Transportation
Bus Standards Changed for Heavier Americans
The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) has been making decisions for years about transit capacity using weight standards from 1962. The FTA is proposing to update the average American from 150 to 175 pounds to better reflect reality.
Toronto Set to Launch Bike-Sharing Program
BIXI, a bicycle-sharing program that first launched in Montreal, is due to launch in Toronto in May.
Inside the Park Slope Bike Lane Battle
Reporter Matthew Shaer talks with folks on both sides of the highly contentious lawsuit seeking to remove a bike lane from Brookyln's Park Slope neighborhood.
Reconstructing Bucky's Dymaxion Car
Architect Norman Foster, who worked with Buckminster Fuller towards the end of his life, recently rebuilt Fuller's Dymaxion Car to exacting specifications. Metropolis Magazine interviewed Foster about what we can still learn from the Dymaxion design.
$4 per Gallon Gas – Are We Ready?
With gas prices increasing rapidly, Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology says the most effective solution is to reduce the demand by creating more "location-efficient" communities.
Borrowing Against Future Revenues to Expand Salt Lake City Rail
Salt Lake City is aggressively expanding its light rail network thanks to a voter approved tax increase. This post wonders whether the city could follow mimic a proposed plan in Los Angeles to speed up the use of those taxes.
Australians Learning to Leave Cars Behind
Randy Salzman says that Australian cities like Perth and Melbourne have found "the key to moving individual transportation behavior away from the convenience of the single-occupancy vehicle."
A Video Explanation of Congestion Pricing
This video from Streetfilms explains the concept of congestion pricing and looks at how it can affect cities and their mobility.
TOD is Greener Than Green
It's official, says the EPA: Living in a TOD reduces greenhouse gas emissions more than living in a green, single family home and driving a Prius. The study places major emphasis on local land use decisions in an effort to fight climate change.
Walt Disney's Unrealized City
Planner Sam Gennawey uncovers the inspirations and influences that Walt Disney was pulling from in designing his unbuilt "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow," a real city of 20,000 people that was to go where the EPCOT theme park is today.
Best World Cities for Walkers
This slideshow from Grist takes a tour of the top ten cities in the world for walking.
Kaohsiung's Public Transportation Push
In 2006, Kaohsiung City recorded a paltry 4.3 percent share for public transportation usage. In the years since, the Kaohsiung City government launched an ambitious plan to increase ridership in Taiwan’s second largest urban area.
Top 10 Websites - 2011
Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.
There's Oil on Main Street
A 2001 study showed that we can save more oil by building more fuel-efficient cars than by expanding drilling under U.S. soil or in our oceans. Deron Lovaas sees black gold in our cities and suburbs.
Study: Regular City Drivers Go Car-Free for 1 Week
The study conducted by Latitude Research and Next American City followed 18 participants in San Francisco and Boston as they ditched their automobiles for other transit options.
Los Angeles' "Public Transportainment"
An enterprising couple from Los Angeles turned an RV into a mode of public transportation for the party-going crowd. Recent partnerships with Foursquare and Walt Disney Imagineering have made the RV a popular way to get around Tinseltown.
Bi-Partisan Attack on LA HOT Lanes
The Democrat, Maxine Waters, objects to the 10 & 110 Freeway high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on the basis of equity while Rep. Gary G. Miller, the ranking CA Republican on the House Transportation Committee, sees it as "double taxation".
After Crime, Locals Want to Close Light Rail Stop
In Linthicum Heights, Maryland, a man was beaten in a robbery near the local transit station. Neighbors fear the light rail is a lightning rod for crime and want it closed.
New Yorker's Anti-Bike Lane Blog Creates Uproar
The Economist did not take lightly to reading The New Yorker's economics writer blast Manhattan's bike lanes so he could park his Jaguar for free. Ironically, Cassidy may have annoyed his fellow economists more than the 'bike lobby' that he targets.
Denver Integrates Public Transit and Bike-Sharing
The city of Denver kicked off its second season of bike-sharing today. Last season, the program reached 102,981 rides in seven months.
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
