World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Friday Funday: New Google Maps Game Tests Your Geography Knowledge
If you're obsessed with trivia and maps, prepare to lose some hours.
Reconsidering 'You Just Don’t Get It!' as a Community Engagement Strategy
Consider spending more time at the beginning of a community engagement process understanding predispositions that could turn toxic if we don’t keep the conversation about what unites neighbors.
Does the 'Playable City' Improve the 'Smart City'?
Conceived as a counterpoint to the "smart city," the "playable city" would think beyond efficiency and utility in applying technology to the urban experience.
What Can a 'Science of Cities' Offer Planners?
Research across a range of fields is beginning to offer useful new guidance for planning policy and practice—and pointing the way to more effective "bottom-up" strategies.
Re-Evaluating the Dynamic Duo: Olmsted and Moses
Anthony Flint examines the commonalities—and disparities—in the historic legacies of Frederick Law Olmsted and Robert Moses.
Induced Demand Explained (or Why We Can't Build Our Way Out of Congestion)
In case you need an easy link to reference when encountering arguments in favor of widening roads and freeways as a solution for traffic, Adam Mann provides an accessible and clear explainer article that sums up the limitations of such strategies.
In the Era of Starchitecture, Whither 'Locatecture'?
Witold Rybczynski laments the globalization of architecture—especially the personal branding of the most famous architects onto the skylines of cities all over the world.
Street Art Tells the Other Side of the World Cup Story
In the many cities hosting the month-long FIFA World Cup tournament, street artists share their criticisms in vibrant, powerful murals located in public spaces.
Study: Traffic Forecasts Are Often Inaccurate
In a recent review of the state-of-the-art, two planning researchers conclude that traffic forecasts often fail to accurately predict that demand for new transportation infrastructure.
Urban River Revitalization Across the Globe
Urban Times offers a list of 13 urban river renewal projects spanning from Medellin to Manila.
Big Changes for the National Geographic Atlas of the World Due to Melting Arctic Ice
National Geographic Geographer Juan José Valdés calls the changes in the map of Arctic ice in the 10th edition of the National Geographic Atlas of the World, "the biggest visible change other than the breakup of the U.S.S.R."
Labor Unrest Surrounds Transit Systems in Brazil on the World Cup's Opening Day
Questions about workers' strikes in two transportation systems persisted right up until the launch of the World Cup, the world's most watched sporting event, today in Brazil.
New Research Attempts to Quantify the Health Impacts of Design and Nature
There is already good evidence that exposure to green landscapes is good for people. The next frontier of research in the health impacts of designed environments is to be able to quantify connections between design decisions and life expectancy.
Friday Funny: The Signage of the Not-So-Distant Future
A Tumblr called Signs from the Near Future has seen the signs, and has predicted what the signs of the future will look like.
What Urban Planners Fail to Grasp in Climate Action Plans
Climate mitigation and adaptation have become de rigeur aspects of urban planning for most cities, according to results from MIT's international Urban Climate Change Governance Survey. What's missing in most plans is the link to economic development.
Did Google Find a Low-Speed Shortcut to Fully Automated Vehicles?
Google's bold new design for a self-driving car has no steering wheel or pedals. And it has a top speed of 40 km/h. Here is a look at Google’s plans and the role low-speed automated vehicles could play in urban transportation.
Cities of Love: Paris, Boston, Venice, Quebéc City (and Buffalo?)
Spring brings out the romance in cities. Here's a bit of inspiration from Quebéc City...and Buffalo.
Debate Intensifies Before EPA Releases New Rules for Power Plants
Both sides are coming out swinging, days before President Obama and EPA Administrator McCarthy release a long-awaited power plant rule on Monday. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a new report concluding the rule would cost $50 billion annually.
Can the Garden City of the Past Work in the Future?
Anthony Flynt explores the motivations behind Robert A.M. Stern's recent revival of the Garden City as a model for future development. Among the benefits of the model proposed by Ebenezer Howard in 1902, according to Stern: equity and comfort.
Electric Vehicles Not Welcome in Europe
It may seem odd that the continent of high gas taxes and strong environmental ethos would not take to electric vehicles. Focusing on the news that Renault will delay the release of a new EV, AutoblogGreen explores the poor sales of EVs in Europe.
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
