World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Danish Paradox: High COVID Transmission Leads to Endemicity
The nation with the world's highest COVID infections per capita was the first in Europe to end almost all coronavirus restrictions. The decision comes with the declaration that as of Feb. 1, COVID is no longer a "socially critical disease" in Denmark
Study: Lifetime Cost Of Small Car $689,000; Society Subsidizes 40 Percent of This
Motor vehicles are costly, and every time somebody purchases a car they expect governments to provide roads and businesses to provide parking for its use. A new study totals these costs.
COVID Deaths: U.S. in a League of its Own
An analysis by The New York Times compares current and cumulative COVID deaths in the U.S. to other large, wealthy countries. Data analyzed include vaccination, age and obesity levels, and public trust, all factors that influence outcomes.
The Pandemic Era
"We are living in the Covid-19 era, not the Covid-19 crisis," Allan Brandt, a historian of science and medicine at Harvard University, told Gina Kolata of the New York Times last October in a review of past pandemics and what we can learn from them.
Opinion: High Tech Won't Save Cities
After some notable disappointments in the development of 'smart city' projects, experts are increasingly critical of the movement to use tech to solve urban problems.
World Planning Educators To Meet in Indonesia
The fifth World Planning Schools Congress this coming August, organized on the theme Planning a Global Village: Inclusion, Innovation, and Disruption, will step up cross-border movement of planning ideas and practices.
Beware Endemics!
The pandemic will end and SARS-CoV-2 may evolve to become a mild, endemic cold coronavirus, warns Aris Katzourakis, a professor of viral evolution and genomics in an opinion for Nature. Examples of other endemic diseases are malaria and tuberculosis.
Big Transit Projects To Look Forward to in 2022
An exhaustive list of all fixed-guideway projects scheduled to open or break ground in the U.S. in 2022.
COVID Zero: The High Price of Containment
Vision Zero: a strategy to eliminate road crashes, particularly those with fatal outcomes. COVID Zero: a strategy to end coronavirus transmission. Only one has worked—but at a steep price.
The Sixth Extinction Has Likely Already Begun
Scientists believe we have entered a sixth mass extinction event, calling for conservation and documentation of species before they are lost forever.
After Omicron
Don't count on Omicron ending the pandemic, cautioned America's top infectious disease expert on Jan. 17. "Get ready to learn new Greek letters," warned the Associated Press as daily COVID deaths topped the peak set in the Delta wave.
ITE Quickbites: New Transportation and Health Resources
Transportation planning decisions affect our lives in many ways. New Quick Bites (short reports) published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers can help create healthier and happier communities.
Optimism for Autonomous Shuttles Despite Recent Setbacks
Two autonomous shuttle companies closed last week, but one industry observer sees reasons for optimism for the long-term viability of the still-speculative market.
Electric Vehicle Sales Strong in 2021; SUVs Sales Still Dominate the Market
In December, data showed SUVs on course to account for more than 45% of global car sales in 2021.
Pandemic Endgame: Danish Epidemiologist's Prediction
Based on the results of a new study on the transmission of the Omicron variant in Denmark released by the Statens Serum Institut, Tyra Grove Krause, the institute's chief epidemiologist, said, "We will have our normal lives back in two months."
How the Pandemic Is Reshaping Cities
The social and economic upheaval of the last two years accelerated a shift in thinking about how we use public space and organize the urban realm.
Omicron Helps to Shatter Infection Records
The rapidly spreading Omicron variant and its viral competitor, the Delta variant, are setting new case records globally and in the U.S.
Ten Urban Success Stories From 2021
Still battling a global pandemic and its widespread economic and social effects, cities nevertheless made progress in some unexpected ways.
Cities and Automobile Dependence: What Have We Learned?
Thirty years ago Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy introduced the concept of automobile dependency. In this article they reexamine the evidence, consider criticisms, and discuss how their insights changed—sometimes painfully—planning practices.
Better Access to Urban Opportunities
A major new Coalition for Urban Transitions guide offers specific recommendations for COVID-19 recovery, climate emergency response, and poverty reduction through policies that make cities more accessible, sustainable, and inclusive.
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
