World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Stayin’ Alive: The life and death prospects of community ties
Connected communities aren't just about fun and frolic. When the goin' gets rough, they can make the difference between life and death.
Step Right Up: Play the City Name Game
Nomenclature changes, especially for cities with chronologies spanning centuries and even millennia. Test your knowledge of historic, even ancient, place names.
The Mythical Search for 'Congruity' in the City
In the eighth installment of the Urban Juxtapositions series profiled in Planetizen on January 16, Chuck Wolfe asks if we are using the right language when it comes to densifying urban spaces.
Friday Eye Candy: 40 More Maps That Explain Everything
It's hard to keep up with the endless quest to present the world's knowledge in map form, but luckily we've got Max Fisher as a guide. He's collected 40 more fascinating maps that explain world history, present conditions and future scenarios.
What Can Ancient Cities Teach Modern Urbanites?
These 15 ancient cities can help modern urbanites plan more efficient and sustainable municipalities.

Lessons from Don Draper (for Planners)
Aside from inspiring a classy wardrobe, what can urban planners learn from characters like Don Draper and Peggy Olson? What cues should urban planners and policy makers take from the field of advertising to help pitch planning ideas?
Drug Testing Your City's Sewer System
If you really want to know how prevalent drug use is in your community, don't ask people–just test their wastewater.

Whatever Happened to Declining Oil Consumption in the U.S.?
Last year, the U.S. increased oil consumption by two percent, surpassing the increase in China for the first time in more than a decade according to a new IEA report. How does this increase square with peak car, peak VMT, and peak oil consumption?
It's Street Furniture; It's a Smart Device
Street furniture like benches, garbage cans, and bike racks are found in every city. But not all street furniture is created equal—new technology is redefining street furniture as the smart devices that run efficient cities.

How Technology Is, and Isn't, Affecting Street Life
By analyzing four public spaces using William H. Whyte's groundbreaking techniques for studying street life, a team of researchers led by Keith Hampton reached some surprising conclusions about how technology is changing our social interactions.
What the Data Says About Life in the City
Cities can be undersold or oversold in equal measure, but they never fail to present a shortage of data. With its #citydata series, This Big City explores the sometimes surprising facts about cities that emerge from the din of urban life.
New Series: In the Urban World, Juxtapositions Matter
In an ongoing series, Urbanism Without Effort author Chuck Wolfe argues the importance of the overlaps, overlays and convergence points that define city life, and emphasizes the importance of reading and interpreting their everyday expression.
Google Invites Itself into Your Home
It's already conquered phones and the Internet, and is moving rapidly into the automotive world, but Google's $3.2 billion purchase of smart device maker Nest provides the company with entree into the "connected home" market.
Is Your Car Spying On You?
A new Senate bill aims to give drivers more control over the growing trove of data being collected by sensors and computers embedded in our cars. Most drivers are unaware of how much personal information is being recorded.
Road Safety (and Lack thereof) Case Studies from around the World
An inordinate amount of traffic fatalities occur in developing parts of the world. In some countries, road deaths have surpassed diseases like AIDS and Tuberculosis as a public health threat.

Rockefeller's 100 Resilient Cities: 33 Chosen, What's Next?
In December, the Rockefeller Foundation chose the first 33 cities to receive funding and support through its 100 Resilient Cities Challenge. Here's what comes next.

Researchers Close the Book on Open Offices
A growing body of scientific research shows that open office plans harm wellbeing and job performance.
Is the Ban on U.S. Oil Exports Suppressing Gasoline Prices?
Yes, and that's a good thing, say opponents of lifting the 1975 ban on crude oil exports. Brad Plumer examines this argument and explains the two other chief reasons, the environment and refinery lobbying, to maintain the ban on exporting crude oil.
Raising the Level of the Social Media Design Conversation
Architecture Critic Alexandra Lange, in her first op-ed for Dezeen, calls on architects to make better use of social media than just as a tool for shameless self-promotion.

Shipping Container Housing You Might Actually Want to Live In
For years, architects have promoted the possibilities of transforming shipping containers into housing. But design and functional challenges make that process difficult. With its shippable modular buildings, MEKA may have found a livable alternative.
Pagination
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