The U.S. Department of Transportation is following through President Trump's promises to ease the federal government's permitting and approvals processes for infrastructure projects.
Sam Mintz reports that the U.S. Department of Transportation is publishing two new interim policies on environmental reviews for infrastructure projects.
"The first [pdf] says sub-agencies should limit the text of draft and final environmental impact statements to 150 pages, unless they're 'of an unusual scope or complexity.' It also recommends environmental assessments not be more than 75 pages," according to Mintz.
"The second [pdf] policy gives guidance on implementing President Donald Trump's One Federal Decision executive order, which mandates that major projects have one lead federal agency guiding the environmental review and authorization process," adds Mintz.
The interim policies follow up on a promise made by President Trump during his first State of the Union Address in January 2018. All of the Trump administration's cabinet secretaries signed a pledge in April 2018 to speed up permitting, including Secretary Elaine Chao at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
FULL STORY: DOT gives environmental reviews a page limit
New York City Congestion Pricing Confounded by Federal Delay
While New York City's congestion pricing scheme waits for needed federal approval, political support seems to waver.
Report Finds Conflicts of Interest in Elaine Chao's Time as Transportation Secretary
The U.S. Department of Justice in the final weeks of the Trump administration rejected an attempt to broaden the investigation into former Secretary Elaine Chao's potential ethics violations.
Transportation Secretary's Resignation Announcement Greeted With Derision
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao became the first cabinet secretary to announce her resignation due to the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters, but at least one high-profile member of congress has derided the announcement.
Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.
Minneapolis Housing Plan a Success—Not for the Reason You Think
Housing advocates praise the city’s move to eliminate single-family zoning by legalizing triplexes on single-family lots, but that isn’t why housing construction is growing.
New White House Housing Initiative Includes Zoning Reform Incentives
The Biden administration this morning released a new program of actions intended to spur housing construction around the United States.
Study: Most of Vancouver Is a ‘15-Minute City’
A large majority of Vancouver residents can access a grocery store in 15 minutes or less by bicycle or on foot.
Urban Design, Transport, and Health
The Lancet medical journal published a series of articles that explore how to evaluate and guide urban planning decisions to create healthy and sustainable cities. Live long and prosper!
Detroit Bike Share Celebrates Five Years
In its five years of operation, Detroit’s MoGo bikeshare has added electric and adaptive bikes to its fleet of more than 600 bikes.
Urban Planning Partners
Sandy City
Ada County Highway District
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Redwood City
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
