Transportation
Reintroducing Cars To Pedestrian Malls
Downtown Sacramento's 'K' St. has been one of the city's most notable economic failures. Banning cars while providing the light rail an undisturbed path never fulfilled the hopes that urban planners had for the pedestrian mall. Now cars will return.
Georgia Transportation Bill Just the First Step
The Georgia legislature recently passed the Transportation Investment Act of 2010, which could greatly transform the urban realm in Atlanta and the rest of the state. The key phrase here is "could".
Immigrants Twice as Likely to Bike
New research shows that recent immigrants are twice as likely to ride bicycles as other Americans. Though the health impact is beneficial, the ridership is less likely to continue in the second generation.
New Amtrak Train Runs On Beef
Beef by-products, turned into bio-diesel, make up 20% of the fuel being used today by Amtrak's Heartland Flyer between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City.
LaHood's Bicycle Ambitions for the U.S.
The future of American transportation could be a bit more multi-modal, if Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gets his way. NPR takes a look at LaHood's plans to get bikes back onto the nation's transportation menu.
Rail Cuts Chinese Trip From 11 Hours to 90 Minutes
A new high speed rail link has opened in China, connecting the cities of Fuzhou and Xiamen. The new rail line will cut travel time between the two cities from nearly 11 hours to just 90 minutes.
Concern for Properties Beyond Tysons Corner Metro Villages
Plans to build dense urban villages around the new Metro stations in Tysons Corner have some landowners on the fringes feeling left out.
Bike Fever in the U.S.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is bully for bicycle infrastructure.
Light Rail and High-Speed Rail Conflated and Confused
In Tampa, voters can't seem to untangle an upcoming one-cent sales tax to fund light rail with the Obama administration's recent $1.25 billion award for high-speed rail, though the funding is completely separate.
The Risky Business of Airports
Airports are important investments for cities, but are also highly risky because they rely heavily on the whims of the airline business. Alex Marshall looks at how some of the underrepresented airports are coping.
Electrify Or Die
That's the verdict from a report released April 22 by officials of Caltrain, the nearly 150-year-old commuter line connecting San Francisco, San Jose, and Peninsula suburbs. In turn, the key to electrification is cooperation with the CA HSR Authority
The Rise of the Electric Bike
In China, an estimated 120 million electric bicycles are on the streets. So why haven't they caught on in the U.S.? Reporter Alan Durning thinks its time.
The Campaign for Subway Etiquette
Graphic designer Jay Shells has created a set of 10 official-looking posters suggesting better etiquette in the New York City subway. Suggestions include not wiping barbecue sauce on pole and not clipping your fingernails on the train.
Consolidating Stops to Make Buses Run Faster
Riders of San Francisco's Muni bus system often complain that the buses stop too much. Now, evidence is building that simply consolidating bus stops will help to make the buses run faster and more reliably.
Studying Light Rail to Death?
Winnipeg has been debating -- and studying-- rapid transit for decades. With the first leg of a BRT system finally under construction, critics are questioning the mayor's decision to fund yet another study on LRT.
TOD Diluted
Brian Paul argues that developers have jumped on the transit-oriented development bandwagon without actually delivering true TOD.
BRT Blossoms in India
This piece from Places takes a look at a new bus rapid transit system that is growing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad.
Sustainable Transport Saves New Yorkers $19 Billion Per Year
A new report from CEOs for Cities shows that New Yorkers save a lot of moola on their transportation costs because of their city's walkability and transit options.
The Demise of the Bar Car
The Metro North rail line out of Grand Central Terminal has one of the last bar cars in the U.S., but railroad officials are replacing the aging cars and the bar car may be a victim of the budget.
From Bedroom Communities to Jet Engine Communities
More and more people working in the San Francisco Bay Area are opting for cheaper housing outside the region. Some are going way outside the region, commuting by airplane from Portland or Seattle.
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
