World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Wilmington NC Lives Outdoors

When a city's tightly-gridded, walkable streets are developed with connected, convivial, complete neighborhoods, the temptation to walk, bike, and run overcome the lethargy of our modern lifestyle. See an inspiring photo essay from Wilmington, NC.

December 16, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Beneath the Sea, Recognizing the Need to Turn Down the Volume

Humans are a noisy lot. In addition to fouling our cities with extreme sounds and exporting our din to wilderness areas, scientists are beginning to recognize and map the substantial impact of human-generated sound on the world's waters.

December 12, 2012 - The New York Times

Six Magnificent Maps of 2012

The "best of 2012" lists are just starting to spread and, already, one of the most unique collections we've come across is Caitlin Dempsey's look at the year's most interesting maps. You don't have to be a cartographer to enjoy these visualizations.

December 11, 2012 - GIS Lounge

Climate Talks End With Agreement and Bewilderment

Annual United Nations climate change negotiations concluded in Doha over the weekend with an agreement to extend the "increasingly ineffective" Kyoto Protocol a few years, while pushing off a more ambitious replacement agreement.

December 10, 2012 - The New York Times

Last of the color coding

Top 10 Books - 2013

Planetizen is pleased to release its eleventh annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2012.

December 10, 2012 - Abhijeet Chavan

Re-Connecting Housing and Health for a Better Future

Elizabeth Burton reminds us of the close connection between housing and health, and proposes better ways to gauge how housing may affect the health and well-being of residents.

December 9, 2012 - The Guardian (UK)

China's Cities Hold the Key to the World's Future

In a globalized world, China's economic, environmental and urban development has implications for us all, posits Henry M. Paulson Jr. The problems the country faces, and any potential solutions, revolve around its approach to urbanization.

December 9, 2012 - The New York Times

Traditional Cities and Towns: Incubators of Incompetent Children

With tongue firmly in cheek, Scott Doyon asks urban dwellers, "Are your enviable surroundings crippling the children?"

December 9, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Friday Funny: 14 Designer Pooch Palaces

With 14 examples of pup houses designed by famous architects such as MVRDV, Toyo Ito, and, of course, Atelier Bow-Wow, Web Urbanist shows that avant garde architecture is, most definitely, for the dogs.

December 7, 2012 - Web Urbanist

Can Science Save Planning from Extinction?

In a recent paper, urban theorist Stephen Marshall rehashes Jane Jacobs's criticism of city planning as a pseudoscience built "on a foundation of nonsense." Can science and design be reconciled to provide planning a more stable foundation?

December 7, 2012 - Scientific American

Earth at night

NASA Gives Light to the Globe at Night

This week, scientists unveiled unprecedented images of the Earth at night, as captured by a new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite.

December 6, 2012 - NASA

High Line park NYC - Manhattan - New York City

Landscape Architects Step Into Vacuum Left by Planners and Architects

Landscape Architecture is a field in the ascendency, writes Alan G. Brake. Its rise can be traced to the inability of Architects and Planners to engage with some of the most important challenges of our time.

December 5, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Do You Walmart?

Saying "no" to Walmart does not remove the wants and needs they exist to serve. If you want a more locally-oriented community, you need a more local-friendly system, says Scott Doyon.

December 4, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Carbon Emissions Set New Record, No End in Sight

Two new scientific papers report that global carbon dioxide emissions set a record high in 2011. With no coordinated effort underway to curb them, researchers believe crossing the 2 degree Celsius threshold for the worst impacts may be inevitable.

December 3, 2012 - The New York Times

Stunning Videos Of Public Transit Patterns

Data visualizations show the daily ebb and flow of public transit traffic in world's major cities.

December 2, 2012 - Wired

Charting a 'Two-Speed' World

Derek Thompson discusses the findings of a new study from the Brookings Institution that ranks the world's 300 biggest cities by GDP and job growth over the past year. Put simply, China is growing and Europe is slowing.

December 1, 2012 - The Atlantic

Don't Jump on that Trend Just Yet

Howard Blackson's "Next Urbanism Lab" series looks at recent trends and lessons learned for urban designers. While the Bilbao Effect, the Vancouver Model, the High Line, and Active Living may provide seductive role models, local insight is key.

November 30, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Architecture Enters Its Second Computational Revolution, Can You Keep Up?

In the beginning there was hand drawing. Then came AutoCAD and MicroStation and architecture's "first computer-based upheaval." Now, the need for hyper-evaluation is driving the Architecture 3.0 revolution, explains Neil Chambers.

November 29, 2012 - Metropolis POV Blog

World Climate Talks Convene As Emissions Rise

World climate talks convened in oil and gas-rich Qatar on Monday, and many eyes have turned to the U.S. Will it be receptive to a climate treaty in light of the devastation reaped on the Northeast by Superstorm Sandy? Can the world agree to a treaty?

November 28, 2012 - The Hill's Energy & Environment Blog

Twitter escultura de arena

Top Twitter Feeds 2012

We've augmented our comprehensive list of Twitter's top sources for news and observations about urban planning, design and development by recognizing this year's Top Ten Feeds.

November 27, 2012 - Jonathan Nettler

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.