According to RPA Executive Director Robert Yaro, global competition requires that the United States focus on regions for future infrastructure investment.
The article is an interview with Robert Yaro, executive director of the Regional Plan Association:
"...all of our competitors around world-Europe and Japan and China-were engaged in long-range investment strategies around moving people and goods. The rest of the world is building high-speed rail, expanding commercial aviation systems, and building integrated goods movement systems that involve new connections between seaports and rail systems. Really, we're the only place in the world that doesn't have that kind of long-range investment strategy."
"...we need a national policy and investment framework. The analogy that we've been using is the interstate system. That really made late 20th century metropolitan regions possible. They were organized around these metro-scale motor-access highway networks."
"We're just approaching the one-year mark of the announcement of PlaNYC, and it's an amazing story. We had one highly visible setback, and that was the refusal of the New York State Legislature to vote on the congestion pricing proposal. That was one of 127 policy and investment recommendations."
FULL STORY: NY’s RPA Advocates ‘America 2050’ Plan to Renew Regions
How Planners Can Help Cities Thrive
For planners, the key to moving a city’s vision for development forward is to value public as well as private investment in projects, according to urban planner and author Howard M. Blackson III.
Can Planning Happen More Quickly?
Members of the British Parliament attempt to speed up the process for planning major projects. But some advocates and observers fear the public's voice will be muted.
More Passenger Rail Coming to Montana
Planning is underway to restore a 45-year-defunct regional passenger rail line connecting southern Montana to Billings and Amtrak’s east-west Empire Builder line from Seattle to Chicago.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
Montreal’s Gorilla Park Repurposes Defunct Railway Track
The park is part of a global movement to build public spaces that connect neighbors and work with local elements to serve as key parts of a city’s green infrastructure.
Safe Parking Programs Help People Access Housing
The safety and stability offered by Safe Parking sites have helped 40 percent of unhoused San Diego residents who accessed these programs get into permanent housing.
Study: Single-Staircase Buildings Pose No Additional Risks
Zoning codes have long prohibited single-stair residential buildings due to safety concerns, but changing that could lower the cost of construction and allow for more flexible housing designs.
Forest Service Rescinds Tree Planting Grants
The $75 million program fell victim to the federal government’s purge of ‘DEI’-related projects.
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.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research