Videos

Better Buses, Better Cities

Often dismissed by the general public, the humble bus is the underdog workhorse of public transit. Here in the U.S., buses have long been an afterthought in budgeting and planning, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Across the world, buses serve as the foundation of fast, reliable and inclusive transportation networks.

Webinar: Parking Reform Made Easy

Reforming minimum parking requirements is one of the most effective ways to support smart growth.

Webinar: Protecting Pollinators Nurturing Sustainable Communities with Pollinator Gardens

Without pollinators, like bees and butterflies, the world would be a dull and bland place. How can we make sure these creatures are always fluttering, soaring, and buzzing around us? And how does their presence make our communities more sustainable overall?

Webinar: Missing Middle Housing: Thinking Big and Building Small to Respond to Today’s Housing Crisis

Across the country, people are looking for housing options that shape affordable, walkable, and desirable neighborhoods. Daniel Parolek inspired a new movement for housing choice in 2010 when he coined the term “Missing Middle Housing,” a transformative concept that highlights a way to provide more housing and housing choices in sustainable, walkable places. This housing type includes a range of house-scale building with multiple units compatible in scale and form with detached single-family homes.

Planning, Zoning and Legislation to Enable Missing Middle Housing

The mismatch between the types of housing currently available and the types that people need is especially apparent here in the Bay Area, with its soaring housing prices, overwhelming rent burdens and indomitable homelessness crisis. But across the country, people are looking for housing options that shape affordable, walkable and desirable neighborhoods. Enter missing middle housing, such as duplexes and fourplexes.

Webinar: Road to Recovery -- DIY City: How Small Actions Can Solve Big Problems

Cities and metropolitan areas around the world face immense challenges today. In a new posthumous book, DIY City, The Collective Power of Small Actions, renowned urban planner Hank Dittmar makes the case for individual initiatives and interventions rather than grand plans, which he contends are often the problem.

Webinar: Pedaling Through Pandemic: How (E-)Cycling Can Keep Post-COVID Cities Moving

In a short time, the coronavirus crisis has forced communities worldwide to reevaluate their mobility networks, especially as public transportation faces reduced capacity for the foreseeable future. Enter the bicycle, which—in combination with an electric pedal assist—is filling a portion of the gap. 

Webinar: Beyond Polarization: Learning from the Unlikely Story of California’s Marine Protected Areas

At a time when the United States is divided and positive collective action feels out of reach, the creation of California’s network of marine protected areas provides a story of hope and hard work. After a contentious ten-year collaborative public process, the establishment of a network of 124 protected areas was considered nothing short of miraculous, having navigated political and interest-based polarization, bureaucratic delays, evolving science, and historic financial difficulties. What lessons can be drawn from the experience?

Webinar: Just Suburbs: Creating Equitable Opportunities in Suburban Development

The Coronavirus has caused us to rethink many things across our society, including how and where we live and work. Our changing demographics and economy were affecting how we view cities and suburbs before the pandemic. These changes present growing challenges to our suburbs.

Designing Cities Amid Urban Migration, Demographic Shift and a Disappearing Middle Class

Cities across the globe are coping with myriad challenges, from collapsing fertility, migration from rural areas and the disappearance of the middle class. Topping this is that cities account for 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and need to find ways to curb them. How can urban designers assimilate these interconnected challenges into their work?