World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Reframing the Sustainability Argument

This podcast features a discussion with designer Bruce Mau, who talks about sustainability and why he loves the suburbs.

October 9, 2010 - Climate Desk

The Fastest-Growing Cities in the World

Writing for Forbes, Joel Kotkin looks at the fastest-growing cities in the world, and shows how powerhouse cities like New York and Mumbai are being challenged by lesser known places.

October 8, 2010 - Forbes

Cities of Light

Leni Schwendinger says that cities don't pay enough attention to the way lighting effects the built environment. She's currently working on the lighting for Times Square's new pedestrianized streets.

October 8, 2010 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

World's Delta Cities Team Up to Address Shared Issues

A new group of cities is emerging to collaboratively tackle issues related to sea level rise in delta and waterfront cities.

October 7, 2010 - WorldChanging

The Landscape Urbanism: Sprawl in a Pretty Green Dress?

The latest in a series of academic challenges to the New Urbanism turns out to be weak in all the areas that matter most, argues author Michael Mehaffy.

October 4, 2010 - Michael Mehaffy

Main Street, U.S.A.

Rick Wright is the Executive Director of MainStreet Oceanside, and is attending the California Downtown Association conference. But Rick also edits MiceChat, a blog for Disney obsessives, and this week he features Main Streets, Disney and otherwise.

October 4, 2010 - MiceChat

Skyscrapers That Fizzled

WebUrbanist looks at 12 ambitious skyscraper proposals that have stalled out, from a tower planned for Dubai's man-made Palm Islands to a Dublin tower proposed by the band U2.

October 4, 2010 - WebUrbanist

Solar Power, But 100 Times Better

Chemical engineers at MIT were recently able to create solar energy that is 100 times more concentrated than that created by a conventional photovoltaic cell. The secret? Carbon nanotubes.

October 2, 2010 - Green Muze

Misconceptions About Commute Times

Perceptions about the amount of time transit trips take have been found to fall significantly when people actually take transit, according to a new report.

October 2, 2010 - KALW

Friday Funny: Bike Path FAIL

Keep your eyes on the road - or maybe not, with this bike path fiasco from FAILBlog.

October 1, 2010 - FAILblog

Best Videos About Urban Planning

Democrablog offers this list of 50 videos on YouTube that focus on urban planning and related issues.

September 30, 2010 - Democrablog

Taking the 'Mass' Out of Mass Transit

Is the isolation of personal rapid transit truly viable for mass transit?

September 29, 2010 - TheCityFix

Stairway to Never

WebUrbanist looks at 15 sculptures that use the architectural form of stairways to express a deeper meaning.

September 28, 2010 - WebUrbanist

How "Arrival Cities" Are Shaping the Future

In his new book, Arrival City, Doug Saunder explores how cities can ease the planet's "final migration" by creating "arrival" neighborhoods that allow newcomers to make connections with each other, their home villages and especially their new cities.

September 27, 2010 - The Globe and Mail

Are We Living in a Golden Age?

It depends on your criteria, says Aaron M. Renn. A golden age of accessibility and consumption? Yes. But is it better to be in an era of plenty, or an era of creation and discovery?

September 27, 2010 - The Urbanophile

Warehouses to Urban Farms

Yesterday's infrastructure can become tomorrow's agriculture, says Ed Harwood, by converting underused industrial warehouses and factories to hydroponic and aeroponic growing.

September 27, 2010 - Ed Harwood

Could Classic Hill Towns Be a Model for Town Planning?

In classic hill towns, people showed innovation and dynamic placemaking--lessons learned for urbanism in the new century, says Chuck Wolfe.

September 27, 2010 - myurbanist

The Car as Protector, and Prosthetic

Asrai Ord explicates Rebecca Solnit's belief that "the car has become a prosthetic… for a conceptually impaired body or a body impaired by the creation of a world that is no longer human in scale."

September 25, 2010 - The Planning Pool

Taking the Gloom Out of Peak Oil

The latest issue of Yes! Magazine focuses on local resilience, and how preparing for a Peak Oil era -- through such efforts as the Transition Town movement -- can be a positive force for community building.

September 24, 2010 - Yes! Magazine

The Unplanned City

David Knight and Finn Williams ask, "what can we build without planning?" Turns out that a lot of things get built without process, from building extensions to temporary structures.

September 21, 2010 - BLDGBLG

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.