Infrastructure
New MIT Data Analysis Tool Aims To Rationalize Planning
Andres Sevstuk, lecturer at MIT and head of the City Form Research Group describes how the new Urban Network Analysis Toolbox is, "taking a much more rigorous approach to look at the work of urban design."
New Transit Lines Open Early, Under Budget
New TRAX light rail lines in Salt Lake City opened a year early and 20% under budget.
Parking Becomes Park in Philadelphia
Philadelphia is opening its first "parklet" -- a small public park space built on street parking spaces.
On Spending for High Speed Rail
This post from The Infrastructurist looks at recent arguments for and against high speed rail projects in the U.S. through the lens of spending.
Why Did the U.S. Allow Its Cities to Decline?
Frank Gruber asks, "why, not how." Many of the explanations for decline are clear; why it was allowed to happen, less so. Gruber highlights "suspects" of what might have led to cities' destruction.
Transportation Debate Awaits Congress Next
A post at ASLA's The Dirt predicts that the next "crisis" to be debated in Congress will be that of the need for a comprehensive transportation bill to repair this country's "vulnerable infrastructure."
Detroit Unveils Plan for Shrinkage
Last week, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing released the much anticipated Detroit Works Project for "shrinking" the city. Reporter Nancy Kaffer says it isn't quite what everyone was expecting.
The Fields' Efficiency: How Innovation Outshines the Sun
At a two-acre site located 80 miles west of Ann Arbor, an engineering major at the Univ. of Michigan installed the state's largest solar farm with movable trackers that increase the amount of energy captured by almost 10%.
Testing the Smart Grid
South Korea is making perhaps the biggest moves towards creating a vast "smart" electricity grid with a test grid of homes equipped with new meters and applications that communicate with each other and the grid.
Dam Removal Proposed to Save Salmon
Lawmakers are likely to consider a controversial plan this summer to remove a series of dams on the Klamath River to help restore endangered salmon populations.
Landscape Impacts Spur Major Repairs to Three Gorges Dam
After years of denial, the Chinese government has admitted that its massive Three Gorges Dam project is destabilizing the land around the reservoir.
Our River, Ourselves
The moribund state of the Los Angeles River reflects the zeitgeist of the city that it runs through, says The Economist. A mile wide but an inch deep, revitalization proposals are too conceptual at best and too feeble at worst.
Bicycle Usage Jumps 14% in NYC
According to Mayor Bloomberg's latest press release, nearly 19,000 cyclists populate the streets of NYC on a daily basis - that's 2,300 more than last spring. The growing popularity makes the soon to be unveiled bike-sharing system looks promising.
Singapore's Green Plant Revolution
As Singapore's population booms, officials are working through plans to help the city absorb its people but also provide them with adequate green space.
Architectural Fiction and a Variety of Imagined Futures
This essay from Places looks at the history of "architectural fiction", and how imagined spaces and uses of land enrich understanding of the built environment.
Boston's Transit Achieves New Balance with Bike-Sharing Program
Mayor Thomas Menino declared that "the car is no longer king in Boston" as the Hubway bike-sharing system made its debut this week, putting the city abreast with Washington D.C.
The $94 Billion Annual Funding Gap in Transportation
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released a report this week that offers a bleak outlook at the nation's surface transportation infrastructure - just in time for the imminent Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling.
Fruitful Legal Battles Over Water Supply
In Kern County, Calif., trendy fruits like pomegranate are at the center of a number of contentious lawsuits over water resource management.
Shifting the U.S. to a Production Economy
Economic recovery depends on shifting the U.S. from a consumption economy to a production economy, according to this article. A good way to do it: build infrastructure.
Subway Drill to Remain Under New York City
The immense drill that's burrowing a subway tunnel beneath New York City will remain underground after its work is through, a move to cut the expensive costs of removing it.
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
