A crowd of people bathed in pink light in front of a stage.
Non-stop party: Chicago voters weigh permanent festival grounds

A stable place for bleachers, stages and drainage may streamline the setup and teardown of large events.

3 hours ago - Block Club Chicago

Metra train pulling into station.
Metra may invest $9.1 billion in regional rail

The agency released a draft of a study examining potential ways to offer more frequent train service.

4 hours ago - Mass Transit

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"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30 - Yale Environment 360

People walking in downtown St. Louis, walking past shops.

Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment

The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.

November 1 - Smart Cities Dive

A rendering of the California high speed rail Fresno station. Two escalators leading into the station are visible.

California High-Speed Rail Authority picks trainset manufacturer

The California High-Speed Rail Authority aims to start servicing passengers by 2033.

November 1 - Railway News

A square Tesla home battery on the side of a home.

Home batteries are ushering in an energy revolution

Batteries capable of storing solar energy can stabilize the grid during peaks and keep homes running on cloudy days.

October 26 - Grist

A woman descends into Spring Street station in NYC.

MTA kicks off six-year, $1 billion transit upgrade project

The authority is replacing the roughly 90-year-old train signals on the A and C line with modern technology.

October 25 - Gothamist

A desalination plant in Israel sucking water into pipes.

Texas may pay Israeli company billions to ease water woes

Texas awarded IDE Technologies the contract for its Harbor Island project, which is slated to become the Western Hemisphere's largest desalination plant.

October 29 - Inside Climate News

Engineers use sound level meter to measure sound level of generator and recording data.

A noise limit on data centers is only as good as its measurement

Counties and states must make conscious decisions about when, where and how they measure data center noise if they want to meaningfully improve residents’ lives.

October 27 - Tommy N. Turner

A rendering of the proposed facility. Trees are made slightly translucent so a large, rectangular cement building can be seen

Feds to more closely scrutinize proposed Amtrak facility’s environmental impact

The Federal Railroad Administration had initially said the facility qualified for a less extensive environmental review.

October 28 - Block Club Chicago

Amtrak officials cut the ribbon at the new Seattle facility.

Amtrak cuts ribbon on Seattle Airo maintenance facility

The $250 million, nearly 100,000-square-foot building can house an entire Cascades Airo trainset.

October 27 - Railway Supply

An Airo train passes over a mostly-dried river in between two large forests.

Airo trainsets begin service on Amtrak Cascades route

The trains feature panoramic windows, complementary wifi and over 300 seats per train set.

September 30 - Mass Transit

An Airo train driving towards the camera on a track. There is a forest behind it.

Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet

Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.

September 22 - Washington State Standard

A gray building partially obscured by trees, behind a four way intersection.

A ‘shady’ deal: Chicagoans rally against planned Amtrak maintenance facility

The $900 million facility would allow Amtrak to maintain entire trains in one building, which the company says will reduce delays.

September 21 - Block Club Chicago

A rendering of the proposed facility. Trees are made slightly translucent so a large, rectangular cement building can be seen

Feds to more closely scrutinize proposed Amtrak facility’s environmental impact

The Federal Railroad Administration had initially said the facility qualified for a less extensive environmental review.

October 28 - Block Club Chicago

Amtrak officials cut the ribbon at the new Seattle facility.

Amtrak cuts ribbon on Seattle Airo maintenance facility

The $250 million, nearly 100,000-square-foot building can house an entire Cascades Airo trainset.

October 27 - Railway Supply

An Airo train passes over a mostly-dried river in between two large forests.

Airo trainsets begin service on Amtrak Cascades route

The trains feature panoramic windows, complementary wifi and over 300 seats per train set.

September 30 - Mass Transit

An Airo train driving towards the camera on a track. There is a forest behind it.

Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet

Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.

September 22 - Washington State Standard

A gray building partially obscured by trees, behind a four way intersection.

A ‘shady’ deal: Chicagoans rally against planned Amtrak maintenance facility

The $900 million facility would allow Amtrak to maintain entire trains in one building, which the company says will reduce delays.

September 21 - Block Club Chicago

Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

1.25 AICP CM

Instructor Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places—Economics, the Environment, Public Health, Equity, and Social Cohesiveness—in order to arm practitioners with the full range of arguments in favor of pro-walkability planning.

 

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