Infrastructure

New Trump Infrastructure Plan: A Trillion Dollars for New Roads Without Spending a Dime
Trump plans to authorize $137 billion in tax credits to private construction companies to build projects with tolls and other future cash streams to them to spur building and the economy.

Plan to Link 50 Miles of Dallas Trails Seeks City Partnership to Complete Funding
Dallas' Circuit Trail Conservancy has raised $23 million dollars to fund the construction of connectors that would link 50 miles of trails, now they're looking for an additional $20 million in bond money to get the project fully funded.
Changing Miami
Sixty years of highway construction has significantly changed Miami's development patterns.

Toronto's Population Boom Turning Into a Hospital Shortage
Downtown Toronto has grown and its hospitals are struggling to keep up with growing demand for their services.

Trudeau Reveals Huge Plan to Build New Canadian Infrastructure
In an effort to stimulate the Canadian economy and modernize Canada's infrastructure Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a plan to spend $120 billion CAD on infrastructure over the next decade.
A Summary of CNU24 Detroit
Miss the Congress for the New Urbanism in Detroit? Hazel Borys shares some highlights, with help from Twitter urbanists.

Walkability: Good Money After Bad
"We're investing in walkability," always sounds like an encouraging tagline from local governments...or does it?

New York's Visionary Model of Utilities Reform
Utilities profit from building more power plants—a flawed model for a diminishing natural monopoly.

Mayors Are Taking an Interest in Infrastructure
Mayoral races and State of the City speeches highlight the growing political importance of local infrastructure initiatives.
A Call for Long-Term Federal Transportation Funding
When Congress recently failed yet again to pass a long-term surface transportation bill, Representative Earl Blumenauer decided it was time for a reality check.
California's Largest Dam Removal Underway in Monterey County
Even in an epic drought, the long-awaited commencement of the $83 million San Clemente Dam removal project is welcomed as the obsolete dam posed a safety threat to downstream communities and provided very little water due to tremendous silt build-up.
City Life in the Republic of NGOs
Haiti's weak government and heavy foreign aid presence has led some to refer to it as the "Republic of NGOs." Satellite explored how this dynamic plays out in the small city of Fort-Liberté, which has been shaken by recent protests over electricity.
Trails Win Big in Florida's 2015-16 State Budget
Florida Governor Rick Scott approved a $78 billion state budget last week, which includes $25 million for a statewide network of non-motorized trails.

Bold Plans Unveiled for Converting Durham's Historic Downtown Loop
The city of Durham hosted a public workshop this week to discuss urban design plans for converting a circuitous couplet to a two-way street grid.
Durham, NC Moving ahead with High-Profile Projects
Durham City Council members may be ready to take on new debt to fund a list of big-ticket parks and transportation projects which would help keep pace with growth and enhance the community.

North Carolina Planners: Where to Build Light Rail (and Should it Be Built)?
This week residents in the North Carolina Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) will provide input on key segments of a future regional light rail system. The project has been analyzed for 15 years, yet the question of whether to build it remains.

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.
Developer Pins Los Angeles' Infrastructure Problems on Bureaucratic Bloat
According to developer and consultant Michael P. Russell, the city of Los Angeles has a chronic shortage of funds for infrastructure due to a bloated bureaucracy, small district city council elections, and term limits.
California Urbanists Grappling with Infrastructure Post-Redevelopment
An overview of how urbanists in California have shifted their thinking about repairing urban cores. The article is by Howard Blackson III, an urban designer.

How Coastal Communities Can Adapt to the Effects of Climate Change
Dave Hampton, an architect and a principal at the consulting firm re:ground llc reviews last month’s "MIT Sea Grant’s Climate Change Symposium: Sustaining Coast Cities."
Pagination
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.
City of Albany
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