Willamette Week interviews U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon about the shenanigans going on behind-the-scenes of the newly-approved Transportation Bill.
Willamette Week staff captured this fascinating interview with DeFazio a couple of weeks ago, before the bill was approved by Congress and it had been held up for years. DeFazio explains that the bill as drafted by the Republicans had a passage that gave the President the ability to define infrastructure projects in "the national competitive interest" and declare them exempt of "ALL the laws of the United States of America," clearly an attempt to override environmental protection policies. Talking to the drafters of the bill, DeFazio says he said, "You guys are Republicans, right? So, you're kind of concerned about private property rights? This would take away any Federal restrictions on taking by the Federal governments. Any laws that applied to that would be gone."
FULL STORY: DeFazio on Sausage-Making
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Heads to the House: Details and Reactions From the Planning World
Planetizen gathered explainer posts and advocacy responses that continue to shine a light on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, approved by the U.S. Senate earlier this month.
House Democrats Approve $1.5 Trillion 'Moving Forward Act'
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the Moving Forward Act vote "pointless political theater."
Democrats Reveal a $760 Billion Transportation Framework
Congressional Democrats hope transportation infrastructure can be a winning political point during a campaign year following the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.
Seattle Builds Subway-Sized Tunnel — for Stormwater
The $700 million ‘stormwater subway’ is designed to handle overflows during storms, which contain toxic runoff from roadways and vehicles.
Feds Clear Homeless Encampment in Oregon Forest
The action displaced over 100 people living on national forest land near Bend, Oregon.
Is This Urbanism?
Chuck Wolfe ponders a recommended subscription list of Substack urbanists and wonders — as have others — about the utility of the "urbanist" moniker.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions