China
A streetcar project connecting Beijing with the suburb of Shunyi is newsworthy from several angles.
The Beijinger
A new report from Urbanism Next/SCI takes you through a city’s budget—both revenues and expenditures—and describes the areas that will be affected as AVs become commonplace and e-commerce takes on an even larger role in retail
Urbanism Next
Chongqing train station has become famous in China for its extremely isolated location, but its construction illustrates the ambition of the country’s building spree.
CNN
As the arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs) becomes more of a reality, cities need to start considering how this new technology will affect streets and street networks. This brief guide provides an overview and resources on this topic.
Urbanism Next Blog - Sustainable Cities Initiative
Led by the companies Mobike and Ofo, so-called "dockless" bike sharing is all the rage in Chinese cities. Unlocked by app, the bikes can be left anywhere for the next user to pick up. There have been some hiccups.
CNN Tech
A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that due to a plunge in battery prices and improvement in battery technology, electric vehicles will be cost-competitive with gasoline vehicles in eight years. By 2040, they will outsell them.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek
A solar farm shaped like a panda recently began pumping electricity to the grid in Shanxi province, China.
Inhabitat
In a major announcement that could shake-up the auto industry, Volvo Cars declared it will initiate a gradual divorce from autos solely powered by internal combustion in two years. The Chinese-owned company wants to reduce its environmental impact.
The New York Times
Planners for the Xiong’an New Area hope to cure the ills of "megacity disease"
Foreign Policy
Chinese railcar-maker CRRC allowed the public a glimpse at its new "Autonomous Rail Transit" last week. The ART is more than just a bus.
People's Daily Online
China is building roads, tunnels, planning trains and power plants outside its borders to bolster its influence.
New York Times
A driving school in China was shut down after photos of student drivers cruising around its location (a factory roof) raised concerns online.
Shanghaiist
Governor Jerry Brown and the California Legislature reached a historic agreement to raise the gas tax, but electric vehicle owners will now be required to pay a yearly fee, Will this impact EV sales in the US's best market?
The Planning Report
Ending Obama's so-called "war on coal" may go international with the exit from the December 2015 Paris Climate Agreement if EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has his way, but he may encounter formidable opposition from Trump's administration and family.
The Washington Post - Energy and Environment
China's "One Belt, One Road" program to create a network of trade routes across Eurasia took a major step forward this week when a freight train bearing export goods disembarked from the United Kingdom bound for China's Zhejiang province.
Railway Gazette
A growing movement to implement a nationwide property tax in China is meeting resistance from the rich and powerful.
The Wall Street Journal
While much has been made of the suburban shopping mall's decline, successful urban retail spaces are taking their inspiration from the humble city street.
The Guardian
Multiple bikesharing companies have put 280,000 bikes on Shanghai's streets, but many are parked in random locations or left unusable on city sidewalks.
Shanghai Daily
Headlined by vertical (and horizontal) sprawl in China, India, and elsewhere, the global building boom requires vast quantities of concrete and asphalt. And to get those materials, sand must be taken from the environment.
The Guardian
Beijing promises "extraordinary" measures to reduce pollution in the infamously smoggy city.
Scientific American
