Stimulus Package

In the name of economic stimulus, the government has invested deeply in the very business (real estate) that was driving the economy down. Does that make sense? Streetsblog's Ryan Avent reports.

The economy is up 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, thanks in large part to government subsidies for car and home buying. Otherwise, the impact of the stimulus has been muted, says The Washington Times.

Planners from Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno met this week to discuss plans for high-speed rail between their cities, since they've been left off the map of potential corridors to be funded by the stimulus package.

The application period has opened for federal stimulus grants to fund broadband Internet access projects in underserved areas. The response has been overwhelming.

Yonah Freemark, blogger at The Transport Politic, argues that long-distance transportation projects like high-speed rail are essential to creating a balance of intercity and intracity transit.

James Surowiecki argues that state governments are sabotaging the economic recovery, and simultaneously sinking the creation of a smart energy grid.

Speaking today at the Center for National Policy in D.C., Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood touted the success of the ARRA stimulus package and answered questions on transportation bill reauthorization and other topics.

Japan's four major highway operators will drastically lower their tolls, thanks to a generous government economic stimulus package aimed to encourage motoring during the major holidays. The operators are preparing for the enormous traffic jams.

The stimulus package is jump-starting smart grid projects, says Jay Birnbaum, Senior Vice President of CURRENT Group.

That's how many projects the Obama administration claims to have launched with the stimulus money, countering detractors who argued that the funding couldn't be spent fast enough to have an impact.

With a recent infusion of $44 million and hopes for more from the federal stimulus package, regional light rail is gathering momentum in Detroit. Advocates see more than mobility in the struggling city's future.

$16.8 billion of Pres. Obama's stimulus package is allocated to energy efficiency and renewable energy. Steve Coll of the New Yorker explains where the funding is going, and what it means.

Next American City's Jeffrey Hill reads through the federal stimulus bill to find good news for cities.

Even as service is being cut, enormous transit projects are coming online in New York and New Jersey, including a new $9 billion tunnel into Manhattan.

Some cities in Los Angeles were caught cutting deals to sell shares of their federal stimulus funds to the highest bidder. The MTA has put the kibosh on any money swapping.

Treehugger interviews urban designer, New Urbanist, and rail advocate Andy Kunz about the stimulus package and how it will benefit high speed rail in America.

The President and V.P. addressed the Department of Transportation today, stating that the new investment in infrastructure "will create or save 150,000 jobs by the end of next year, most of them in the private sector."

American Public Transportation Association President William Millar visits Living on Earth to discuss how the stimulus will benefit public transit in the U.S. -- and why it's "the best of times and the worst of times."

A new government-sponsored watchdog website will allow citizens to track stimulus-funded projects. It's an effort to insure accountability. Neal Pierce wonders if that accountability will translate into smarter patterns of development.

The federal stimulus package has made infrastructure into a hot topic among states. But, as Mary Newsom writes, states are not addressing the land use patterns that drive up the costs and bring down the efficiency of infrastructure.