It’s no secret: Washington D.C. is too gridlocked by party politics to pass sweeping environmental reforms.
It's nothing new; this has been the case for forty-odd years. Meanwhile, the business of keeping everything running falls to local government, cities in particular.
Since the New Urbanism movement hit in the late 1980s, environmental sustainability has become a crucial component of how urban planners view the city’s future. But car-oriented suburban models have a lot of momentum in this country, perpetuated by developers interested in short-term gains. Even though expert consensus has been largely achieved in favor of sustainable development, the economics of our daily lives are still tethered to the old model.
The good news is that there is a ground-swelling of action and dialogue on the local level about how to make cities greener, more satisfying places to live in.
Below are some good places to turn for the latest news and thoughtful analysis on how cities are evolving.
City pages from big magazines and radio:
Atlantic CityLab
http://www.citylab.com/
Consistently compelling, often in-depth stories on cities from Atlantic Media. While not ostensibly green, CityLab operates from the perspective that cities are worth living in and should be improved by upgrading transportation, walkable infrastructure, and green space. CityLab reports on environmental issues side-by-side with questions of social justice and fair access to urban resources.
NPR Cities
http://www.npr.org/series/155914958/npr-cities
Head over to the NPR Cities Project to read transcripts of the program or listen to the audio itself. These stories are usually quite friendly to green concerns, covering resilience, transportation, social justice, and land use questions, among others. There’s also a good bit of reporting on how digital technology impacts cities.
The Guardian Cities
http://www.theguardian.com/cities
It may be supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, but this subsection of The Guardian provides thoughtful reports on urban issues worldwide. There isn’t an obvious focus on environmental issues, but transportation, land use, and data are consistent themes. Articles usually provide good in-depth coverage.
Focused on Los Angeles:
Planetizen
http://www.planetizen.com/
Headquartered here in Los Angeles, Planetizen (a portmanteau of “plan”, “net”, and “citizen”) collects the best urban news and publishes editorial posts of its own. Many of the stories are summarized versions of news published elsewhere, letting the Planetizen user stay on top of a variety of sources. Most stories deal with transit, climate, and land use.
StreetsBlog LA
http://la.streetsblog.org/
This website is a good resource for those of us who want to get around in this city without driving. With a strong focus on creating sustainable transit options and livable streets, Streetsblog LA maintains a consistently pro-environment focus. The website also delves into social justice and inclusion issues pertinent to Los Angeles.
Independent websites:
This Big City
http://thisbigcity.net/
This Big City is an information exchange headquartered in London. The site provides a variety of news and feature articles dedicated to advancing sustainability in cities. With coverage of green urban strategies worldwide, this is an excellent place to find ideas about how people elsewhere are tackling challenges. Unlike some of the other sites on this list, This Big City has a self-avowed sustainability stance.
Urban Institute
http://www.urban.org/
A nonprofit policy research center located in Washington D.C., the Urban Institute produces original research on a wide variety of urban policy topics. In-depth reports on their findings are reproduced in full on the website, often in pdf form. Helpful when you want to make a point or back up a claim.
Sustainable Cities Collective
http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/
Another news/information exchange dedicated to sustainable urbanism. Like Planetizen, the Sustainable Cities Collective brings together content from a variety of news sources and blogs. This site allows qualified bloggers to add their own content to the site directly pending staff approval, resulting in a grassroots, crowd-sourced feel.
Next City
http://nextcity.org/
Next City is a nonprofit media and news organization dedicated to quality coverage of urban progress toward greater sustainability. In addition to a wide range of short features, Next City publishes a subscription series of long-form stories, Forefront. The site also features several columns that aggregate stories of environmental and social importance. Coverage is primarily of American cities and issues.
A few more:
Grist
http://grist.org/
Many Sierra Club members probably already frequent Grist, one of the top Internet news sites dedicated to environmental issues. It is included on this list because it covers green news and issues with wit and an urban sensibility. Actual urban sustainability and land use news is regularly featured here as well.
The Architects’ Newspaper
http://archpaper.com/
Not immediately environmental or green, The Architects’ Newspaper is a good resource for people interested in the latest methods to improve the built environment. Architecture, sustainability, and urban planning often go hand-in-hand these days. It’s also good to keep tabs on major architectural projects that may have significant negative effects on the environment.
Greentech Media
greentechmedia.com
There are a whole slew of tech news websites out there, even quite a few reporting on green and clean technologies specifically. Headquartered in California, Greentech Media provides the latest scientific, corporate, and policy news, most of it from the renewable energy sector. Major categories of coverage include solar power, grid issues, and efficiency. The staff also provides an informative podcast, The Energy Gang, discussing these issues in greater depth.
Philip Rojc is a writer and Angeles Chapter Sierra Club member. You can find him at philiprojc.com or follow him on Twitter at @PhilipRojc.