Infrastructure
As Seas Rise, Can South Florida Keep its Head Above Water?
With much of its highly-developed coastline located just a few feet above sea level, Florida is highly vulnerable to global warming. But you wouldn't know that by the actions (or inaction) of state legislators and business leaders.
Expanding Cycling Infrastructure Is a Snap With Lego-Like Bike Lanes
Somewhere between the universally-despised sharrow and the rare separated cycle track sits Copenhagenize Flow, a lego-like set of tiles that allows cities to experiment with expanded bike infrastructure at low cost and low commitment.
A Bike Route Map That Harry Beck Would Be Proud Of
A "wonderfully simplified" map of San Francisco's best bicycle routes modeled on Harry Beck's revolutionary map for the London Underground aims to encourage people to saddle up through clean graphic design.
In Absence of Gas Tax Increases, States Look to Tolls
States are increasingly looking to alternative transportation revenue sources due to the failure of state and federal gas taxes to keep up with inflation and transportation needs. More states are turning toward tolling to make up the gap.
Pocketbook Power to the People: Chicago Expands Participatory Budgeting
Five years after Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood pioneered participatory budgeting in the United States, the bottom-up budgeting practice is gaining adherents across the country. Can Rogers Park's experiment find success citywide?
When Will Laws and Attitudes Catch Up With Cycling's Growth?
Cyclist deaths are rising across the U.S., but in most cities and states, drivers are rarely punished. As more people embrace cycling and more cities encourage it; it's time our laws, infrastructure, and attitudes are reformed to make cycling safer.
Philippines Devastated by Record Typhoon
Reports of horrific destruction are starting to emerge after one of the strongest storms on record slammed the Philippines over the weekend. The government estimates that 10 percent of the country has been affected.
Cyclist Deaths Spur London Mayor to Increase Protected Bike Lanes
Recent deaths along London's cycling "superhighway" have forced Mayor Boris Johnson to rethink how to protect users of the city's expanding cycling infrastructure from vehicle collisions.
Obama Renews Push for Infrastructure Spending, But Is Anyone Listening?
While President Obama's push for much-needed infrastructure investment in the face of opposition and inaction may be admirable, one must ask if his continued pleas are falling on deaf ears. Could the political winds be changing?
How Can We Provoke "Peak Waste"?
Because city residents generate four times as much trash as rural residents, the rapid growth of the world's cities is leading to the rapid growth of the world's garbage. A new study examines future trash troubles and potential solutions.
Itemizing the Cost of a Great Street
Great streets don't come cheap. From bike lanes to planters to special signage, it takes more than curbs and concrete to make a nice street. The Grid itemizes what it costs to outfit a specific intersection in Toronto's St. Clair West neighborhood.
How Would You Transform London's Forgotten Spaces?
In one of the world's most desirable cities, even the most unattractive and leftover spaces carry the potential for regeneration. An exhibit staged in Somerset House's own forgotten space shares innovative ideas to transform London's lesser places.
Top 20 Weird & Wonderful Urban Bridges
Though meant to unite, bridges can be divisive structures. What should a bridge really be? Does clever design matter, or is it all about function? Here are 20 bridges from around the world that stand out as interesting, if not always functional.
The Irony of Ring Roads
One way to address traffic congestion is to provide a bypass for vehicles around city traffic machinations. Ring roads, by definition, are meant to perform that function. In reality, they ignore the supply and demand model of traffic management.
L.A.'s Next Superhighway
Could Los Angeles get a private company to spend $3 billion to $5 billion to connect every residence and business in the city to a fiber broadband network? City leaders seem to think so, and are planning to move forward with an RFP.
Ambitious Network to Cover 40% of Hamburg in Green
Imagine being able to traverse a major city surrounded entirely by bikes, pedestrians, and green spaces. That vision is poised to become reality in Hamburg within the next two decades as the city pursues plans for a vast Grünes Netz (Green Network).
NYC: 7 Things at Risk, Post-Bloomberg
As Mayor Bloomberg gets set to leave office in New York, here are 7 things that may dramatically change under a new administration.
Tappan Zee Scores Largest Ever TIFIA Loan, But How Will It Be Repaid?
New York State received good news on Oct. 31: A $1.6 billion loan has been approved toward the $4 billion replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge. The remainder will be borrowed from the private sector. A commission will offer ways to repay the loans.
Did Republicans Orchestrate a National High-Speed Derailment?
Was the demise of plans for high-speed rail in several states run by Republican governors the result of fiscal prudence or a case of political collusion? A new report in the Tampa Tribune suggests the latter.
Tolls are not Taxes, Rules Virginia's Supreme Court
They are fees, ruled the court on Oct. 31, overturning a May 1, Portsmouth circuit judge ruling in a major victory for both tolling and public-private partnerships. It allows tolls to fund the Elizabeth River Crossings, VDOT's P3 tunnels project.
Pagination
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