Infrastructure
Calls for Better Emergency Plans for Denver's Oil Trains
The sight of trains passing by luxury condos might be foreign to some cities, but not Denver. The risk posed by crude oil shipments passing on those rails, however, is too much for some residents to accept without a plan.
Urban Planners Have a Role to Play in Humanitarian Crises
"Humanitarians are conditioned to think about people, urban planners are conditioned to think about how the place affects people."
25 Years of Rails-To-Trails Success on St. Petersburg's Pinellas Trail
A bike trail can be much more than a bike trail.
Transportation Reauthorization Now a Done Deal
The plan, now five years rather than six, still needs the sign-offs from both chambers before being sent to the president for his signature on Friday according to POLITICO. Ironically, another extension will be needed to allow a signing ceremony.
Traffic Fatalities Rising Again—As Does the Blame Game
Traffic fatalities are on pace to reach 35,000 in the United States this year. Some advocates are saying it's time for traffic engineers to stop blaming the victims.
Plans Nixed for a Proposed Rail Line to Move Coal from Montana
The sudden collapse of the coal industry has been as swift as it has been shocking.
Federal Transportation Reauthorization Agreement Close at Hand
The Wall Street Journal reports that a deal is very near—maybe Monday—for a 6-year transportation reauthorization bill with funding for not three years, as both the House and Senate bills include, but five.
Urban Revitalization Through Highway Teardowns
Alana Semuels, staff writer for The Atlantic, examines highway teardowns beginning with the San Francisco Embarcadero in 1989 to see how they have worked in terms of revitalizing poorer areas or restoring the urban fabric that they destroyed.
Possible Competition for Bay Area Bike Share
With Bay Area Bike Share serving nearby Redwood City in San Mateo County, it might seem odd that the city of San Mateo would look elsewhere for starting a bike share program. However, the city of almost 103,000 did not want a "hub-based" model.
Iowa DOT Chief Takes Novel Approach to Transportation Infrastructure
The strategy of Iowa's Department of Transportation chief, Paul Trombino III, for maintaining the state's "25,000 bridges, 114,000 miles of roadway, and more than 4,000 miles of rail" is not to do so. In a word, "shrinkage" is part of the solution.
Risk and Reward Debated in Big Tacoma Gas Plant Investments
Two new gas plants will join a host of other oil and gas infrastructure in the Tacoma Tideflats. The question is how much risk is the area taking on, and is it worth it?
New Oil and Gas Drilling Rules Proving Thorny in Colorado
A goal for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to have established new rules for oil and gas drilling is looking less likely with each fruitless hearing.
Alberta Announces Landmark Climate Protection Strategy
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced a transformative three-pronged climate protection plan on November 22 that will cap greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands development, add a carbon tax, and phase-out coal power plants.
Los Angeles Changes Color
Adam Rogers chronicles Los Angeles' long and intimate relationship with the electric light. The city's recent choice to adopt LED streetlights has transformed a classic nighttime into something new.
Critiquing the 2015 TIGER Grants: More Isn't Always Better
According to a scathing critique of the most recent round of TIGER funding, many of the awarded projects fall far below the quality that transit advocates expect.
A Planner's Perspective on Brazil's Water Crisis
With water shortages in São Paulo making headlines around the world, Brazil is rethinking its approach to water infrastructure. Arup's Pablo Lazo gives his perspective on the various entities that are acting for change.
Walkability: Good Money After Bad
"We're investing in walkability," always sounds like an encouraging tagline from local governments...or does it?
Some Transportation Funding Gimmicks Are Worse than Others
Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy wants a gas tax increase, not gimmicks, to fund the 6-year transportation bill. Not likely. As bad as they are, they are better than resorting to a repatriation tax, notes the press release.
Delaware River Port Authority Approves Discount for Frequent Drivers
With some extra cash on hand (rare, isn't it?) the Delaware River Port Authority will offer a discount for drivers that cross authority bridges 18 times a month. But what about transit riders?
New Groundwater Regulations Taking Shape in California
Out of sheer necessity, the state of California has embarked on a new process for regulating the use of groundwater.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
