Crisis Follows Inequality Crisis
Asia's fast-growing cities are having disastrous impacts on both environment and civilization. A Singapore-based firm is trying to create news ways of building before it's too late.

Victory for Native Americans and Supporters at Standing Rock—for Now
The Army Corps of Engineers denied Energy Transfer Partners an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline under Lake Oahe, advising them to explore alternative routing and conduct an environmental review, granting indigenous peoples a rare victory.

Banning Diesel Cars in City Centers
Mexico City, Paris, Madrid, and Athens will ban diesel cars and vans by 2025.

New Tool Prepares Rhode Island for Rising Seas
A new mapping tool shows the potential devastation along the Rhode Island coast caused by rising waters from climate change and storm surges.
What Mobility Leaders Think About Car Connectivity
As autonomous vehicles prepare to disrupt transportation systems, Ford Motors President & CEO Mark Fields, L.A Chief Sustainability Officer Matt Petersen, and rideshare company Chariot co-founder Ali Vahabzadeh opine on tomorrow's mobility ecosystem.

Public Service Announcement: What Not to Do in the Event of a Flood
Many people don't realize it, but flooding is the most common weather-related disaster. What should people know about dealing with this persistent threat when it happens in their community?

California Using Data To Maximize Water Conservation Efforts
Even as the Golden State has a wetter fall, California's water leaders have launched a new tool to leverage information technology and available information to support decisions around local water reliability.

Atlanta Installs Permeable Pavement in Flood-Prone Neighborhoods
These Atlanta neighborhoods stand to gain in the long term from the city's new permeable pavement system and water retention park. But the project has displaced some residents.

Orange County's Water Supply Is Ahead of the Resilience Curve
The Southern California county has long been a pioneer in water management.

Prime Minister Trudeau Approves Huge Expansion of Oil Sands Pipeline
The young prime minister's approval to almost triple the capacity of the Kinder Morgan pipeline comes as a surprise given Trudeau's concern for climate change. He approved another Alberta oil sands pipeline but rejected a third.

Climate Changes Confront Alaska Villages with Wrenching Choices
Alaska is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the continental United States, and the state is heading for the warmest year on record. The government has identified at least 31 Alaska towns and cities at risk of destruction.

Making California Climate-Resilient
California is working on a plan to adapt infrastructure statewide to the future impacts of climate change.
Alaska's Attempt at Clean Coal Technology Proves Costly, Problematic
An explosion on Nov. 2 forced GVEA to shut down the power plant earlier this month after struggling with a number of mishaps that have kept Golden Valley from bringing the Healy 2 plant online.

Fire Safety Testing Paves the Way for Timber Towers
A new kind of building will soon rise in the United States: the wooden tower. Extensive testing by the US Department of Agriculture and the timber industry will soon make timber viable for high-rise tower construction.

Taking on Climate Change Without Wrecking Cities for the Poorest and Most Vulnerable
Rebuilding and repairing New York City after Hurricane Sandy shows how climate change can exacerbate existing equity problems and that such disasters must spur efforts to rebuild fairly, not entrench existing problems.

Mumbai Cuts Noise Pollution to Improve Health
Traffic police in Mumbai have launched a campaign to cut down on unnecessary honking by motorists in the city of Mumbai

The San Francisco Bay Area Voted for a Sustainable, Inclusive Future
We can’t simply rely on the federal government to solve the San Francisco Bay Area’s challenges. Time and time again, we have turned to local do-it-yourself solutions. This year, voters rolled up their sleeves and took matters into their own hands.
Pagination
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service