Environmental Science & Management Research Guide

Planning information includes primary and secondary information about natural and human systems, laws and regulations affecting the planning process, planning practices, and the results of planning activities. Below are listed:

1. major literature sources that focus on natural resource planning and
2. key reference sources for identifying research, professional and practical information in planning
3. legal resources
4. statistical and environmental data resources.

The following section lists some of the major planning research journals and popular magazines. It also includes information on how to find urban, regional and other plans. For information on scientific literature see in general see Literature of Science.

Journals 

• Below are journals available through the CPH Library. Check the Journal and Newspaper Finder for exact holdings and location. See Finding Articles for databases that index individual articles in these journals and other related journals.

  Applied Geography
  Cities
  Environment and Behavior
  Environmental Conservation
  Environmental Impact Assessment Review
  Environmental Management
  Habitat International
  Int. Journal of Urban & Regional Research
  Journal of Applied Ecology
  Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy & Mgt.
  Journal of Environmental Planning & Mgt.
  Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning
  Journal of Planning Education and Research
  Journal of Planning History
  Journal of Planning Literature
  Journal of Regional Sciences
  Journal of Rural Studies
  Journal of the American Planning Association
  Journal of Urban Planning and Development
  Land Economics
  Land Use Policy
  Landscape
  Landscape & Urban Planning
  Landscape Ecology
  Natural Areas Journal
  Ocean & Coastal Management
  Park Science
  Planning & Environmental Law
  Planning Commissioner's Journal
  Planning Practice and Research
  Planning Theory
  Policy Studies Journal
  Policy Studies Review
  Progress in Planning
  Regional Studies
  Renewable Resources Journal
  Urban Ecology
  Urban Studies
  URISA Journal

   

Magazines & Newsletters 

California Coast and Ocean (California Coastal Conservancy)

High Country News

Planning (American Planning Association)

Plans - To locate city and county general plans in the CPH Library search the CPH Library Catalog

1. By subject:

   city planning-California-[city or county name]

   regional planning-California-[city or county name]

2. By title:

   Search "general plan" using the Keyword search option

California Local Planning Documents Database (UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Library) Searchable database of city and county planning documents available in the Institute of Governmental Studies Library. Searchable by jurisdiction, element (e.g. housing, open space) and year adopted. One can also limit to plans available on the web.

For local plans available in online fulltext format see CPH Special Collections Links: Government and Community Services.

Guides

• California Planning and Development Report (CP and DR) regarded as the authoritative periodical on planning and development issues - required reading for planners, land-use lawyers, developers, environmentalists, citizen activists, and others interested and involved in the process of planning and development in California.
• Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR) focused on creating sustainable communities by encouraging and facilitating land recycling to revitalize urban areas, discourage urban sprawl, and conserve greenspace.

Directories

• California Counties' Websites (California State Association of Counties)
• Directory of California Planning Agencies (Annual) (California. Office of Planning and Research) Directory of city and other planning agencies as well as other planning related information.
• California Roster (California Secretary of State) Annual (print copy available in ref JK 8730 R67) Directory of state, county, and city agencies and officials.
• League of California Cities

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

• Dictionary of Natural Resources Management (Dunster) 1996 (ref HC 15 D86 1996)
• Encyclopedia of Community Planning and Environmental Management (Schultz) 1984 (ref HD 108.6 S38 1984)
• Dictionary of ecodesign: an illustrated reference (Yeang and Woo) 2010 (CPH users only)
• Wildland Planning Glossary (Schwarz, Thor, & Elsner) 1976 (U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-13)

Bibliographies

• Bibliography of Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design and Planning (Powell) 1987 (SB 472 P68)
• HUD User Database (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research) Bibliographic database covering housing and community development issues. It contains more than 10,000 references to research reports, articles, books, monographs, and data sources in housing policy, building technology, economic development, urban planning, and other related fields.
• Journal of Planning Literature (CPH users only) Each issue includes several review articles on specific topics and a bibliography of recent planning literature gleaned from 49 journals. Each bibliography is arranged by broad planning topics with more specific author and subject indexes.
• "Planning Literature Information Service" IN Planning Practice & Research (CPH users only) Lists articles from 30 planning journals under 10 subject categories: Planning Theory and History; Methodology; Modelling and Information Systems; Economic and Property Development; The Built Environment; Enviornment, Energy and Nature; Transport; Housing and Community Development; Urban and Regional Planning; Rural Planning; Public Administration, Public Policy and Professional Concerns.

