Infrastructure

City Imposes Controversial Fees For Street Marches

Hundreds marched in San Antonio, Texas, in defiance of new street procession fees that the organizations believe will stifle free speech.

12 August 2009 - 11:00am

San Antonio Express-News

Where Are We Going To Charge Our Cars?

Cities need stations where electric cars can recharge in order for the new technology to take off and become a reality in the future, The Wall Street Journal reports.

10 August 2009 - 7:00am

The Wall Street Journal

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1 comment

Rethinking the Street Space: Evolving Life in the Streets

For more than 100 years, street design policy was stagnant. But now, planners and policymakers are expanding their ideas about what streets can be. In the second part of their series on streets, Amber Hawkes and Georgia Sheridan examine the history of street design -- and look to the future.

10 August 2009 - 5:00am

Watching Trash

Tracking tags have been implanted in garbage in New York and Seattle to monitor where garbage goes and how municipal waste management systems can improve.

8 August 2009 - 9:00am

Seed

New Portland Bridge Seeks to Ease Pedestrian and Cyclist Tensions

A new light rail bridge spanning the Willamette River in Portland will include separate lanes for pedestrians and cyclists -- and no lanes for automobiles. But biker and pedestrian congestion remains a concern.

8 August 2009 - 7:00am

The Oregonian

Smooth Maneuvers on the SF Bay Bridge

This Labor Day, a 300-ft. section of the east span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge will be cut out and pushed aside, connecting to a new detour that will facilitate the switch from a double-decker configuration to a side-by-side one.

6 August 2009 - 1:00pm

CalTrans

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The Cost of a Hypothetical High Speed Rail Line

Economist Edward L. Glaeser crunches the numbers on a hypothetical high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston and finds the costs prohibitive.

6 August 2009 - 6:00am

The New York Times

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3 comments

Becoming an Energy-Independent City

The City of San Jose, California is on its way to becoming the nation's first energy-independent city, deriving all of its energy from renewable sources.

5 August 2009 - 9:00am

USA Today

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2 comments

'Disaster City' Trains Rescuers for Real-Life Catastrophes

Disasters happen. Being prepared is almost always the ideal, but rarely the reality. A disaster training facility in Texas is trying to change that.

3 August 2009 - 9:00am

Popular Science

'Smart Studs' Will Open New Freeway Lanes Automatically

A new high-tech system from New Zealand will be installed on L.A.'s 110 freeway, which will feature sensors that will know when traffic slows and open an alternate lane automatically.

2 August 2009 - 1:00pm

Los Angeles Times

Sewer Robot Frees Up Streets

The Urban Mole is a proposed package delivery robot that uses existing sewer tunnels to deliver packages underground, taking delivery trucks off of the streets.

31 July 2009 - 9:00am

Wired

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1 comment

Largest Park in Newark Opens, 30 Years Late

Nat Turner Park is Newark's newest, and largest, city-owned park. The city bought the lot in the 1970s but didn't get around to developing it until now.

31 July 2009 - 5:00am

Newark Star-Ledger

Subway Train Under Full Surveillance

In an effort to deter crime, the New York MTA is planning to fully equip one subway train with security cameras that record every inch of the interior.

30 July 2009 - 10:00am

The New York Times

London's Sexiest Olympics Architecture is for its Infrastructure

As it prepares to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, the City of London is getting closer to completion on some of its event-related infrastructure. So far, the best buildings are more nuts-and-bolts than flash, according to this piece.

30 July 2009 - 9:00am

Blueprint

Un-Damming America's Rivers

Dams are increasingly being removed in the U.S. as part of an effort to save fish.

30 July 2009 - 7:00am

Good

Water Tunnel Beneath Bay to Protect San Francisco in Face of Quake

Utilities officials in the San Francisco Bay Area are hoping to secure their water resources in the face of another devastating earthquake by building a 5-mile long water tunnel beneath the Bay.

29 July 2009 - 11:00am

San Jose Mercury News

Brent Toderian

Vancouver approves Laneway Housing and "Suites within Suites"

Wed, 07/29/2009 - 09:17

A quick post to note that on Tuesday of last week, Vancouver City Council unanimously approved bylaws to put into place Vancouver's new "suites within suites" housing option, across the City. Also referred to as "lock-off suites", these secondary suites within apartments are meant to represent an opportunity for housing flexibility, with such suites usable as a rental mortgage helper (a “mortgage helper in the sky”, as one article puts it), a separated but related unit for an elderly parent or aging teenager, a unit for a care-giver, or any other relationship an apartment owner might need.

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Remaking the Suburbanized Metropolis of Paris

This piece from Worldchanging takes an in-depth look at the competition to redesign metropolitan Paris for the year 2030.

29 July 2009 - 10:00am

WorldChanging

'Fertile Crescent' Doomed by Century's End

Water projects and diversion efforts in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria are draining the marshlands near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known as the 'Fertile Crescent'.

29 July 2009 - 8:00am

New Scientist