Infrastructure

Bill Could Change Street Sweeping, Parking Regulations in New York City

The singular urban dance, or traffic jam, of "alternate-side-of-the-street parking" could get a reprieve with a new bill before the New York City Council.

July 2, 2014 - New York Times

Rock Creek Park Washington D.C.

Parks for Pedestrians: No Easy Matter

A heavily wooded park requires investments in maps and trails to be truly pedestrian-friendly.

June 30, 2014 - Michael Lewyn

The Texas-Sized Impact of the 'Prior Appropriations' Water Management System

Christian McPhate and Ashlea Sigman provide a thorough and insightful read about the environmental impacts of Texas' water management policies, especially along the Brazos River, a drought-stricken water supply that cuts across the state.

June 29, 2014 - The Dallas Morning News

A Bad Year for State Transportation Funding

Compared to 2013, few states are increasing transportation spending through tax increases. Only New Hampshire and Rhode Island saw limited gas tax increases, though both were accompanied by road or bridge toll eliminations. Missouri could be next.

June 27, 2014 - Governing

Your IRA Account May 'Patch' the Highway Trust Fund

A $9 billion patch bill was drafted by Sen. Finance Comm. Chair Ron Wyden to continue transportation spending to Dec. 31. Most of the funds come from a change in how Individual Retirement Accounts are administered and a heavy truck use tax increase.

June 26, 2014 - Roll Call

How to Build Cargo Capacity at an Airport: Attract Industries to Nearby Locations

Atlanta's efforts to attract new cargo traffic to its airport will require new facilities on site as well as new facilities for industries nearby.

June 26, 2014 - Marketplace

Re-Evaluating the Dynamic Duo: Olmsted and Moses

Anthony Flint examines the commonalities—and disparities—in the historic legacies of Frederick Law Olmsted and Robert Moses.

June 24, 2014 - CityLab

California Bullet Train

Calif. Governor Signs Game-Changing Budget for HSR, Transit, and Affordable Housing

Jerry Brown signed a $156.3-billion budget on June 20 that marks a new day for greenhouse gas-reducing transportation and sustainable communities projects due to new revenues from the state's cap and trade market now and, particularly, in the future.

June 21, 2014 - TransForm

Post Office Spared from House Republican's Highway Plan

The House Republican plan to gut Saturday postal delivery to pay for six months of highway spending was dropped on June 18. It appears it was a casualty of Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary loss in his Virginia congressional district.

June 20, 2014 - Bloomberg Political Capital

Texas High Speed Rail Proposal Gaining Momentum

An article by Amy Crawford details the prospects of a plan to build a private rail connection between Houston and Dallas—the Texas Central Railway—that would be modeled on lines in Japan, and funded by Japanese interests.

June 20, 2014 - CityLab

Bipartisan Plan to Increase Fuel Taxes Surfaces

A surprising and unexpected bipartisan plan to increase gas and diesel taxes by 12 cents each emerged June 18 from Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Taxes would increase six cents a gallon annually for two years.

June 19, 2014 - The Hill

Highway Trust Fund Ticker Updates Path Toward Insolvency

For those who haven't been following the Trust Fund's ticker, it's a bit like the deficit clock except that it runs in the opposite direction, going towards zero or insolvency. The ticker measures the balance in both the highway and transit accounts.

June 19, 2014 - Fast Lane (DOT blog)

Los Angeles Traffic - The Newhall Pass

Induced Demand Explained (or Why We Can't Build Our Way Out of Congestion)

In case you need an easy link to reference when encountering arguments in favor of widening roads and freeways as a solution for traffic, Adam Mann provides an accessible and clear explainer article that sums up the limitations of such strategies.

June 18, 2014 - Wired

Great Streets? How about Healthy, Safe Streets?

Advocates and citizens in Boyle Heights, a historic and predominantly Latino neighborhood on the Eastside of Los Angeles, are hoping for more than economic development from the city's Great Streets initiative.

June 18, 2014 - KPCC

How to Improve America's Infrastructure in Four Easy Steps

Rob Palter shares insights from a recent round of interviews with "government leaders, private investors, and private operators in the field of infrastructure" about how the United States can improve the poor state if its infrastructure.

June 18, 2014 - The Hill

Multi-Modal Trip Planning in Chicago? There Ought to Be an App for That

Samuel Baron makes the case that Divvy, Chicago's "newest transportation system," should be better integrated with the city's other public transport systems.

June 18, 2014 - Transitized

No Little Plans for Private Passenger Rail Service Between Miami and Orlando

The last private passenger rail in the United States closed in 1983, but a private company is working on a 240-mile service between Orlando and Florida. CityLab recently detailed how a relic of the past could transform the Florida of the future.

June 17, 2014 - CityLab

San Francisco Tunnel Boring Machine

Seattle's Envy? San Francisco's Big Alma Outperforms Big Bertha

Big Alma is one of two boring machines used to tunnel under the streets of San Francisco to construct the new Central Subway to Chinatown. Big Bertha, Seattle's infamous tunnel borer, has been stalled since December. Big Alma emerged on June 11.

June 16, 2014 - The San Francisco Examiner

Who Should Pay for Highways: Motorists or Oil Companies?

A new transportation funding option proposed by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) would repeal the 18.4-cent gas tax, unchanged since 1993, with a "small" tax levied against oil companies on each barrel of oil used to make gasoline.

June 16, 2014 - The Oregonian

Orlando Street

Nation's Most Dangerous City for Pedestrians Becoming Safer

A Smart Growth America report put the spotlight on Orlando and the entire state of Florida as leading the nation in pedestrian deaths per capita. NPR investigate what is being done to lose the infamous title.

June 16, 2014 - NPR

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.