Government / Politics
FRIDAY FUNNY: NIMBY Robot Prepares to Save Berkeley
A Berkeleyan warms up his NIMBY robot to face the planning commission, in this xtranormal animation from Joshua Abrams of www.planningcollaborative.com. The robot is programmed for Berkeley, but he could be easily reprogrammed for other cities.
Bill Takes Small Step Towards 'Livable Communities'
A bill working its way through congress seeks to institute more "livable communities" in America. But with few mandates, it's unclear what the bill would actually do.
Rummaging Through New York's Garbage
New York has a filthy history, says Robin Nagle, the New York City Department of Sanitation's anthropologist-in-residence. The muck of early Manhattan was much worse than you even suspected.
B.C. and Washington Seek High Speed Rail to California
Officials in the Pacific Northwest are calling for a high speed rail line that connects British Columbia with California.
Federal Transportation Funds For Highway Removal?
The second round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds were announced Oct. 20. Awards amounting to $600 million will go to 75 projects, including three highway teardowns.
Abu Dhabi Eyes Tram Network by 2014
Feasibility studies underway in Abu Dhabi predict that a new light rail tram network could be operational by 2014.
Griffin on Revising and Repurposing Detroit
Architect Magazine talks with Toni Griffin, the urban planner who's leading the effort to rewrite Detroit's comprehensive plan to help the city through troubled times.
What Infrastructure Crisis?
Transportation policy expert, Ken Orski, takes a different perspective in his column, "Living in Denial". Rather placing the blame on the American public and lawmakers denying the infrastructure crisis, he applies it to the transportation community.
Motorists May Be Asked To Pay Ozone Penalty
San Joaquin Valley's bad air will cause their air district a $29 million fine for exceeding federal ozone limits - and they plan to ask motorists to pay the bill, if the board supports the new registration fee.
A Developer in the Park
Sitting in a controversial niche in the development market, Thomas Chapman develops plans for parcels within national parks, only to take buyouts from environmental groups or the government. He's got a bold new proposal on the way.
Portland's EcoDistricts
Launched in 2009 as an effort to choose five neighborhoods where sustainability measures could be quickly implemented and tested out, the city of Portland's EcoDistricts are entering their pilot phase.
Using Domes to Understand Concerns
Conflicts inevitably arise during design discussions and policy talks. A team of architects has created a new way of understanding each side's concerns, mainly by diagramming them into distinct domes.
HUD Awards Spur Sustainability Planning
HUD has awarded $98 million to 45 regions throughout the country in an effort to spur more sustainability planning efforts.
Cities and States Large Borrowing Causes Concern
As the economic downturn has caused many states and municipalities to borrow large amounts of money, some worry there may be a glut of them going bankrupt.
Replacing The Current Gas Tax With A Different Gas Tax
AASHTO is pitching a replacement of the current fed excise fuel taxes with sales taxes - initially revenue neutral, but would increase with inflation, unlike stagnant excise taxes last increased in 1993. In 6 years, might raise an extra $43 billion.
County Sues State Over Railyard
The State of Virginia wants to put up 2/3rds of the cost of a new private railyard in Montgomery County. County officials say it doesn't fit the character of the rural area, and have sued to stop it from being built.
The Looming Era of VMT
The gas tax is becoming an increasingly outdated and unsustainable idea. This piece from Miller McCune looks at the prospect of replacing it with a tax based on vehicle miles traveled.
A NYT Discussion On HSR - Will It Happen? How? Why Not?
The New York Times editors are wondering if high speed rail is a practical consideration for the U.S considering recent political developments where it has become popular to reject federal rail funds, so they asked six experts to present their views.
The Future of Federal Transportation Planning in America
In this podcast, Next American City talks with Robert Puentes of the Brookings Institution about the future of transportation in America.
Crowdsourcing Bike Parking
Bicycle advocates in London is calling on citizens to tell the city, via the web, where more bike parking is needed for the city's fledgling bike sharing program.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
