Infrastructure

Seeking Sponsors As Infrastructure Dies

This piece from New Geography looks disparagingly at an idea in San Francisco to allow corporate sponsorship of the Golden Gate Bridge in order to raise money for infrastructure projects.

January 15, 2009 - New Geography

Tunnel Picked for Seattle Viaduct Replacement

Officials in Washington have come to a consensus on plans to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Seattle's damaged inner-city arterial. They've decided on a $4 billion tunnel, but the plans still need approval from the state legislature.

January 14, 2009 - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

'Green' Governor Fast-Tracks Highway Construction

Environmentalists reject CA Gov. Schwarzenegger's attempt to waive new highway construction projects from environmental review to qualify for Obama's stimulus package, offering 'fix-it-first' construction and public transit projects as alternatives.

January 13, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

First 'Biofuels Corridor' in the U.S.

If you want to drive your biofuel car between Gary, Indiana to Mobile, Alabama, now you can. A collaboration of states with the Dept. of Energy has created a 886-mile corridor of biofueling stations stretching from Lake Michigan to the Mobile Bay.

January 10, 2009 - Clean Cities Now

Stimulus Should Fund New, 'Transformative' Ideas

In this column, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer calls on the Obama Administration to direct its stimulus package towards innovative technologies and "transformative" projects, not just the status quo roads and bridges of the past.

January 10, 2009 - Slate

Location, Location, Location: Brought To You By GIS

A new GIS-based service promises to improve on real estate agents by using GIS data to locate promising sites to locate for business.

January 9, 2009 - BusinessWeek

People Who Live Alone Are Big Energy Wasters

A new study from SMR Research Corporation reveals that people who live alone use 18% more energy than two-person households, and 30% more than three-person homes. McMansions are, or course, cited as big wasters.

January 9, 2009 - The Ground Floor

Giant Boxes Take Over Philly Streets

'Fridge-sized units' are being installed around Philadelphia to control traffic lights. Why so big? Columnist Inga Saffron investigates the morass of requirements that led to the oversized street furniture.

January 9, 2009 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

L.A. Subway Construction Timeline is "Unacceptable"

It will take more than two decades to expand Los Angeles' Subway to the Sea by 10 miles, according to an MTA timeline. The mayor's office and transit activists are pushing for it to get done more quickly.

January 8, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

Living at the Mall - Not Just a Figure of Speech

What comes next for the doomed, enclosed mall across America? This article highlights a number of solutions, including an adaptive reuse model that incorporates housing units inside the mall itself.

January 8, 2009 - HousingWire

Trans-Texas Corridor Plans Dropped

Plans for a broad statewide highway project known as the Trans-Texas Corridor have been abandoned by state officials.

January 8, 2009 - The Dallas Morning News

For Amish, Building Code and Religion Don't Jibe

Eleven Amish families have sued their own town for religious discrimination in its building code.

January 7, 2009 - Chicago Tribune

A Second Federal Commission Pushes Fuel Tax Hike

Exactly a year after the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission released its report calling for a fuel tax hike, the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission calls for much of the same.

January 5, 2009 - Takepart

Agreement to Increase Freight Train Traffic Roils Suburbs

A new agreement has been made that would divert more freight train traffic through Chicago area suburbs. Local communities upset about the increased traffic are expected to challenge the decision.

January 4, 2009 - Chicago Tribune

Dutch Try to Step Up Flood Protection

This article from Wired looks at new plans to prevent massive flooding in the low-lying Netherlands.

January 3, 2009 - Wired

Top Planning Issues Of 2008

January 1, 2009 - Abhijeet Chavan

Light Rail Rides in Phoenix

After 4 years of construction, the first light rail line has opened in Phoenix. NPR looks at the new transit option for the sprawling desert city.

December 31, 2008 - NPR

Obama Plan: Stimulating The Economy Or Sprawl?

Obama has compared the size of the stimulus package he wants to the 1956 National Highway Act. If the states have their way, it may be just that -- a new highway bill with little left for transit.

December 31, 2008 - Bloomberg

Federal Funding Seems Likely for California High Speed Rail

California transportation officials are confident that federal support will back up $10 billion in recently approved bond sales to fund the state's proposed high speed rail system.

December 30, 2008 - San Francisco Chronicle

Grid Could Expand Wind Power in Montana, But Also Coal

Montana is flush with wind power capacity and the state's governor wants $15 billion in federal funding to build the infrastructure to transmit it. But some worry the proposed grid would also expand coal-based energy production.

December 30, 2008 - The Christian Science Monitor

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.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

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Heyer Gruel & Associates PA

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