Infrastructure
Ranking Freeways Without Futures
The Congress for the New Urbanism releases a Top 10 list highlighting the worst, most ready-to-be-junked urban freeways. New Orleans, Syracuse, and Detroit make the list. Boulevards are a viable and much-needed alternative, says CNU.
Will Development Follow RTD Light Rail in Aurora, Colorado?
The mayor of Aurora has lofty ambitions for a new “Main Street” along its forthcoming 10-mile light rail route, but will the market deliver, especially with the rise of real estate prices?
Bad News Bay Bridge: Leaking, Possibly Corroding
The eastern span of the Bay Bridge has had cost overruns, delays, scandal, and lukewarm architecture reviews, but the latest bad news is cause for concern—the bridge is leaking into structural elements and officials aren’t sure why or what it means.
An Unflattering Look at Transit Accessibility
A newly released series of animated GIFs provides a powerful visualization of how paltry even the most robust transit systems in the world look to those with special needs.
Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge Opens in St. Louis
The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge opened to vehicle traffic over the weekend. The 1,500-foot cable-stayed span across the Mississippi River is touted as a traffic relief infrastructure.
San Francisco Planners Pitch Freeway Removal
Planners in the city of San Francisco have a proposed a $1.4 million study to examine the possibility of removing part of Interstate 280 in the city and convert a rail yard would yield 37 acres of prime urban real estate.
Mapping Transit "Deserts": An Imperfect Science
The first step to solving the transit “desert” problem is identifying where those deserts are. But that’s easier said than done.
Friday Eye Candy: Mapping Urban Exercise Patterns
An enterprising blogger has produced a slew of urban maps with an overlay of publicly available data on exercise routes. In addition to being fetching, the patterns revealed show how runners make use of the public realm.
On the Impending Doom of the Land Line
Many of us grew up with the telephone as a central appliance in our homes, around which much energy and attention revolved. The days of the land-line telephone, however, are numbered.
Transportation Chair Endorses Mileage Fee—Why Is That Bad?
While road usage fee advocates may be celebrating this key endorsement of what many transportation experts view as the inevitable funding option, Streetsblog's Tanya Snyder is calling it a setback because of what else Rep. Bill Shuster did on Feb 4.
West Coast’s First Offshore Wind Energy Coming to Oregon
The West Coast’s first offshore wind project will use floating turbine technology not found in North America. The 5-turbine project near Coos Bay in Oregon is the first offshore wind energy for the West Coast.
Accommodating Floods Instead of Destroying Waterways
The flood management story of Boulder, Colorado, includes a successful encounter with a 1,000-year rain event, and its lessons are less about concrete and dams than one might think.
Train Stations Plan for the Future
In many places across the country, rail is breaking ridership records as we move away from the personal car. How does a rail hub manage the influx of passengers while being a good neighbor?
Debate Over Minneapolis Skyways Continues
Minneapolis is working to turn the deteriorating Nicollet Mall into a vibrant public space—even hiring James Corner Field Operations (of High-Line fame) as designer. Will the revitalization of the area require the removal of the mall’s four skyways?
TxDOT: I-345 Stays in Dallas
Advocates presented a compelling case to remove the aging stretch of Interstate 345 that bisects Dallas adjacent to downtown. But state transportation officials have decided to rehab, rather than remove, the freeway.
Construction Quiz: What will the new Tappan Zee Bridge share with the new Bay Bridge?
What lifts up to 1,750 tons? Goodbye "Left Coast Lifter". Hello "I Lift New York". The massive crane was barged 6,000 miles through the Panama Canal to begin construction of the replacement Tappan Zee Bridge, having completed the Bay Bridge job.
The Dramatic Impact of LED Streetlights on Celluloid
Los Angeles recently completed a comprehensive installation of LED streetlights—and New York City is not far behind. Among the unintended consequences of the new technology? Cities will now look completely different on film.
Calif. Bill Advances To Recognize Protected Bike Lanes as Class IV Bikeways
Hoping to encourage other cities to follow San Francisco's successful application of protected bike lanes, Asm. Phillip Ting (D-S.F.) would have Caltrans "develop minimum safety design criteria" for what would be a new class of bikeways in the state.
In Transit, Is Better Station Architecture Worth the Cost?
Do transit stations with sleeker designs boost ridership? Evidence suggests that the answer may be yes. But does that mean that we should spend limited transit funds on better architecture?
Bike and Pedestrian Infrastructure Financing Bill Introduced in Congress
Rep. Albert Sires (D-N.J.) introduced the New Opportunities for Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Financing Act of 2014 (H.R. 3978), modeled on TIFIA, to promote investment in bike and pedestrian facilities to make streets safer for all modes.
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
