Infrastructure

Planning Work Beginning on Sound Transit's Tacoma Dome Link Extension
Sound Transit is hard at work with a busy planning schedule for several light rail projects in the Tacoma area. A post on The Urbanist focuses on the scoping project for the Tacoma Dome Link extension.

Growth Requires New Water Supply Solutions in Colorado
Colorado cities located north of Denver consider the future of water as the region grows. New infrastructure and new partnerships will be necessary to meet demand for water in the future.

BQX Streetcar Lacks Funding in de Blasio's Proposed Budget
It's been awhile since the proposed BQX Streetcar project had any forward momentum in New York City.

6 Ways Big Box Stores Harm Communities
A compendium of big box dissent.

A $130 Million Infusion for Detroit's 'Strategic Neighborhood Fund'
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Planning Director Maurice Cox announced a major new funding initiative to support the city's Strategic Neighborhood Fund. Funding will support projects in seven target neighborhoods.

Clearview Is Back as the Font of Choice for Highway Signs
An overlooked feature of the federal omnibus bill approved earlier this year: a return to the Clearview font for highway traffic signs.

Express Lanes Toll Revenue Benefits Bus Riders, Carpoolers, and Bike Riders
The new 66 Express Lanes Inside the Beltway made headlines when one-way tolls topped $40. Max Smith of WTOP News reports how revenues are used in Northern Virginia. Bus transit and shuttles to park-and-ride lots are two of the biggest beneficiaries.

High-Speed Rail to Partner with Amtrak in Texas
The Texas Central high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas is planning to offer smooth connections with Amtrak lines at either end of its 240-mile route.
Weekend Watch: Video Makes the Case for Light Rail Over Bus Rapid Transit
Here's another entry in the ongoing debate over which public transit mode reigns supreme.

Op-Ed: 'Public Mood' Has Turned Against Cars in Cities
A survey of recent planning decisions demonstrates that cities are no longer necessarily looking to more and bigger highways to solve their traffic problems.

Pittsburgh's Version of the High Line Takes Off
Pittsburgh is betting on its own version of New York City's famed elevated park, based on a 500-foot-long raised roadway connecting two warehouses.

Friday Funny: Adopt a Drain, Name a Drain
This is the first and only time you will be actively encouraged to get your mind into the gutter.

Connecting Public Health to Public Transit
Four chiefs of hospitals in the Detroit area pen an opinion piece in support of public transit as a key factor in public health outcomes.

Nashville Transit Referendum Soundly Beaten at the Ballot Box
Transit advocates suffered a resounding defeat in Nashville yesterday. The Let's Move Nashville plan does not have the funding to build-out its ambitiously pro-transit agenda.
Train Buffs: Do You Know What a ZEMU Is?
In addition to commuter trains hauled by an electric or diesel-powered locomotive, there are EMUs and DMUs, and come 2021, for the first time in North America, there should be a ZEMU thanks in part to a $30 million California transportation grant.

Vancouver Is 'True North' for Seattle Bike Lane Advocates
In Seattle, securing every new bike lane seems like a "tooth and nail" fight. But across a border to the north, vigorous initial opposition melted away as a connected system took shape.

'Complete Streets' Bill Enjoys Broad Support in Baltimore
The city of Baltimore is ready to make a concerted effort in planning for multiple modes of transportation and all users of the public realm.

Dallas Putting Together a 'Smart Streets' Plan
Wireless electric vehicle charging built into the street and smart dynamic signal system are among the improvements under consideration in Dallas.

Inside the Toronto 'Smart City' Experiment
Google subsidiary Sidewalk Labs has partnered with Waterfront Toronto to deploy smart city innovations in the redevelopment of the Quayside district along Toronto's Eastern Waterfront.

$4.3 Billion Awarded to California Transformative Projects from Gas Tax and Climate Fund
Two difficult votes last year, both requiring super-majorities, are paying huge dividends to 28 transformative projects throughout the Golden State to improve rail and transit service and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service