World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Sunday Funday: Video Game Plays on Fears About Crumbling Infrastructure

The game is called INFRA—the action is set in a city where corruption in the private and public sectors has left the city on the brink of collapse.

July 12, 2015 - CityLab

Placemeter Provides New Ways to Measure Traffic

In the ongoing quest to better measure the use of streets by all modes—a new tool could be a game changer for transportation engineers, planners, and advocates alike.

July 11, 2015 - Streetsblog USA

Cities Where Density Benefits Transportation Efficiency

A simple demonstration of one of the benefits of density.

July 11, 2015 - Architect This City

facades of victorian style residences in San Francisco

Guidance for Good Urban Density

A new report by the Urban Land Institute, "Density: Drivers, Dividends and Debates," examines the concept of density, its impacts, and how it can best be achieved in cities around the world.

July 9, 2015 - Density Drivers Dividends and Debates

Rendering

How Futuristic Renderings Fail Future Cities

Pushing back on a version of futurism that imagines cities as a collection of iconic structures devoid of people and interactions.

July 9, 2015 - Project For Public Spaces

The Alamo Granted World Heritage Site Status

The San Antonio Missions—five frontier missions that include The Alamo—were named among a group of new World Heritage Sites.

July 7, 2015 - UNESCO

Bike Shed Netherlands

Lessons from Overseas Cycling Infrastructure

LennyBoy (civil engineering professor Glen Koorey) posts terrific information concerning bicycle planning best practices, based on his three-month tour of North American and European cities.

July 5, 2015 - Cycling In Christchurch - Overseas Learnings

Walking

New Guide Helps City Leaders Design for Physical Activity and Health

The "Active Cities Report" by the Designed to Move coalition provides detailed guidance concerning how to integrate physical activity into community design, and information on the economic, social and environmental benefits that result.

July 5, 2015 - Active Cities Report - A Guide for City Leaders

Chicago Harbor, City Skyline, Illinois

Global Cities Allying with Each Other, Not with Nations

With nation-states often wracked by internal political divides and often unable to cooperate with each other, cities have begun to forge their own international relationships. A new, urban approach to foreign policy is emerging.

July 5, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Adapting Landscape Architecture to the Anthropocene

As the effects of humans accelerate the changes occurring on the planet, landscape architects and planners alike will need to take into account ways that civilization can adapt to a lack of stability.

July 4, 2015 - Places Journal

great lakes

Friday Eye Candy: Full-Color, HD Videos Taken from Space

For the first time, full-color videos of the earth's surface will be made available to the public, with added options for paying customers. The imagery comes from two cameras on the International Space Station.

July 3, 2015 - Quartz

Urban Living as a Quadriplegic

Peter Apps, a quadriplegic for the past nine years, shares insight into how he evaluates the mobility and access of cities.

June 28, 2015 - Citymetric

A Landmark Achievement for Renewable Energy in 2014

The headline from Quartz doesn’t hold back: "Renewable energy just had its best year ever."

June 27, 2015 - Quartz

Pope Goes Global: Let's Talk Local

Pope Francis, sticking to his job description, is out to save the world and all its creatures. Maybe we can help in our own little universes, where we can influence planning and design that makes for swell places and for reduced contributions to GHG.

June 25, 2015 - PlaceShakers

Photo of google sign outside of google cafeteria

Why Google's 'Sidewalk Labs' Is Such a Big Deal

Earlier in June, Google announced the creation of an "urban innovation company" called Sidewalk Labs. One writer explains the genesis of the company as well as its potential for the future of how cities operate.

June 25, 2015 - Pacific Standard

No Papal Blessing for Cap-And-Trade

Governments must take correction actions to address climate change, warned Pope Francis in his June 18 encyclical, but cap-and-trade, which places a price on carbon emissions but can lead to speculation, is not one of them.

June 22, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Pope Francis

Pope Francis Taps Planners to Help Solve Climate Change

Pope Francis's unprecedented focus on climate change and the environment includes strong messages for planners and designers of the built environment.

June 19, 2015 - The New York Times

End of the Line for Honda's CNG-Fueled Cars, Civic Hybrid, and Accord Plug-In

Honda announced that low gas prices contributed to low demand for the Civic Natural Gas, the only compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered car for sale, the Civic Hybrid, and their first plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle, the Accord.

June 18, 2015 - Wall Street Journal

Want Smart Kids? Provide Access to Green Space

A new study finds evidence of the benefits of green space for the cognitive development of children.

June 18, 2015 - The Atlantic

Designing The Urban Technology Landscape

Urban planners need to go beyond environment and stakeholder input, taking a stronger role in the development of new technologies to design new urban futures rather than relying on software engineers.

June 17, 2015 - Humanitarian Space

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.