Infrastructure
Portland's Pavement Pulverizers
Grist looks at the volunteer group in Portland that legally removes unnecessary pavement from places around the city and replaces it with gardens and green space.
Stimulus is Out There, But Construction Jobs Slow to Follow
Despite some accusations that the federal stimulus funding has not been filtering down to actual transportation projects, work is being done. But the influx of money hasn't been able to revive a flagging construction industry.
Assessing the Infrastructure Bank Plan
National Journal asks its panel of transportation experts to weigh in on the $50 billion infrastructure bank plan recently announced by President Barack Obama.
Reframing the Human Relationship with Water
Urban runoff and contaminated water are creating major ecological damage, even in the United States. One design competition has the goal of rethinking how we handle this crucial resource.
The Global Challenge of Unsafe Water
Unclean and unsafe water is an increasingly vexing problem for the world's cities, which are struggling to meet the needs of rapidly growing populations. But there has been some positive work in developing countries.
Masdar Highlights Policy Shift Away From Autopia
Robert Wright describes the policy shift already underway in planning for cities of the future. He reports that "as energy becomes more expensive, cities will have to be much more compact, easier to navigate by bike and on foot."
Report Finds Driving Down, Roads In Good Condition
A new report from The Reason Foundation finds that the nation's roads and highways are in the best shape of the last 19 years. The authors contend that this fact is largely a result of fewer people driving due to the recession.
L.A.'s New Subway Not A Huge Traffic Solution
A new report from the Los Angeles transit authority shows that construction of a new subway connecting the west side of the city would cause only a small reduction in car traffic.
Freeway Teardowns: The Prudent Choice?
Efforts to tear down the Interstate-10 Claiborne Expressway, a 2.2 mile section of elevated roadway in New Orleans that many locals and activists have blamed for separating neighborhoods. Neal Pierce says teardowns might begin to grow in popularity.
Backing the Infrastructure Bank
The Los Angeles Times is standing behind President Barack Obama's recently announced infrastructure bank proposal, but not just because it could boost transit in L.A.
Does Transportation Funding Violate the Civil Rights Act?
The Great City blog argues that Washington State's 18th Amendment "violates the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964, perpetuating discrimination in the state's transportation system."
Obama Calls For $50 Billion Transportation Stimulus
Calling it an investment plan in job growth in the transportation sector, the President in a Labor Day speech outlined a six-year plan for investment in road, rail, and airports to be paid for by eliminating tax breaks and subsidies from big oil.
Legalizing and Protecting Jaywalkers Through Design
Most crosswalks are straight lines, but many people walk across streets in an arc. One designer has proposed changing the way crosswalks are painted to improve pedestrian safety.
Exporting Suburbanism
Developing countries have begun importing Western-style pro-sprawl urban planning policies, often to their detriment. Kuala Lumpur and cities across the communist world are examined.
Has American Individualism Failed Society as a Whole?
Mary Newsom questions the current and diminishing lack of public worth in the United States today. " Americans have stopped believing that value is something everyone deserves," she writes.
Building Business By Building Bike Lanes
Cycling activists in Vancouver are trying to tout the economic benefits of bike lanes to help build the case for a proposed separated bike lane.
A Little Bit of Venice in New Orleans
The waters that have for so long plagued New Orleans should be reconsidered as an amenity, not a curse, according to this commentary.
Dubai's Formula of Tax Free Economic Zones and Mass Tourism Doesn't Work
Joshua Hammer describes his visit to the financially straitened emirate where he found "deserted highways, empty hotel rooms, miles of unsold residential and office space."
Extensive Rapid Transit System Planned For Paris' Outer-Ring Suburbs
An extensive 96-mile network of rapid transit lines connecting Paris' poorer outer-ring suburbs, on hold since it was proposed a year ago because of its considerable cost, takes a step closer to realization.
You Can't Have Good TOD Without the T
Philip Langdon argues that if the U.S. is going to shift toward compact, less resource-consuming patterns of development, Americans will have to rely increasingly on mass transit - so it better work.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
