An abundance of climate and urban planning research has shown that urban sprawl is responsible for a significant share of global climate pollution. Sprawl requires longer trips in private vehicles, measured in “vehicle miles traveled,” or VMT. It also increases…
How an Oil Spill Backlash Caused High Housing Prices – and More Oil Consumption
Following a catastrophic oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969, in 1972, California voters passed Proposition 20, the “Save Our Coast” ballot initiative. The initiative rode a wave of voter anger over the horrific damage done by…
Housing Policy is Climate Policy: How Local Zoning Regulations Hurt the Environment
A new study by UC Berkeley and UC Irvine scholars, commissioned by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) examines the impact of local zoning, permitting, and environmental review on housing development and sprawl —…
700 Cities, One Warming Planet
What can city governments do to fight climate change? In an influential 2018 paper, renowned climate scientists Daniel Kammen, Chris Jones, and Stephen Wheeler analyzed the emissions reduction potential of 717 California cities and all 58 counties. What they found:…
The Weight of Cities – UN Report on Dense Infill Housing as Climate Solution
The United Nations has long been a strong advocate of the YIMBY policy toolkit as an integral strategy for fighting climate change. A new report from its International Resource Panel (IRP), “The Weight of Cities,” underscores the importance of new…
Driving into Debt
Published: 2019 | R. J. Cross and Tony Dutzik, Frontier Group | Ed Mierzwinski and Matt Casale, U.S. Pirg Education Fund Abstract In much of America, access to a car is all but required to hold a job or lead…
Carbon Footprint Planning: Quantifying Local and State Mitigation Opportunities for 700 California Cities
Published: 2018 | Christopher M. Jones, Stephen M. Wheeler, and Daniel M. Kammen | Cogitatio Urban Planning Abstract Consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories have emerged to describe full life cycle contributions of households to climate change at country, state…
Global scenarios of urban density and its impacts on building energy use through 2050
Published: 2017 | Burak Güneralpa, Yuyu Zhouc, Diana Ürge-Vorsatzd, Mukesh Guptad, Sha Yue, Pralit L. Patele, Michail Fragkiasf, Xiaoma Lic,g,h, and Karen C. Seto | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Abstract Although the scale of impending urbanization is…
Increasing Walking, Cycling, and Transit: Improving Californians’ Health, Saving Costs, and Reducing Greenhouse Gases
Published: 2016 | Neil Maizlish, PhD, MPH, Office of Health Equity, California Department of Public Health Abstract This study, like the majority of health impact studies of active transport in the United States and Europe, shows that physical activity due…