Infrastructure

As the holiday travel season begins, Becky Krystal reminisces on rest stops encountered along family road trips and observes that "stops are evolving from small, flypaper-plastered restrooms into airy, high-tech travel plazas and welcome centers."

November 20, 2012 - The Washington Post

Happiness and health are generated or depleted by the way our neighbourhoods, towns, cities, and rural landscapes are developed. Creative placemaking adds to walkable urbanism by sealing the deal on physical, mental, and social well-being.

November 17, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Eric Jaffe reports, “[a] recent field test in Mexico offers the first experimental evidence that basic infrastructure upgrades — in this case paving streets — have a measurable effect on reducing urban poverty.”

November 15, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Given its unprecedented “scale and scope”, California's bullet train poses a plethora of complex challenges to engineers and train planners, reports Ralph Vartabedian, yet it also seizes their imaginations.

November 14, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Over the past four years, hope turned to disappointment over lost opportunities to "make agriculture less fossil-fuel dependent, re-localize food systems, and rebuild America’s food culture." Does a second term for Obama mean more of the same?

November 13, 2012 - Grist

A new pedestrian bridge planned for Paris plays with the idea of stability by inducing a "perilous flirt with the Seine," reports Mark Wilson.

November 13, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Design

Cynthia Barnett says Americans live under an "illusion of water abundance" and calls for government water managers and private water companies to "stem the drain on America's water resources before it's too late."

November 13, 2012 - The Los Angeles Times

As part of Bloomberg BusinessWeek's "Fix This" city planning series, the World Bank's Daniel Hoornweg considers how cities can often be a reflection of the cultural and institutional personalities of their citizens.

November 12, 2012 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Will Hunt explores Paris beneath the surface during a 14-mile trek underground with a group of urban explorers, and finds subterranean sights to rival those found on the famous streets above.

November 11, 2012 - Intelligent Life

Across the strait from Singapore, Iskandar Malaysia is being planned as the world’s next eco mega-city. Its architects and developers hope it will offer an alternative to Asia's polluted cities and a glimpse of the future of urban living.

November 10, 2012 - The Guardian

As NYC struggles to cope with the damage from Superstorm Sandy, officials and experts are revisiting the possibility of building, at great cost, a protective barrier around its coast.

November 10, 2012 - The New York Times

With only 25% of gas stations in NYC operating, the mayor has instituted odd-even rationing that has proven effective in reducing lines in NJ. Meanwhile, MTA announced most transit and subway service have been restored to pre-Hurricane Sandy levels.

November 10, 2012 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

"The City That Never Was" is the title of an upcoming symposium, and series of essays, organized by the Architectural League of NY to explore two decades of growth and decline in Spain through the prism of unrealized architectural ambitions.

November 8, 2012 - The Architectural League NY

Former Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and chair of the House Transportation Committee was ousted by Chip Cravaack (R) in 2010, who took his seat on the committee and proceeded to gut Oberstar's goals. Cravaack was ousted by Rick Nolan (D), on Nov. 6.

November 8, 2012 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

As an increasing percentage of the world's population, and economic assets, confront the threats of climate change, the aftermath of Sandy provides an opportunity for New York to set a global example for building stronger, smarter cities.

November 7, 2012 - New York Daily News

A recent study documents the shift from large-scale units of production to smaller mass-produced units that can be dispersed across many locations. This shift promises to change a host of industries, from transportation to power generation.

November 7, 2012 - Science Daily

No sooner had the ink dried on the Times' "Obama's Night" headline, than planning advocates began offering suggestions for what the President should focus on in his second term. With an enduring split in Congress it's unclear what is achievable.

November 7, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Forty-five miles southwest of the Twin Cities sits the exurb of New Prague, a town with state-of-the-art infrastructure but crushing debt. It’s an example of what happens when the “Ponzi scheme” underlying sprawl development comes crumbling down.

November 7, 2012 - Star Tribune

The intersection of Yonge and Harbour is just one example of the dangerous conditions that confront Toronto’s pedestrians daily. Are the police to blame for the city’s lack of pedestrian safety?

November 7, 2012 - The Star

For decades, New Jersey's coastal communities have been the beneficiaries of artificial beach nourishment, at great expense. After Sandy washed away hundreds of million of dollars of sand, some are suggesting it's time for a strategic retreat.

November 6, 2012 - The New York Times