Urban nature is discussed and explored in this set of course material offered online as part of the MIT OpenCourseWare initiative. The course was originally taught by Professor Anne Whiston Spirn in fall 2012 and, as the site notes, explores “the mutual influences of ideas of nature, theories of city design and planning.” On the site visitors can read over the syllabus to check out the list of...

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) offers up high-quality seminars, conferences, research materials, and long term planning information for real estate professionals, urbanologists, public leaders, and others. Its Featured Videos include observations from professionals in Europe talking about large scale megaprojects to conversations about transit planning in Chicago. A good place to start is with...

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) provides regional plans for the entire Chicagoland area and they work on housing issues, transit, and much more. The GO TO 2040 Plan is designed to help the seven counties around Chicago plan for "sustainable prosperity through mid-century and beyond." On the site, visitors can look over detailed sections that holistically address topics such as...

Given the heated discussion and debate surrounding the future redevelopment of the World Trade Center site, it is no surprise that there is a great deal of interest in public places, along with much dissent about what makes an effective and meaningful public place. Drawing on the work of the late William H. Whyte (whose seminal book, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces is still read today), the...

_Urban Habitats_, published by the Center for Urban Restoration Ecology (CURE), is "a peer-reviewed, fully indexed scientific journal written and edited for a wide audience of researchers, restoration ecologists, park and preserve managers, government officials, and naturalists." The premier issue of this e-journal (focused on urban flora worldwide) is available online, and researchers are...