Infrastructure
Forgotten Freight Demands Frighten Transportation Planners
While much of the current discussion in planning centers on decreasing road capacity to promote greater pedestrian mobility, Eric Jaffe wonders if we are thinking enough about the critical and complex task of moving freight.
Dramatic Bridge Collapse Snarls Washington Traffic
Two cars plunged off the I-5 truss bridge, 60 miles north of Seattle, into the frigid Skagit River at the end of Thursday's commute, but no deaths nor serious injuries occurred. The likely cause appears to be a big-rig hitting the 58-year-old bridge.
CBO Analyzes Obama's 'Hallucinatory' Transportation Budget
According to the CBO, President Obama's transportation budget keeps the Highway Trust Fund, currently expected to run out of funds in 2015, solvent until 2021. The additional funds come from 'intergovernmental transfers' - but are they real?
Chicago Plans Largest School Closing in Nation's History
Seeking to trim budgets and 'distribute scarce resources more efficiently,' Mayor Rahm Emanuel's controversial plan to shrink Chicago's school system moved ahead yesterday with the Board of Ed's vote to shut 49 of the city's elementary schools.
Should Your City Ban Fluoride? Portland Just Did, Again
Although a growing list of communities (of which Portland is the largest) have banned the addition of fluoride to tap water, such places are doing so against the recommendations of the medical establishment. What's driving the backlash?
Is Congestion Pricing the Solution to San Francisco’s Traffic Woes?
A new report paints a grim picture of San Francisco’s traffic future. Without radical reductions in auto usage, the city’s downtown will be ‘mired in gridlock.’ Is a controversial congestion pricing scheme the solution?
Why Is it Hard to Find Places to Ride Out a Tornado in Oklahoma?
You might be surprised to learn that in the area famously known as 'Tornado Alley', underground shelters and safe rooms are relatively rare. Several reasons, from physical to financial to cultural constraints, conspire to leave residents vulnerable.
Envisioning a LEED-like Ratings System for Infrastructure
Bob Graves discusses the concept behind Envision, "a holistic framework for evaluating and rating the community, environmental, and economic benefits of all types and sizes of infrastructure projects."
To Stretch Strained Municipal Budgets, Build Smart
Utilizing 17 case studies, a new report from Smart Growth America examines the costs and benefits of competing development strategies. Any way you slice it, smart growth strategies are more financially prudent than building sprawl.
Comprehensive Planning off the Beaten Path
Liven up your comprehensive planning effort Texas style. Matthew Lewis, Development Director for the city of San Marcos, used everything from Legos to "design rodeos" (i.e. Texas charrettes) to get to common ground.
Syracuse Confronts 'Most Important Civic Decision in 60 Years'
To demolish, or not to demolish? As Syracuse considers what to do with its aged elevated highway, special interests are mobilizing to prevent tearing down the crumbling I-81 viaduct and replacing it with an urban boulevard, says David M. Rubin.
Alley Rally Aims to Examine the City's Forgotten Spaces
In popular culture alleyways are often depicted as the setting for illicit acts. But seen in a different light, alleys are key contributors to urban life. SPUR kicks off a week of alley exploration with an essay on their benefits.
PATH to Ruin: New York Builds the World's Costliest Train Station
Stephen Jacob Smith examines how high emotions, grand designs, poor negotiating, and "extreme politicization" drove the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to build the world's most expensive train station in Lower Manhattan.
Where in America is it Easiest to Bike to Work?
Today, the U.S. is celebrating Bike to Work Day. With increasing investment in bike infrastructure across the country, cycling is becoming a commuting option for more and more workers. Richard Florida looks at the places where it's easiest.
Bike Sharing Prepares to Get its World Rocked
The evolution of today's infrastructure-intensive bike sharing systems has been a hard-fought learning process; alas, the current paradigm is about to get turned on its head, and it's happening – surprise - this week in Hoboken, New Jersey.
$100 Million Competition Aims to Boost Urban Resilience
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Rockefeller Foundation is kicking off a three-year worldwide competition to select 100 cities to receive training and support to boost their resilience.
Despite Driving Decline, U.S. Builds for Far More Cars
A new study from U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group projects three scenarios for Americans' future driving patterns that all fall short of current government projections. Transportation planning priorities should be reconsidered, the study contends.
Rejoicing in L.A.'s Walkable Heritage
The Big Parade, an annual event organized by writer Dan Koeppel, utilizes Los Angeles's historic public staircases as the setting to educate and entertain Angelenos, while building a sense of community.
Biking in the Motor City: How Detroit is Returning to its Roots
Detroit is moving away from its focus of investing solely in automobile infrastructure. The city is now turning towards bicycle infrastructure as a means of appealing to a different demographic, one that seeks alternatives to the car.
Changing the Water in the Fish Tank
David Foster Wallace's commencement speech, now a viral video, misses an essential truth.
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
