Cities around the world have been adopting various environmentally friendly policies during the past few years. Some cities have moved to make construction sites recycle materials, and still others, such as Chicago, have made a concerted effort to incorporate “green” building principles into their municipally financed structures. This past week, the city of San Francisco continued to consider...

Arcology, in simplest terms, is "the fusion of architecture with ecology." Designed by Paolo Soleri, Arcosanti is located in the high desert of northern Arizona. Begun in 1970 as an "urban laboratory," it can house 7000 people while occupying only 25 acres of a 4,060 acre preserve. The site promotes this alternative use of space and seeks to educate people on arcology and Soleri via a virtual...

This site advocates less dependence on automobile transportation, and proposes suggestions for technologies and city layouts that would eliminate the need for it altogether. Some of the most interesting discussion concerns city topology, suggesting a six-lobe design. Each lobe is divided into many districts, and can support up to two million people (twelve million in all). A heavy-rail metro is...

This site features resources focused on "smart growth," growth that attempts to "minimize environmental and health impacts while promoting economic prosperity." The site explains smart growth; provides links to funding sources, resources, and members of the smart growth network, a coalition of government, business, and civic organizations; collects related fact sheets, reports, grant products, and...