Infrastructure
Benefits and Burdens in Post-World Cup South Africa
The 2010 World Cup has ended in South Africa. What's left behind are a number of physical and cultural legacies that will be both landmark developments and potential economic hazards.
Shanghai Usurps London's Throne As Home to World's Largest Metro
With 420km of network, Shanghai's metro overtook the London Underground, which has a total of 402km. But the rate of expansion is more impressive: the first line was constructed in only 1995 and it is still expanding.
Small-Town Seafood Shack Creates Big Traffic Problem
A popular seafood shack in small-town Maine is causing huge traffic problems. Officials are considering a $100 million solution.
Towns Across The Country Let Their Paved Roads Return To Nature
"When counties had lots of money, they paved a lot of the roads and tried to make life easier for the people who lived out here," said Stutsman County Highway Superintendent Mike Zimmerman, "Now, it's catching up to them."
Innovative Ideas for Urban Agriculture
Non-profit TerraformOne held a design contest for ideas for creating productive green spaces in cities. Winners include plans to put seniors to work as farmers and a global system of levees.
New York's Best Peforming Trains
The Times chose to investigate claims by transit agencies of high, on-time performance of LIRR, Metro-North, and NJ Transit by doing their own analysis and found major discrepancies. The article also indicates the infrastructure problems responsible.
Could More Tolling Replace the Gas Tax?
Melissa Lafsky at The Infrastructurist poses the question. With raising the gas tax a political impossibility, how can we repair our ailing infrastructure? A lot more toll roads, says Lafsky.
The Most Dangerous Road in Georgia
Blueprint America reports from suburban Atlanta, where getting to the other side of the road is nothing to take for granted.
Gunfrastructure
Firearms collected by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in a collection drive will be melted down and turned into rebar used in state infrastructure projects.
High Speed Rail Puts Hurt on Freight
The emphasis on high speed rial in the U.S. overlooks the potential harm it could cause to the nation's powerful freight rail system, according to this piece from The Economist.
Car-Dependent Kansas City
Urban Land Institute president Patrick L. Phillips says his hometown of Kansas City needs to mend its car-centric infrastructure and encourage denser growth in the suburbs.
High Speed Rail Jobs: Many Temporary, Few Permanent
The planned high speed rail connection between Victorville, California and Las Vegas is expected to create 50,000 temporary jobs. Only 700 will become permanent.
BRT On the Way to Jordan
A new bus rapid transit project has begun construction in Amman, Jordan -- a first for the country.
Tear Down Claiborne Ave. Expressway, Says Coalition
A group of activists and planners has released a report showing how tearing down the Claiborne Ave. Expressway in New Orleans and turning it into a boulevard would benefit the neighborhood and the city.
Bus Advocates Argue Rail Focused Planning Reduces Overall Transit Ridership in L.A.
Dan Weikel of the L.A. Times suggests that the focus on rail transit at the expense of buses has pushed general transit ridership down in general.
How Accurate Are California's HSR Ridership Figures?
When she read over the ridership estimates behind California's HSR plans, Elizabeth Alexis was expecting to have "obscure arguments over the standard deviations," but instead found glaringly obvious "math" mistakes.
More Than Just Air at the Airport
Airports are becoming more than airports, with an increasing number expanding their services to being multimodal transit hubs.
London's 'Cycle Superhighways'
The City of London has opened up two "bicycle superhighways".
Can BART Afford It's Expansions?
The Bay Area's 104-mile heavy rail system, BART, is planning major expansions. But many transit supporters, rather than cheering the new service and ridership the extensions would produce, are sounding alarms.
Why Streetcar Spending Is Good For Charlotte
Charlotte just won $25 million in grants from the federal government to combine with $12 million of local funds to build a streetcar system. Some say it's a waste of money. This editorial from The Charlotte Observer argues its case.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
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
