Spain
Spain's High Speed Rail Uses Luxury to Lure
Spain's high speed rail system is consistently beating out airlines for inter-city travel. But it's not through low prices.
The New York Times
Public Trees: Landscaping, or Food Source?
An art group called Fallen Fruit promotes the idea of public fruit trees for general consumption by all. But on a trip to Madrid to plant trees, the government refused their intervention, saying that trees were architecture for the city, not food.
GOOD Magazine
Sprawling Madrid
While Madrid's urban core is highly dense, the city has sprawled out over the last two decades much further than its growing population requires, says Madrid resident and planning consultant Marco Adelfio.
Reinventing Mobility in Detroit
PBS documents Detroit's attempts to overcome its history as "the Motor City" to create new ways of getting people around. Transit advocates play a big part in this preview, which includes renderings of projected transit options.
PBS
America's Spanish High Speed Rail Envy
Spain has rapidly developed high speed rail system, leaving many U.S. politicians -- including President Obama -- wondering how the U.S. can catch up. This article and video from PBS looks at the Spanish model.
PBS
The Planetizen News Brief - 12/10/09
4:17 minutes (3.93 MB)
A fast train from France to Spain, U.S. city folk get rural, and officials hope to pull people to cities by funding urban parks -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
Bilbao Beyond the Guggenheim
Bilbao is known for the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum. But there's a living city behind that iconic architecture, and local officials are trying to prove it with a new public park.
Inhabitat
A Sea of Infrastructure
An ex-pat American returns home to Milwaukee, and is overwhelmed by the extensive auto-oriented infrastructure needed to support the U.S. lifestyle, very different from his life in Almeria, Spain.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Room for Improvement in Prospective Olympic Host Cities
A new report from the International Olympic Committee has evaluated the four host candidates for the 2016 Summer Olympics and found many places for improvement ahead of its October 2 decision.
The Chicago Tribune
Life with a High-Speed Rail System
Spaniards are quickly adapting to life with a high-speed rail network. Air travel between Barecelona and Madrid is down 46% because of it.
The Guardian U.K.
Proactive Vs. Reactive Transportation Planning
Alex Marshall takes a look at Spain's recent record of proactive transportation planning, connecting cities to direct development rather than to connect already successful areas.
Governing Magazine
LaHood To Learn From Spain On HSR
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is visiting Spain, hoping to glean some knowledge from the country's recent successes with high-speed rail.
The New York Time - Energy & Environment
'Casino City' Planned in Spain
The Spanish government is moving forward with plans to build the largest casino and entertainment complex in Europe
BBC
The Train in Spain
By the end of the year, Spain is on course to have a more extensive high-speed rail system than both Japan and France. The system is changing hearts and minds across this usually home-bound nation.
The Wall St. Journal
The Train in Spain Beats the Plane
As air travel security tightens and high speed rail expands, getting in and around Spain is becoming easier on the rails than in the sky.
NPR
European Bike Sharing Programs Transform Cities
Paris' bike sharing program is well-known, but not alone - these programs are flourishing throughout Europe. The key to their proliferation lies in the new technology they utilize. This article highlights the 'third-generation' Barcelona program.
The New York Times
Spain's Manufacturing Boomtown Feels Economic Slump
The manufacturing town of Zaragoza, Spain is beginning to feel the crunch of the global economic slowdown, as a General Motors plant goes on a temporary hiatus.
The New York Times






















