Infrastructure
Long Road Ahead for Las Vegas-Phoenix Interstate Connection
The planners of the 1950s didn’t foresee the growth of the Southwest’s two largest cities. Upgrading the freeway connection between the cities, however, remains a tough task.
San Francisco Announces New Pedestrian Safety Program: WalkFirst
With its own “Vision Zero” goals in place to eliminate pedestrian fatalities within a decade, San Francisco has developed the WalkFirst plan to target the most dangerous intersections in the city for safety improvements.
Transportation Reauthorization Funding Mechanism May Be Settled
How best to "plug the growing hole" in the Highway Trust Fund which provides the federal revenue for roads and transit: increase the gas tax, new vehicle miles traveled fees, more road tolls, or "corporate tax reform"? All but one is a user fee.
Why Urban History Matters
Chuck Wolfe's recent reconnaissance of Edinburgh provides a foil for his rallying cry: Going forward, let’s not discount the influence of history’s recurring themes in how we redevelop the urban realm.
Comparing Public Space in New York City and Paris
A recent article examines the ways New York City and Paris support large-scale pedestrian use and support the shared use of public space.
States Reinvest in Once-Abandoned Freight Lines
Take 260 trucks off the road for every train, avoid costs for maintaining highways maintenance cost, and create multiple other environmental and economic development advantages—states are reinvesting in their rail lines.
Post Peak Driving, America Needs a Road (Construction) Diet
Though it may be too soon to say for sure, it looks like the United States has reached peak driving. So shouldn’t we cut back on new road construction?
Defending Urban Freeways At All Costs Ignores the Potential of Cities
When freeways are dismantled, economic, and social benefits often follow. A mid-20th Century mechanistic view fails to understand such outcomes.
Obama Pitching $300 Billion Plan to Fix Nation’s Roads, Bridges
The White House announced its intentions to propose a $300 billion plan to “address the funding crisis facing our surface transportation programs and to increase infrastructure investment.”
The Case for Bus Rapid Transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT) is well known among planners as a cheap method to improve bus service and provide an alternative to rail, but BRT projects around the country have met resistance from an array of status quo interests.
How Useful is Walkability: Are You Oriented to Walk?
The physical requirements for walkability—like narrow streets and wide sidewalks—aren't always enough to compel the activity of walking. How can we reorient toward the primal activity of walking?
U.S. Energy Secretary on CBR: 'Switch to Pipelines'
Ernest Moniz weighs-in on the exponential, and at times, explosive (literally) growth of moving crude oil by rail (CBR). His main point: pipelines are safer than rail. Science magazine editor Marcia McNutt points to pipelines' environmental benefits.
Dallas Needs $900 Million in Street Repairs (Or Lower Standards)
A recent report to Dallas’ Transportation and Trinity River Project Committee estimated the cost of bringing its streets to its minimum standards at $900 million.
Driverless Cars: A Boon to the Federal Budget?
The federal government is notorious for putting off road improvements. The good news? If driverless cars become a reality, they can keep putting them off—forever.
Opposition to Transportation Sales Tax Rides BRT in Gainesville
The Alachua County Commission and the Gainesville City Commission are considering a countywide referendum to raise sales tax revenue for transportation projects. Road repair is an easy political win, but bus rapid transit...not so much.
Friday Eye Candy: Stunning Overhead Perspectives on Human Interactions with Land
The “Daily Overview” website provides a compendium of high-altitude, overhead photography from around the world.
Air Traffic Shuffle Reopens Lakefront Development Possibilities in Cleveland
United Airlines recently decided to eliminate its hub at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Some are hoping the city will shift traffic from the Burke Lakefront Airport into Hopkins, freeing up lakefront property for development.
Highway Trust Fund Projected to Become Insolvent Earlier than Expected
As we've noted numerous times, the Highway Trust Fund will become insolvent around the end of the fiscal year - Sept. 30, just when MAP-21, the transportation authorization bill, expires. We were wrong. The new HTF "ticker" explains the bad news.
Sustaining the New Orleans Success Story
A new report called “Sustaining Prosperity: A Long Term Vision for the New Orleans Region,” authored by Joel Kotkin, celebrates the rebirth of New Orleans and sets a five point plan for ensuring New Orleans’ long-term prosperity.
The Best Complete Streets Programs of 2013
More than 80 communities adopted complete streets policies in 2013, bringing the national total to 610 jurisdictions with such policies. The National Complete Streets Coalition examined the newest programs for the best examples.
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
