Infrastructure

Sunday Funday: Video Game Plays on Fears About Crumbling Infrastructure

The game is called INFRA—the action is set in a city where corruption in the private and public sectors has left the city on the brink of collapse.

July 12, 2015 - CityLab

Stormwater Improvements Linked to Freeway Project in Northeast Denver

The funding needed to complete the Two Basin Drainage Project in Denver would come as a package deal with a $1.2 billion plan to overhaul I-70. Residents are concerned that they might be getting more than they bargained for.

July 11, 2015 - The Denver Post

California Gas Tax Increase Hits Partisan Impasse

SB 16, Sen. Jim Beall's transportation funding bill that would hike gas taxes by 10 cents, diesel taxes by 12, and increase other fees, is stuck in the Senate, lacking one vote to pass.

July 10, 2015 - The Sacramento Bee

Tappan Zee Bridge

A Scathing Critique of the New Tappan Zee Bridge

A new book examines the convoluted history of one of the country's most controversial infrastructure projects.

July 10, 2015 - WNYC

Missouri

Missouri Shows How Not to Expand Highways, Though Unintentionally

The Missouri Department of Transportation will adhere strictly to a "fix it" (as opposed to "fix-it-first") policy for the next five years, because there are no funds for roadway expansion.

July 9, 2015 - KRCG

Caltrain Hits Barrier of Litigation on Tracks to Electrification

The Surface Transportation Board's denial of Caltrain's request to provide an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act gives the go ahead to the Town of Atherton's lawsuit requesting the rail board redo its Environmental Impact Report.

July 8, 2015 - The Daily Journal

Iowa DOT Head Predicts Contraction for State's Highway System

When the director of transportation for the state of Iowa admits that the highway system is overbuilt, Charles Marohn asks the question: which of the 49 remaining DOT heads will also speak honestly about their systems?

July 8, 2015 - Strong Towns

Los Angeles Traffic - The Newhall Pass

California Governor Brown's Conflicting Road Budget Priorities

When his father was governor, California was awash in federal highway dollars. Now Jerry Brown's administration contemplates a risky tax hike, juggling the need for road improvements with a clean, transit-oriented agenda.

July 7, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Pittsburgh Votes: Keep Our Bridges Gold

In a civic exercise only possible in Pittsburgh, residents voted online in resounding support of keeping the color scheme of the city's famous Three Sisters Bridges.

July 7, 2015 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

Need Convincing that Vehicle-Miles-Traveled Fees Make Sense?

Eric Jaffe's July 1 article in CityLab has 18 reasons, and not one in opposition. The date is significant as it marks the official kickoff of the Oregon Road Usage Charge program.

July 6, 2015 - CityLab

Millennial Bike

Millennials Lead in Alternate Mobility

It's no secret that Millennials will use alternate modes when they're available and accessible. It's also no secret that adapting streets to those modes—and using them—can be a bargain.

July 6, 2015 - Governing

Self-Driving Car

Self-Driving Cars as Public Transportation

No one in the business doubts that autonomous vehicles will have some role to play in the future of transit. But right now, questions abound and answers are still only speculative.

July 6, 2015 - the transport politic

Bills to Hike Michigan Gas Tax by 15 Cents Squeak Through State Senate

Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley broke a tie vote in the state Senate on July 1 to pass a 15-cent gas tax increase over three years to raise $1.5 billion. In May, voters rejected a sales tax increase that would have triggered a gas tax increase.

July 5, 2015 - Detroit Free Press

Tribal Community Sues Over Phoenix-Area Freeway Plans

The 'South Mountain Freeway' would build a 22-mile freeway extension between Laveen and Chandler. The route's proximity to sacred tribal land has prompted a lawsuit, even after years of planning.

July 4, 2015 - The Arizona Republic

State Gas Tax Changes Effective July 1: Six Up; One Down

Carl Davis, Research Director of the Institute on Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP) writes where gas taxes used to fund transportation infrastructure increased, if only by decimal points, and about the aberration—the six-cent plunge in California.

July 2, 2015 - Tax Justice Blog

Gross Resevoir

Should City Planners Worry About Water Supply?

It’s a big question being tackled by land use planners and water providers in Colorado, where the traditional disconnect between water realities and land use decisions precludes a sustainable balance between water supply and urban growth.

July 1, 2015 - Dean Saitta

Controversy Emerges Over Chicago's Polka Dot Intersection

Local residents are upset with the effects of the placemaking installment in Chicago, opened this spring—namely slower traffic and a polka dot color scheme. An article in DNAinfo points out that slowing traffic was kind of the point.

July 1, 2015 - DNAinfo Chicago

12-Cent Gas Tax Increase Deal in Washington State

The Associated Press reports that while the exact details of the compromise plan that involve an 11.9-cent gas tax increase have yet to be released, the deal affects Gov. Jay Inslee's proposed low carbon fuel standard.

June 30, 2015 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Transportation Spending and Taxing Considered by Key Senate Committee

When Congress returns from the July 4 recess, they will have less than four weeks to pass and fund a transportation bill—be it for six years, as desired by transportation advocates, or less, as Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch prefers.

June 30, 2015 - The Hill

Fort Worth Walkability

Fort Worth Wants Residents to Live Longer

The Texas city is the largest municipality so far to sign onto the Blue Zones Project, an initiative for improving longevity. In a nutshell, Blue Zones wants to make healthy choices the easy ones.

June 30, 2015 - Next City

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.