Infrastructure

Transportation Bill Clears House Committee
A five-year transportation bill has advanced in the House, but it has a long way to go before Americans should expect to see a final federal transportation policy emerge from Congress.

Purple Line Contractors Haven't Walked Off the Job, Yet
The latest chapter in the ongoing saga of Maryland's Purple Line light rail hasn't yet turned the page.

TriMet to Redirect Funding for Transit Police
A new approach to public safety is in the works in Portland.

Post-Pandemic Transit Plan Announced in San Francisco
The recently announced post-COVID plan for public transit in San Francisco looks a lot different than the pre-COVID days.

Lower Colorado River States Used Less Water in 2019 Than Any Year Since 1986
The states drawing water from the Colorado River's lower basin—California, Arizona, and Nevada—used less water from the river in 2019 than any year since the mid-1980s.

Report Assesses Equity Outcomes for the Opportunity Zone Program
Critics have raised doubts and concerns about the potential misuse of the federal Opportunity Zone program since it was approved in 2017, but a new report finds some evidence that the program is working toward its promoted intention.

North Lake Shore Drive Redo Falls Short of Bus Priority Expectations
Strong criticisms of the project alternatives under consideration by the Illinois Department of Transportation for the closely watched North Lake Shore Drive project.

Bike-Centered Brooklyn Bridge Redo Under Consideration
City officials in New York are discussing the possibility of converting a car traffic lane on the Brooklyn Bridge for use by people on bikes.

Prioritizing Open Air Spaces in Pandemic Recovery Efforts
Businesses and public health officials are working together to develop guidelines to provide goods and services to the public safely. They're visioning creative ways to bring businesses outdoors and promoting al fresco spaces.

Website Predicts Crowds to Inform Social Distancing on Buses and Trains
Know before you go.

Emilio Estevez Advocates for Cincinnati's Streetcar
Emilion Estevez, star of Repo Man, a favorite of urbanists with a taste for the dystopic, now lives in a hip neighborhood in Cincinnati, and he's spent recent days pushing for the city to restart service on the Cincinnati Bell Streetcar.

Amtrak Planning Extensive Service Cuts
The disappointment of 2020 has hit Amtrak particularly hard.

Property Tax Disparities Grow as Housing Prices Grow
The authoritative report on the state of property taxes in the United States was released earlier this month.

Sun Belt Cities Need a New Approach to Urbanism
The unique growth and challenges facing large cities in the U.S. Sun Belt will require a break from the kinds of policies generated to serve Northeastern and Midwestern cities over the course of U.S. history.

Five Borough Bikeway Plan Released
The Regional Plan Association is calling on New York City to implement an ambitious plan to transform the city into a world class city for biking—for the benefit of the public health and economic realities of the pandemic and beyond.

Planning Beyond Mass Incarceration
Sheryl-Ann Simpson from Carleton University, Justin Steil from MIT, and Aditi Mehta from the University of Toronto write about a recent article they co-authored in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.

Community Park Addresses Open Space, Air Quality Disparities in L.A.
Lou Calanche and Esther Feldman discuss the Natural Park at Ramona Gardens, a green solution project to improve air quality and community health in one of the most polluted neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Economic Stimulus: Another Chance for High-Speed Rail in the U.S.?
High-speed rail advocates in the Pacific Northwest are pushing for a high-speed link between Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland to be part of future economic stimulus spending in the United States.

Interstate 94's Legacy of Racial Injustice in the Twin Cities
The symbolism behind highway protests brings demonstrators to occupy Interstate 94 between St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Supreme Court Clears Way for Pipeline to Cross the Appalachian Trail
The U.S. Supreme Court resolved a question of permitting jurisdiction to clear the way for the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline to tunnel underneath the Appalachian Trail.
Pagination
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Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service