Infrastructure

Toll Road Truck

A Texas Toll Road Struggling to Induce Demand

Texas 130 has failed to live up to its revenue potential, leaving the private company that operates the road in junk bond status.

November 18, 2015 - San Antonio Express News

Northern Virginia Considering a New Light Rail or Bus Rapid Transit Line

One of the busiest corridors in Northern Virginia, both in traffic and development, is under consideration for a new transit line.

November 18, 2015 - WAMU

Electric Car

Report: Electric Vehicles Best Option in Most of U.S.

A new Union of Concerned Scientists report shows that due to considerable gains made in cleaning the electric grid and in producing electric vehicles more efficiently, EVs are the environmentally sensible choice.

November 18, 2015 - Union Of Concerned Scientists

Downtown Oakland

To Connect Oakland—Remove the I-980 Freeway

A grassroots, ambitious vision called Connect Oakland is gaining steam in the East Bay city. The key element of the plan's ambition: replacing the I-980 Freeway with an urban boulevard and new housing.

November 17, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Door Zone

Reactions to Cleveland's Backwards Bike Lane

A photo of a "backwards" buffered bike lane in Cleveland prompts commentary from the planning community. What is gained by separating bike lane and curb?

November 16, 2015 - People for Bikes

US Highway 53 - Wisconsin

Wisconsin Goes Deeper in the Fiscal Hole to Fix Aging Roads

Wisconsin legislators have voted to continue steep borrowing to pay for needed road repairs, while calls to increase the state’s gas tax grow louder.

November 16, 2015 - Urban Milwaukee

Pennsylvania Launches 'Rapid Bridge Project' to Rebuild 558 Bridges in Three Years

Faced with more than 4,000 structurally deficient bridges, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has an innovative repair plan.

November 15, 2015 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

Why It's So Hard to Tell When a New York Train Will Arrive

The Atlantic has deep and detailed coverage of the expensive, obsolete, and decaying technology used by the New York subway system.

November 15, 2015 - The Atlantic

Santa Monica Bikes

Santa Monica Debuts GPS-Enabled Bikeshare

Serving beach-side Santa Monica and nearby Venice, Breeze Bikeshare equips its bikes with GPS tracking. The program claims to be more advanced than an L.A. Metro system set to debut in early 2016.

November 14, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

$1.75 Billion Bond Sale Delayed for All Aboard Florida

High-yield funds have less money to spend these days, leaving large infrastructure projects like the All Aboard Florida high-speed rail project waiting at the station.

November 13, 2015 - Bloomberg Business

New Corporation Formed to Replace Amtrak's Hudson River Rail Tunnels

The Gateway Development Corporation will be formed by Amtrak, the U.S. Department of Transportation, New York, and New Jersey to replace the deteriorating 105-year-old Hudson River rail tunnels, a vital project that could cost $20 billion.

November 13, 2015 - The New York Times

Bridge Collapse

The Deadly Costs of Failing Infrastructure

Failing infrastructure is a life and death matter. Decaying roads, bridges, dam, pipelines, water delivery, and railroads lacking safety controls are responsible for the loss of thousands of lives annually, on top of illnesses and injuries.

November 12, 2015 - The New York Times

Madrid Street 2

Madrid Takes Drastic Action to Curb Pollution

With a growing reputation for heavy local pollution, the city of Madrid will impose reduced speed limits and driving restrictions in its central core. On bad days, transit will be free to ride.

November 12, 2015 - CityLab

Tokyo Subway Map

Asian Subways Are the Busiest

Rankings from the International Association of Public Transport have Tokyo on top, followed by Beijing and Shanghai. New York comes in seventh.

November 11, 2015 - Citymetric

Downtown Dallas

A Parking Kerfuffle in Downtown Dallas

The big, contentious question of contemporary downtowns is under consideration in Dallas: Is there too much parking or not enough parking?

November 11, 2015 - The Dallas Morning News

New Jersey DOT Head: 'The Days of System Expansion Are Long Over'

The acting head of the New Jersey Department of Transportation spoke of the realities of transportation investment in the current era of funding uncertainty.

November 11, 2015 - NJ.com

How Rural Towns Succeeded in Keeping Amtrak's Southwest Chief Running

Cities as far-flung as Trinidad, Dodge City, and Lamy joined their efforts in recent years to keep the iconic Southwest Chief Amtrak route running.

November 10, 2015 - The Denver Post

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to Sign 7.3-cent Gas Tax Hike Today

After years of debate, Republicans from both chambers agreed to a transportation plan raising the gas tax 7.3-cents and registration fees by 20 percent, effective 2017. Democrats objected to the amount of general funds that will be directed to roads.

November 10, 2015 - MLive

Fund Clean Energy - Stop HRL Coal Fired power station - withdraw federal grant

Report: Cutting Urban Emissions Could Save $17 Trillion

Research from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate recommends an emissions reduction program that might pay off big in the long term. Inter-city exchange and transit planning are key strategies.

November 10, 2015 - Urban Land Magazine

Texas Votes to Keep Old Road Spending Habits

Lots of dollar signs were flying around on Texas ballots last week, many of which were headed toward road construction measures. The Houston Chronicle, however, points out the shortcomings of the state's patterns of investment.

November 9, 2015 - Houston Chronicle

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.