Slate

What is more likely to constitute a successful transit system -- one that runs dirty old vehicles at shorter headways or one that runs beautiful comfortable vehicles less frequently? Tom Vanderbilt wades into the public conversation in Slate

Mapmaker David Imus spent 2 years creating the best 3x4-foot paper wall map you'll ever see.

Between the Obama Administration's patchwork approach to funding and outright Republican opposition, high speed rail appears to be dead.

The "utopian" cities being built from scratch in Asia to accommodate its fantastic rate of urbanization are striving to be smarter and greener, but may also be financially risky.

In this piece, Greg Lindsay take a cautiously optimistic stance on whether or not from-scratch Asian cities are the way to address urban overpopulation.

While some may be disappointed by how cities aren't yet swarming with robots and automated cars, Frank Swain writes that it's a matter of when we humans can tailor our landscapes to enable the new technology.

The FHWA says that 40% of all traffic accidents happen at intersections, and many of those are caused by left turns. A new type of intersection called the "diverging diamond" takes left turns out of the picture.

Slate looks at the work and vast urban transformations brought about under the leadership of New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

Witold Rybczynski writes the epitaph for the McMansion. With the housing market in the toilet, Rybczynski says new homebuyers are going to be seeking something smaller, more affordable and possibly not a single-family home.

Slate looks at America's long history of dreaming up grand stadiums that end up unbuilt, from a waterfront stadium on Manhattan's West Side to a floating stadium in Puget Sound.

Streetcars -- a relatively old transportation technology -- have more traction than high tech solutions like monorails in the modern age of mobility. Want proof? Just look at Disneyland, says Tom Vanderbilt.

In an experiment in social data gathering, Slate's Michael Agger suggests that there is a host of ways we could be contributing our personal data to help make better policy decisions.

I.M. Pei, Robert A.M. Stern, Daniel Libeskind, Louis Kahn, Frank Gehry - all of these architects were height-challenged. Witold Rybczynski writes in Slate about why great architects are usually short and what that means for the built environment.

75 years after the first meter was installed in Oklahoma City, cities are beginning to rethink traditional parking regulation strategies. Tom Vanderbilt considers the options.

At $41,000 the new Chevrolet Volt is a "rich man's ride." Charles Lane asks why is President Obama offering federal tax credits of $7,500 to help better-off American's buy expensive cars?

Tom Vanderbilt explains adroitly "how not having a car became Hollywood shorthand for loser." Why does the film industry have such contempt for the carless?

The idea of separated bicycle lanes is growing in popularity. Tom Vanderbilt at Slate looks at the increase in investment and attention to making room for bicycles and increasing safety so more people will ride.

As part of its series looking at improving transportation in the U.S., Slate delves into the intricacies of parking requirements and how they impact transportation and traffic in cities.

Slate is soliciting ideas from its readers to improve the nation's transportation system.

Slate's Fred Kaplan points out that the Times Square bomber was thwarted because of Jacob's famous "eyes on the street."