Infrastructure
Prioritizing Resilience: Fraught with Challenges, But Worthwhile
In the face of climate change, making cities "resilient" before crises strike has become a pressing concern.
Integrating Health, Housing, and Resilience
The Urban Land Institute proposes the blending of solutions in housing and public health as a method of increasing the resilience of cities threatened by natural disasters of all kinds.
Is $1.4 Billion Enough Punishment for Deadly Natural Gas Explosion?
With a final decision expected later this year, the California Public Utilities Commission recommended a $1.4 billion fine for PG&E in connection with violations leading to a natural gas explosion in 2010.
Local Governments Onboard with Minneapolis' Southwest Light Rail
With a vote last week by the Minneapolis City Council, the final local consent was granted the proposed Southwest light rail project. Despite that benchmark political action, the project will not be without challenges moving forward.
Learning to 'Place-Decode' the Elements of Urbanism
Chuck Wolfe champions the role of France's attachment to place as a laboratory for decoding the essential elements of urbanism.
Plans for a 550-Mile 'Atlantic Coast Pipeline' Announced
A trio of natural gas providers is planning to build a 550-mile pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina. The companies are hoping to secure approval for the project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by 2016.
Euro-Envy Reconsidered: Talkin' Time, Distance, and Change
Most North American urbanists turn to Europe for inspiration and direction. Some of that brilliance, Ben Brown reminds us, is due to time and distance.
On the Political Effects of Transportation Infrastructure
A comparison of road conditions in Rwanda and Mali—the former an autocracy with sterling roads, the latter a democracy where poor road conditions reveal a deep divide in the country.
A Protected Bike Lane for Penn Ave in Pittsburgh
Michael Anderson reports on a proposed road diet and bike lane proposed for Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh, along a historic and cultural corridor in one of the country's oldest downtowns.
Plan Maps the Best (and Worst) of Future Road Construction
A new study published in the journal Nature maps out a plan for the development of roads around the world—where roads should be avoided due to their environmental costs, and where they can be built to maximize their potential benefit to humanity.
The Danger of Federal Money for Local Projects
Scott Beyer provides four reasons why federal money is the wrong policy mechanism for delivering the best possible transportation outcomes in the United States.
Cleveland Still Pondering Makeover for the Public Square
A plan to shut down streets around Cleveland's Public Square and make it a pedestrian friendly civic space has prompted many commenters to call for revisions to the plan, especially with regard to the square's heavy bus transit capacity.
When it Comes to Seismic Safety, It's Each City for Itself
Buildings constructed of unreinforced masonry get much if not most of the media's attention on seismic safety, but so-called 'soft story' wood buildings, often with garages on the ground floor, compose the greatest numbers of vulnerable buildings.
On the Death of the San Antonio Streetcar
When former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro began his new job as secretary of HUD, the all-but-built Modern Streetcar project fell prey to gathering Tea Party forces.
California Pauses $24 Billion Plan for Bay Delta Tunnels
The controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan, in the works for seven years, has been placed on hold again. According to officials with the state Department of Resources, the delay comes in response to comments on the project's draft EIR.
St. Louis Facing Huge Costs from Aging Water Infrastructure
"The St. Louis region doesn’t face the prospect, as Western states do, of running out of water," according to Jacob Barker. But the region is facing a water problem: "aging infrastructure and capital spending that isn’t keeping up."
Napa Earthquake Shows Urgency of Building Retrofits
Sunday's powerful Bay Area earthquake brought attention to the urgent need to retrofit existing buildings in California. One expert stated the damage in Napa "was predictable." Do you know the three types of construction that need to be reinforced?
Sidewalks Left Out of Nashville Development Fee System
Josh Brown reports for the Tennessean on the unintended consequences of a fee waiver meant to encourage infill development—developers are readily choosing to pay the fee instead of building sidewalks.
How the One Percent Deals with Drought in California
Anna Louise Bardach tells the story of Montecito, California, an extremely wealthy enclave near Santa Barbara, which has enough money to buy its way out of the drought.
Senators Build Suspense Regarding Gas Tax Replacement
Keith Laing of The Hill breaks the news that two influential Republican U.S. Senators predict that the federal gas tax is on its "last legs." It will be replaced with an (unnamed) user fee when the current transportation funding bill expires May 31.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