Handbooks & Manuals

• Community Planning Website (Royal Town Planning Institute) Contains how-to-do-it best practice information.
• The Conservation Easement Handbook: Managing Land Conservation and Historic Preservation Easement Programs (Diehl & Barrett) 1988 (Kf 736.L3 D54 1988)
• Guide to California Planning (Fulton and Shigley) 2018 (HT 393 C3 F85 2018)
• International Handbook on Land Use Planning (Patricios) 1988 (HD 108.6 I58 1986)
• Bureau of Land Management Handbook List (BLM)
• Landscape Restoration Handbook (Harten) 1993 (SB 439 L35 1993)
• Planning Advisory Service Reports (American Planning Association) (CPH users only) Ongoing series of reports offering guidance on current issues and innovative practices. APA maintains a list of available reports.
• Small Town Planning Handbook (Daniels) 1995 (HT 167 D36 1995)
• Subdivision Map Act Manual: a Desk Reference Covering California's Subdivision Laws and Processes (Curtin) 2002 (ref KFC 811 C875 2002)

Geospatial Resources (Atlases, Maps, GIS, Imagery)

• See the GIS and Digital Spatial Data Research Guide for print and digital geospatial resources available in the CPH Library or on the Internet.

General

• Cases and Materials on Land Use (Wright & Gitelman) 1997 (KF 5698 A4 W73 1997)
• Environmental Regulation of Land Use (Malone) 1990 (KF 5698 M264 1990)
• Land Use in a Nutshell (Wright) 1994 (KF 5698 Z9 W74 1994)
• Land Use Law (Mandelker and Wolf) 2015 (ILL)
• Land Use Law: an overview (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute) Provides brief summary along with links to key primary source material.
• Land Use Law and disability: planning and zoning for accessible communities (Malloy) 2015 (ILL)
• Land Use Planning and Control Law (Juergensmeyer & Roberts) 1998 (KF 5692 J84 1998)
• Land Use Regulation: Planning, Zoning, Subdivision Regulation, and Environmental Control (Salsich) 1991 (KF 5698 S24 1991)
• Managing National Park System Resources: A Handbook on Legal Duties, Opportunities and Tools (Mantell) 1990 (KF 5635 M36 1990)
• Planning and Environmental Law (online journal) 2011 (CPH users only)
• Zoning & Planning Law Handbook (Clark Boardman Company) annual (KF 5697 A152 Z66)

California

• California Land-Use and Planning Law (Curtin, Barclay, and Gray) 2016 (Kindle e-book)
• General Plan Guidelines (California Governor's Office of Planning and Research) 2003. Officially interprets and explains the requirements of California planning law.
• Longtin’s California land use : planning, zoning, building subdivision, environmental law. (Longtin) 1987 (KFC 811 L65)

• Cyburbia Planning Resource Directory The major subject directory to planning resources on the Internet. Resources groups under 11 categories with further subdivisions.
• Planetizen: the Planning and Development Network

Listed below are some of the important guides to statistical and environmental data compilations that are an essential part of planning research.

General

• Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) Contains an extensive collection of global, regional and national datasets that focus on human interactions in the environment.
• CEOS International Directory Network (IDN) "Gateway" directory to worldwide earth science data and services.
• EarthTrends: the Environmental Information Portal (World Resources Institute) Contains information on the environmental, social, and economic trends that shape the world. Organized into themes with each theme including data, country profiles, maps and feature article sections. The country profiles section includes charts, graphs and vital statistics for each country. Themes include coastal and marine ecosystems; water resources and freshwater ecosystems; climate and atmosphere; population, health and human well-being; economics, business and the environment; energy and resources; biodiversity and protected areas; agriculture and food; forests, grasslands and drylands; environmental government and institutions; and poverty resources.
• Statistical Sites on the World Wide Web (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) Lists sources of federal and international statistics.
• UNdata (United Nations) Contains current and historical statistics collected by UN agencies. Organized by theme and then by country. Also includes individual Country Profiles,and links to the major statistical agency in each country.

United States (may also include California statistics)

• Census Data (US Census Bureau) Population, housing, economic, and geographic data from the decennial census of population and housing, the economic census, and the annual American Community Survey (ACS).
• Data.gov (US Government) Allows users to find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the federal government.
• Econdata.Net (Andrew Reamer & Associates and Impresa) Guide to regional socioeconomic data sources on the web, arranged by subject and provider.
• Guide to U.S. Government Statistics (Andriot) 1987 (Docs Abstract Z 7554 U5 G8 1987) Annotated guide to 12,500 government statistical publications.
• Guide to Rural Data (Salant and Waller) 1995 (Ref HB 2385 S25 1995) Guide to data sources that can be used in rural community development.
• US Census Bureau Subjects A to Z (U.S. Census Bureau) A to Z index that includes subjects and titles of census reports.

California

• California Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Mapping Tools and Data

Northwestern California

• Humboldt Economic Index (Erick Eschker, CPH) Includes links to local, state and national demographic and economic statistical sources.
• Searching for "Place" in Special Collections, CPH Library (Joan Berman, CPH) The focus of this guide is not statistical data but sources for researching the history of a "place" in Humboldt County.