Urbanization Archives - State of the Planet

Electric towers during golden hour

Model Environmental Justice Bills, Aimed at State Legislators, Are Released

A new framework for legislators and advocates aims to promote environmental justice with exemplary tools to accelerate proposed policy changes.

Christine Appah-Gyamfi Empowers Students to Lead on Environmental Justice Issues

In her class at the Columbia Climate School, this environmental justice lawyer provides tools and hands-on opportunities for her students to generate real-world impacts.

by |April 4, 2023

Viewing Urban Geography and History Through an Environmental Justice Lens

A Q&A with John Williams, who studies the historical links between the built environment and racial injustice in U.S. cities.

by Olivia Colton |March 22, 2023
Green forest with skyscrapers in the background.

Opinion: Why Environmentalists Should Oppose ‘Cop City’ and Defend the Atlanta Forest

A Sustainability Management graduate student discusses questions of environmental injustice in Atlanta, Georgia, as one county prepares to turn a large greenspace into a police training facility.

by Aditi Desai |February 24, 2023
Electric towers during golden hour

People Like to Breathe: The Importance of EPA’s New Air Particulate Proposal

In the United States, we need strong pollution control standards that are enforced carefully, precisely, and with a deep understanding of the pace of operational change that is feasible for a particular business or locality.

by |January 9, 2023

New York City’s Greenery Absorbs a Surprising Amount of Its Carbon Emissions

A hyper-local study of vegetation shows that the city’s trees and grass often cancel out all the CO2 released from cars, trucks and buses on summer days.

by |January 5, 2023

New York City’s Dynamism is Why Our City Will Not Fail

Diversity and tolerance comprise the secret sauce that fuels New York City’s creative and economic dynamism.

by |November 7, 2022
view of the manhattan skyline across the hudson river

There Are, in Fact, Fish in the Hudson River

The river — much like post-pandemic New York City — is more resilient than people think.

by Helena Kilburn |November 2, 2022
flooding in nyc street from hurricane sandy

What City Planners Can Learn From Hurricane Sandy

Based on a decade of data from Hurricane Sandy, two New York City planners explore the inequities of disaster mitigation and recovery — and what needs to change to prevent climate gentrification.

by Thaddeus Pawlowski and Donovan Finn |October 18, 2022
New York City Gridlock

Data Dive: NYC Traffic Trends, Street Safety and Public Health

Professor Peter Muennig discusses the state of New York City’s streets, and what could be done to make them safer.

by |September 27, 2022