• Street trees: A wonder of climate adaptation

    Street trees have many benefits, but their climate impact is becoming more important all the time.
    Urban trees are among the most powerful tools that designers can use to help communities both mitigate and adapt to climate change. Trees are like outdoor air conditioners that operate as carbon sinks. The cooling impact of a single healthy tree from evaporation and absorbing sunlight “is...Read more

  • How to prepare communities for climate change

    The Climate Planner offers a wealth of experience and advice for planners confronting climate change in community plans.
    “Think globally, act locally,” has been an environmental mantra for at least 30 years. For local communities, acting on climate change begins with a plan—which makes urban planners a linchpin in this issue. And yet planners may be averse to getting in the middle of another political hot-button...Read more

  • Design for new town deals with climate change

    Newfield in Martin County, Florida, provides an upland alternative to coastal real estate in Southeast Florida, while preserving the countryside.
    Development of a new mixed-use town near Stuart, Florida, designed for 15,000-20,000 people, is getting underway. The 3,400-acre Newfield, in Martin County, is being developed by Knight Kiplinger, head of the Kiplinger Media company in Washington, DC. The plan by Marcela Camblor & Associates...Read more

  • Ten environmental benefits of walkable places

    This is third in a series of articles on the advantages of building human-scale cities and towns.
    “The recovery of spawl to vibrant places is literally our generation’s greatest challenge,” says architect Steve Mouzon . There are many benefits to building walkable places, backed up by research and common sense. A research report called Cities Alive by Arup, a multinational engineering and...Read more