Infrastructure
Caltrans Really Is Becoming More Bike and Walk Friendly
News flash: California has become only the third state to endorse the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ (NACTO) Urban Street Design Guidelines to enable more walk and bike friendly projects such as protected bike lanes.
A Call to Undo the 'Cul-De-Sacking' of St. Louis
A recent nextSTL.com editorial makes an impassioned plea to open the city’s closed streets.
Mapping the U.S. Mexico Border Fence
Journalists at the Center for Investigative Reporting undertook the herculean task of mapping the extent of the secretive and sometimes strange fence between the United States and Mexico.
A Call to Flâner, for Spatial Justice
The concept of the flâneur was created in the 19th century in response to the encroaching speed and efficiency of the Industrial Age. Can the flâneur now fashion a political response to the Age of the Automobile?
Controversies Compared: Rail vs. Bus Rapid Transit
A common perception says that rail is the most politically difficult transit investment. Yet a recent article examines the examples of Nashville and Cincinnati to claim that sometimes, political opposition is just about transit, period.
The Original Big Digs
The gridlock in American cities today doesn't compare to the crush on streets in Boston and New York City in the mid- to late-1800s. In The Race Underground, Doug Most chronicles the occasionally synchronous development of the nation’s first subways.
More on the High Cost of Infrastructure
A recent editorial in Atlantic Cities laments the regulations and policies that have, according to the author, driven up the costs of infrastructure investments in the United States.
The Numbers Behind the Country’s Decreasing Traffic Fatalities
Susannah Locke examines some of the data behind the United State’s steady decrease in auto fatalities since a peak in 1969, when 55,043 people died while driving.
After Mayoral Scandal, What Next for Charlotte's Permitting Reform, Streetcar Project?
Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon resigned after taking bribes in exchange for zoning and parking privileges. Will the fallout affect the city's streetcar plans or its efforts to streamline permitting and code enforcement?
Advocates and Opponents Struggle Over Toll Roads
While tolling will not fill the Highway Trust Fund gap, it can finance improvements for specific interstate highways that would otherwise be funded by a sustainable trust fund, not one approaching insolvency. Why not allow states the option to toll?
Rebuild By Design: Building Resilience along the Atlantic Coast
Rebuild By Design, a design competition under the purview of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, released ten final proposals for projects that could protect and strengthen the Atlantic Coast in the event of another Hurricane Sandy.
State Gas Taxes and P3s Fill Federal Transportation Revenue Void
Beginning last year, states increased gas taxes and entered public-private partnerships, as are some cities. But it's not an easy haul for cities nor states, and Congress has yet to agree how to furnish sufficient revenue to match current spending.
Does Exhausting the Highway Trust Fund Have a Silver Lining?
Avid highway opponents are less concerned about filling the Trust Fund gap, notwithstanding the effect on transit, and more on stopping road expansion. Widening of Colorado's I-25 and U.S. 26 in Oregon may halt without an agreement for new funds.
Recapping Media Reaction to Tear Down Proposal for I-345 in Dallas
Dallas Morning News Architecture Critic Mark Lamster calls out the media for its coverage of a proposal to tear down the I-345 in Dallas.
Tracking Chicago’s Potholes
A new animated map presents the reported cases of potholes in Chicago since November—the maps colorful and provides insights into how the city, and our relationship to it, can change with time.
Texas Breaking Wind Power Records
Texas is the largest wind power producer in the United States, but its recent capacity efforts have broken records. And there are more megawatts on the way.
D.C. Business Owners Say Streetcar's No Silver Bullet, but Could Spur Growth
With D.C.'s first streetcar since 1962 about to begin service (any day now), how are business owners along the corridor holding up?
London's Airports - The Ultimate Transit Orientated Development?
London's mayor, Boris Johnson, has long favoured the creation of a new airport in the Thames Estuary over expanding Heathrow. New claims of boosting house building in west London have generated further criticism.
''D.C.'s High Line" Could Transform the Banks of the Anacostia
The proposed elevated park across the Anacostia would be a first for D.C. The group backing it has launched a national design competition to design a bridge that fosters economic development, promotes community health, and cleans the river.
Development Still Granted Water During California Drought
Urban water systems generally aren't responding to the California drought by suspending new water connections, as they did in past drought years like 1991. What are the implications?
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
