As attention to energy efficiency and climate change continue to pervade the thinking and planning of the future transportation system, we are increasingly challenged to make very real decisions about the prudence of various investments. The current context for decision-making offers perhaps the greatest uncertainty regarding the future witnessed in the lifetimes of people in the planning profession today.
Transportation
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.
The Wall Street Journal
Chicago Suburbs See Fewer Freight Trains, Not More
Where are all the trains? Chicago suburbs worried about an expected increase in freight trains due to the CN purchase of a rail spur through their backyard, but that worry has not materialized after the acquisition.
Chicago Sun-Times
$7 Billion Stop-Gap Measure for Highway Fund
On Weds., the U.S. House of Representatives approved $7 billion in stop-gap funding for road, bridge and transit projects until SAFETEA-LU can be reauthorized.
The Washington Post
24% Reduction in Emissions Possible by 2050
Changing changing transportation habits and land-use patterns in America could result in a 24 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, says a new report from Cambridge Systematics.
The New York Times
Midwest Governors Coordinate to Seek High Speed Rail Funding
At the Midwest High Speed Rail Summit today in Chicago, an agreement was struck between eight states to work cooperatively to achieve Recovery Act funding to develop the Chicago Hub High Speed Rail Corridor - also called the Midwest corridor.
Environmental News Service
Taking to the Road? More Power to You
Two inventors explain devices that would allow energy to be harvested along highways and from the highways themselves.
The New York Times
Rybczynski on the History of Airport Architecture
Witold Rybczynski provides an illustrated history of airport architecture on Slate [Slideshow].
Slate.com
Fordlandia: Henry Ford's Misguided Amazon Utopia
Author Greg Gardin travels from Michigan to the Amazon to show how the Fordist economy's reductionistic search for efficiencies led to its own -- and Detroit's -- downfall.
TomDispatch.com
Fewer Cars for Better Cities
Cities are warming up to the idea that planning for the future means more car sharing programs and fewer parking spaces.
The New York Times
Comprehensive Evaluation of Transit Oriented Development Benefits
Sun, 06/07/2009 - 16:14
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) refers to communities with high quality public transit services, good walkability, and compact, mixed land use. This allows people to choose the best option for each trip: walking and cycling for local errands, convenient and comfortable public transit for travel along major urban corridors, and automobile travel to more dispersed destinations. People who live and work in such communities tend to own fewer vehicles, drive less, and rely more on alternative modes.
The BMP Map Really Sucks?
Los Angeles released the first piece of its Bike Master Plan and received a variety of reactions.
la.streetsblog.org
Win $50,000 by Solving Congestion
A new contest challenges planning professionals and ordinary people to submit their solutions for improving congestion in the United States.
SF.STREETSBLOG.org
Quirky Bus Stops Across the World
This slide show includes pictures of unorthodox bus stops all over the world, including Yellowstone National Park, Estonia, Japan and Brazil.
Toxel.com
DOT and HUD, Together Again
DOT and HUD announce a joint effort to merge land use and planning to improve livability. CNU's John Norquist comments on the merger.
New Urban News
Students Give Up Wheels for Their Own Two Feet
This piece from the New York Times looks at a program in Italy the encourages children to walk to school.
The New York Times
Signs of Spring for Smart Growth
The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Obama signed on Feb. 17 left advocates of compact and transit-oriented development practically biting their tongues.
New Urban News
How 'Level of Service' Measurements Ruin Cities
"Level of service" is a ranking used by transportation engineers to assess the performance of roads. Streetsblog argues that LOS distorts the development of mobility infrastructure by prioritizing cars over people.
StreetsBlog-SF
Podcast: Top Planning Issues of 2008
6:15 minutes (5.78 MB)
2008 is over. Now, we take a look back at the year's top news in the world of urban planning and development to see what trends defined 2008 -- and what's to come in 2009.
What To Do With Hitler's Airport?
The new Tom Cruise film Valkyrie features scenes shot in the massive and recently closed Tempelhof Airport, the sheer size of which will pose challenges to any redevelopment.
The Globe and Mail
