The Infrastructurist

For those who missed it, Friday brought the end to the influential infrastructure focused blog -- The Infrastructurist

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai has one of the world's largest condensate recovery systems that diverts and reuses water from air conditioning. One World Trade Center in New York will use 30% less water and 20% less energy.

Via Verde is a rebirth to a area that has been suffering economically for decades. The planners chosen for this project are placing a great deal of importance on aesthetics and quality design, not seen in other projects.

"Build it and they will come," says Ysabel Yates. Unfortunately for these 6 large airports, they didn't.

Anthony Flint of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy says the way to save high-speed rail policy is to focus on getting the two trains with the best chance of success on track.

A survey of over 8,000 commuters in 20 cities across 6 continents yields an alarming result. By and large, commuters in emerging economies face traffic conditions that are far worse than those who live in the U.S. and Europe.

For better or worse, cities mimic each other, making replicas of great landmarks down to unique light fixtures. The Infrastructurist selects top 5 cities that do the job well. Not surprisingly, Shanghai earns the title as the hallmark of knock-offs.

A new report from an advocacy group called Build America's Future argues that investment in U.S. infrastructure is desperately needed to keep the country from falling behind.

When "peak car use" is reached, the only way to go is down, claim Australian scholars Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy. They say we're already there - between 1995 to 2000, per capita VMT in some major cities around the world decreased.

The DOT awarded a billion and a half in grants to transit projects on the Fourth of July. Eric Jaffe has the lowdown on projects from Connecticut to Colorado.

Forget Disneyland, Shanghai - China has already built a series of themed lands, each themed after a different European community. Problem is they are terrible flops. Thames Town, strangely themed after an Austrian village, is deserted.

Channeling the Vélib bicycle rental system in Paris, the Capital Bikeshare program proves to be an unprecedented success in the States. Cities like Denver, Minneapolis, and NYC are starting to emulate.

For autonomous vehicles to roam the freeway, infrastructure and the law will need to accelerate and catch up with innovation, experts say.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways was actually the idea of an earlier president, according to this history of highways posted on The Infrastructurist.

Eric Jaffe at The Infrastructurist explains the non-intuitive reason why often removing freeways means less traffic.

Latest study by a Swedish university shows that couples whose commute time exceeds 45 minutes are 40% more likely to experience marital problems.

When people love a city, it succeeds. That's the semi-obvious conclusion of a recent survey. So why aren't we working hard to make cities people will love?

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has supported roughly 700 affordable housing projects around the country that have never been completed, some stalling out for over a decade.

PricewaterhouseCoopers recently published the fourth edition of Cities of Opportunity. The report rates 26 cities in a range of categories (including transportation and infrastructure, for example) and then comes up with a master ranking.

Rick Scott's general counsel, Charles Trippe, admitted that he "misrepresented a central fact" to support the governor's rejection of federal funds for HSR. This fact could lead to a reopening of the case, according to The Infrastructurist.