Asia-Pacific

China, Japan, other South East Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands countries.

It's Alive! 5 of the World's Most Bionic Buildings

Cate St Hill examines the futuristic systems being employed by the most biologically advanced buildings in the world.

June 11, 2013 - Building Design

Friday Funny: Japan Cracks Down on Fun

Apparently the kids in Japan are just too darn loud. In a country where the old increasingly outnumber the young, crotchety old folks are cracking down on the sounds of childhood.

June 7, 2013 - The Japan Times

Culture Influences Pedestrian Behavior at Crosswalks, Study Says

The results of a recent study of pedestrian road crossing behavior suggests that the risks we take as walkers depend largely on our cultural context.

May 10, 2013 - Atlantic Cities

World Population Map

Asia's Emergence in One Stunning Map

A simple graphic posted to Reddit recently shows that more than half of the world's total population resides within a circle drawn over Asia. For Matthew Yglesias, it "underscores the fundamental truth of 21st-century economics."

May 8, 2013 - Slate

Play Planner With Auckland Growth Simulator

In a quest to develop a plan to house the additional 1 million people expected to grow New Zealand's largest city in the next 30 years, Auckland is asking residents to submit ideas by using a "housing simulator" game.

April 23, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Vietnam Tries to Head Off Rising Car Culture by Building Transit

Lien Hoang looks at efforts by Vietnam's government to get ahead of rising living standards, and the auto congestion that often accompanies, by building modern transit systems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

April 21, 2013 - The New York Times

Why We Should Forget That Fukushima Ever Happened

Nuclear power has saved 370 times more lives than it has ended in the last four decades, says a NASA paper. Despite the horrors of Japan's ongoing nuclear disaster, we'll need to rely on nuclear power for the sake of the environment and human health.

April 8, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Toyo Ito Wins 2013 Pritzker Prize

Over the weekend it was announced that 71-year-old Japanese architect Toyo Ito has won this year's Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in the field. The jury honored Ito for combining "conceptual innovation with superbly executed buildings."

March 18, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Japanese Breakthrough Could Revolutionize Natural Gas Extraction

Japan is looking to unleash a new source of natural gas in the same way that fracking and horizontal drilling has revolutionized natural gas drilling in the U.S. It's called methane hydrate or 'flammable ice', and is the most prevalent energy source.

March 15, 2013 - The New York Times

Sheikh Zayed Road under construction

The Emerging Asian City: An Interview with Vinayak Bharne

The publication of the 24 chapter volume “The Emerging Asian City: Concomitant Urbanities & Urbanisms”, brings together some of the most significant emerging voices and thoughts on the forces and phenomenologies shaping urban Asia today.

January 29, 2013 - Jonathan Nettler

A Korean City for Books and Architecture

Shannon Mattern visits a "a publishers’ enclave" that is seeking to reinvent Korean publishing, architecture and urban planning in the wetlands near the Demilitarized Zone.

January 22, 2013 - Places Journal

The Tokyo Model: From Post-War Slum to Superpower

In this compelling essay, authors Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava take a look at Tokyo's post-war development and explore how lessons learned from its unplanned growth may be useful for other rapidly urbanizing Asian cities today.

January 20, 2013 - Next City

Rich Seedlings for the Urban Revolution

Over the next few decades, half of global economic growth is predicted to come from the slums of developing world cities. Gaia Vince believes the key to the coming urban revolution is how these shantytowns evolve.

January 16, 2013 - BBC

Beijing Smog Levels "Off The Scale"

In Beijing, the level of air pollution is the highest the monitors at the U.S. embassy have ever recorded since put in place in 2008. The pollution results from a combination of weather conditions and particulate matter - most from coal burning.

January 15, 2013 - The New York Times - Environment

Japan Perfects the Art of Delicate Demolition

John Metcalfe looks at how one Japanese company is advancing a more quieter sensitive method for demolishing high-rise buildings, floor by floor.

January 13, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

In Japanese Tsunami Zone, a Plan to Elevate Cities

The Yomiuri Shimbun reports on plans to elevate the ground level in urban areas that were inundated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, prior to rebuilding. One town will elevate its land by 17 meters (55 feet).

January 4, 2013 - The Daily Yomiuri

Coal Ascendant in the 21st Century

Coal burning is rising everywhere save the U.S. If no changes are made to promote alternatives, it will overtake oil as the world's top energy source within a decade according to a new report from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA).

December 21, 2012 - Bloomberg News

Screened Subway Platforms Ruled-Out for NYC

The front page photo, "Doomed" on the New York Post on Dec. 4 of pushed subway rider, Ki Suk Han attempting to lift himself from the tracks as a train approaches has captivated many - yet a proposal to prevent it from repeating it is doomed as well.

December 12, 2012 - Capital New York

As Economies Return, So Does Frightening Asian Air Pollution

New studies are raising alarms about the growing threat of harmful air in Asia's cities. One recent report warns that air pollution could become the biggest environmental cause of premature death by 2050 if action is not taken.

December 5, 2012 - The New York Times

Two Influential Homes: Separated by Time, United in Spirit

Edwin Heathcote examines the common ethos that connects Kyoto's Katsura Imperial Villa and Los Angeles's Schindler House, "two homes, far apart in time and space, that influenced the modern movement."

November 29, 2012 - Financial Times

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

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The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.