Infrastructure
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to Sign 7.3-cent Gas Tax Hike Today
After years of debate, Republicans from both chambers agreed to a transportation plan raising the gas tax 7.3-cents and registration fees by 20 percent, effective 2017. Democrats objected to the amount of general funds that will be directed to roads.
Report: Cutting Urban Emissions Could Save $17 Trillion
Research from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate recommends an emissions reduction program that might pay off big in the long term. Inter-city exchange and transit planning are key strategies.
Texas Votes to Keep Old Road Spending Habits
Lots of dollar signs were flying around on Texas ballots last week, many of which were headed toward road construction measures. The Houston Chronicle, however, points out the shortcomings of the state's patterns of investment.
Feds Award nearly $28 Million for Washington to Baltimore Maglev Project
The 105-year old Hudson River Rail Tunnels may desperately need replacement, but the Federal Railroad Administration also has an eye on the future, awarding $27.8 million to prepare a maglev application between Washington and Baltimore.
Mixed Election Results in Utah on Transportation Sales Tax Proposition
Prop. 1, a quarter-cent sales tax that would benefit public transit in Wasatch Range counties, passed in 10 counties but was defeated in seven, including the populous Salt Lake County where supporters have yet to concede due to the narrow loss.
Making Plans Deliver on Promises in the San Fernando Valley
The Warner Center 2035 Plan was designed to bring growth to Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley. If the opening of a $350-million Westfield Village in September is any indication, it’s succeeding.
Breaking News: End of the Line for Keystone XL Pipeline
After TransCanada hit the "pause button," President Obama hit "reject." The seven-year saga has come to an end, announced President Obama in a noon White House statement to the press on Friday where he took no questions.
Virginia Shows How Not to Do Public-Private Partnerships
A public-private partnership to build a tunnel connecting Norfolk with the city of Portsmouth under the Elizabeth River in Virginia has gone awry, saddling the public with increasing costs and, likely, more expenses in the future.
Seattle Moves in a Big Way on Election Day
Prop. 1, a $930 million, nine-year transportation levy backed by Mayor Ed Murray, was approved by 54 percent of Seattle voters on Nov. 3 to the delight of bus, bike, pedestrian and good roads advocates. First order of business: Safe Routes to School.
House Passes Six-Year Transportation Reauthorization Bill
The House of Representatives plowed through about 270 amendments this week, with floor votes on nearly 130 of them, before passing the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act of 2015 (STRR Act) with funding for three years.
A Growing Mexico City Faces Infrastructural Hurdles
As Mexico City continues to add population, issues of sprawl, inequality, and water infrastructure remain challenges in the growing megalopolis.
More Diversity Needed in Bike Planning Processes
Left behind in business-as-usual city planning processes: low income and racial minority residents who rely on biking for transportation.
House Rejects Amendment Allowing Heavier Trucks
One of the nearly 270 amendments the House is considering in the $325 billion transportation reauthorization bill would allow individual states to allow heavier trucks to use highways. It was decisively defeated in a floor vote on Tuesday.
Defining the Public Good
How well do public spaces reflect the changing conceptions of "public good" in contemporary political discourse? The UPenn design community starts a challenging conversation.
San Francisco Leading the Way in Water Recycling
San Francisco's water district has become the first in the nation to require newly constructed large buildings to collect and reuse nonpotable water.
TransCanada Hits the 'Pause Button' on Keystone XL Application
TransCanada, developer of the controversial 1,179-mile pipeline that would transport crude derived from oils sands in Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska, asked the State Department to hold-off processing its application for the seven-year-old project.
The New Speaker's First Test: The Transportation Reauthorization Bill
Congress began work this week on a 6-year transportation bill, the first since SAFETEA-LU expired in 2009. Overseeing the process of adding amendments to the bill will be new House Speaker Paul D. Ryan in his first significant test of leadership.
30 Crossing Would Widen I-30 and Remove a Streetcar Line in Little Rock
Advocates at the local and the national level are voicing their concern over a proposal by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department to widen the I-30 freeway in Downtown Little Rock.
Seattle Has a Low-Cost Plan for 250 Blocks of New Sidewalks
Seattle political leadership recently announced an ambitious plan to build more sidewalks with less money.
Why Biking and Walking Can't Be Lumped Together
Biking and walking are often assumed as two peas in a pod, when in fact it might be more helpful to think of them as apples and oranges.
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
