Environment

New Delhi's Urban Growth Killing the Yamuna River

The death of a major river in India is a symptom of unchecked urban growth and a lack of sanitary infrastructure.

July 1, 2007 - The Globe and Mail

Designing Three Model Developments For Houston

Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company is on charrette designing three different sites in Houston, a city well-known for its homogeneous suburban development. Plans include a TOD, sustainability, brownfield redevelopment, and of course walkability.

July 1, 2007 - The Houston Chronicle

Climate Change Increasing Infrastructure Maintenance Cost In Alaska

A study calculates the growing cost of maintaining Alaska's infrastructure as a result of global warming.

June 30, 2007 - The New York Times

The University of Michigan's Solar Home

The MiSo is a prototype zero emission modular house developed at the University of Michigan. While still in early phases, the school hopes to develop the homes into a commercial venture.

June 29, 2007 - Ann Arbor Business Review

Is Ozone The Issue?

New ozone standards will push the majority of American metropolises from compliance with to violation of the federal Clean Air Act. In this column, Joel Schwartz argues that ozone isn't the big problem.

June 29, 2007 - National Review

Creating Market Incentives For Wetlands Restoration

By creating market incentives for wetlands restoration, the Wetlands Initiative project aims to clean water, increase wildlife habitat, and reduce greenhouse gases.

June 28, 2007 - The Washington Post

More Americans Than Ever Commuting To Work Alone In Their Car

Despite the attention that global warming has received in the U.S., most Americans aren't choosing more eco-friendly commutes.

June 27, 2007 - The Christian Science Monitor

Supreme Court's Endangered Species Ruling A Victory For Builders

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the federal Clean Water Act takes precedence over the Endangered Species Act when considering approval of development plans. The ruling is seen as a victory for developers.

June 26, 2007 - The Business Journal of Phoenix

Planning For Rising Sea Levels

For the coastal California city of San Diego, the threat of global warming and rising sea levels is on the minds of many local officials and planners.

June 26, 2007 - San Diego Union Tribune

Will The Sunbelt Dry Up?

Drought and shrinking water supplies could pose serious limits to growth in the American southwest and southeast.

June 26, 2007 - The Globe & Mail

Washington Needed After All?

Much has been made recently about how U.S. municipal and state governments aren't waiting for the federal government to act on climate change. Now it appears that these efforts can't succeed without Washington.

June 25, 2007 - The Globe & Mail

Big City Farming On the 20th Floor

'Vertical farming' -- the idea of growing crops and livestock in high-rise buildings -- could be a solution to the high environmental costs of transporting food from distant farms to dense urban areas.

June 22, 2007 - BBC

Amazon Tribe Looks To Use Google Earth To Prevent Logging

A Brazilian tribe is in talks with Google to use its satellite imaging program to monitor and prevent illegal logging in the tribal reservation of more than 600,000 acres in the Amazon rainforest.

June 20, 2007 - International Herald Tribune

Documentary Follows Suburban Development Fight In Austin

"The Unforeseen," a new documentary, takes a thoughtful look at the various interests at stake in the development of sprawling real estate in Austin.

June 20, 2007 - NOW

Seattle Grapples With Tree Losses

A rash of illegal tree cutting in Seattle has prompted local officials to act on the city's decreasing amount of trees and canopy cover. Tree-planting efforts hope to build the canopy back from less than its current city coverage of less than 20%.

June 20, 2007 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

'The Green Wall Of China'

China is establishing a living wall of vegetation to hold back the Gobi desert that is heading southeast to Beijing.

June 19, 2007 - Seed

Chicago's Green Plans Falling Short

Despite big plans to make the city a national example for environmental friendliness, some say Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's measures have failed to produce the intended results.

June 19, 2007 - The Chicago Tribune

Urban Green Space Threatened By Higher Density?

New regulations requiring higher density housing have some worried about the threat to urban green space in the UK.

June 18, 2007 - BBC

Historic Preservation Is Environmentally Friendly, Too

Saving and reusing older buildings converses resources on top of preserving a communities historic character.

June 17, 2007 - Historic Preservation

Western Governments Team Up Against Greenhouse Gases

With a regional goal of curbing greenhouse gas emissions, the Western governments of British Columbia, California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have joined forces to push environmental policies the federal government has avoided.

June 15, 2007 - NPR

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.