Infrastructure

Zoning codes, street standards, parking regulations, and other hidden determinants of the built environment are like regulatory zombies from the distant past, throwing up barriers in the path of human-scale placemaking, writes Robert Steuteville.

August 9, 2012 - Better! Cities & Towns

Dueling pieces in Foreign Policy and the Christian Science Monitor come to completely different conclusions on the connection between the great Indian blackout of July 31 and the country's reliance on coal.

August 9, 2012 - Foreign Policy

The beauty of a ride along Route 66 can be appreciated as much from behind a set of handlebars as from behind a steering wheel. Sarah Laskow reports on efforts to create U.S. Bike Route 66 as the first national bike route.

August 9, 2012 - Grist

Charles Piller reports on the investigation into suspect safety test results for roads and bridges across CA, including the new Bay Bridge, revealing a string of troubling data for which officials and critics are holding Caltrans accountable.

August 8, 2012 - The Sacramento Bee

Art Golab reports on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to make Chicago "the bike friendliest city in the country," which the mayor hopes will attract and keep high tech companies and their workers. The best part? The entire city benefits!

August 8, 2012 - Chicago Sun-Times

Katharine Seelye writes on the clash between business interests and residents of rural Maine, where a proposed private toll road has revealed a difference in values.

August 7, 2012 - The New York Times

Countless street-gazing tourists and residents of New York have wondered what the mysterious markings - one that looks like a blue poker chip, the other a yellow E - embedded in New York's streets signify. Kate Hinds has the answer.

August 6, 2012 - Transportation Nation

In producing updated sewer service maps, New Jersey's 21 counties have partnered to sketch out statewide development well into the future. Critics complain that the plans favor developers over the environment, reports Jill P. Capuzzo.

August 6, 2012 - The New York Times

Five years after the I-35W bridge collapse, Congress has yet to address the failing condition of America's bridges. There is no consensus between the two parties in Congress on how to remedy the situation, unlike the progress shown in Minnesota.

August 5, 2012 - StarTribune (Minneapolis)

The number of BRT systems in the U.S. continues to rise, with new lines opening in cities across the nation. But, a debate has arisen within the transit community over just how much should we rely on such systems.

August 5, 2012 - Governing

With a flurry of ambitious, and big ticket, proposals unveiled over the past three weeks, chronically under-budgeted Amtrak is shifting its strategy in the hopes of proving its potential worth.

August 4, 2012 - Bloomberg

In an article and dramatic photographs and video, The New York Times documents the construction of the city's Second Avenue subway, which has been delayed for more than 80 years and is due to be completed in December 2016.

August 3, 2012 - The New York Times

From its mountain tributaries, to the San Fernando Valley, through Downtown, and across the basin into the Pacific Ocean, Christian MilNeil tells the story behind the ecological and recreation rehabilitation of the Los Angeles River.

August 3, 2012 - Grist

In light of the resounding defeat of Atlanta's regional referendum on a transportation sales tax that could have brought 'transformative infrastructure' to the sprawling region, Brookings' Adie Tomer provides a brief post-mortem on the historic vote.

August 3, 2012 - TNR (The New Republic)

Part 4 of this multi-part series on the 5-year anniversary of the August 1, I-35W bridge collapse by David Levinson, U. of Minnesota Professor of Civil Engineering, deals with the three vetoed gas tax measures before and after the bridge collapse.

August 2, 2012 - Streets.MN

According to Steve Lackmeyer, traditional highway design, aimed at the automobile, is clashing with modern urban planning trends, of 'complete streets' and multi-modes, over a new proposal to build an elevated highway in Oklahoma City.

August 2, 2012 - NewsOK

The habitable bridge, "out of favor since the Renaissance," is having a moment, as cities across America seek to "shift the task of mending the urban fabric toward the private sector," reports Henry Grabar.

July 31, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

For the second day in a row, massive blackouts have brought India's cities to a standstill as trains, traffic lights, and ATMs failed in New Delhi and throughout 14 states across the north and east of the country.

July 31, 2012 - The Washington Post

Increased speeds for passenger rail lines in the Midwest bring along economic baggage, but can the pros outweigh the cons? As higher-speed rail, and expected economic growth, come to Illinois and Michigan, neighboring states see pitfalls.

July 31, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

I'm sure your mother had good reason to tell you not to eat on the run. But times have changed, and one group in London is utilizing the city's public transportation network to help popularize the benefits of healthy eating and urban greening.

July 31, 2012 - The Guardian