Jeff Speck, planning consultant and author of Walkable City, writes an opinion piece for the Houston Chronicle to oppose the plan to widen the I-45 freeway in Houston.

Jeff Speck writes in "the hope of helping a major metropolis to make itself better." The steps required to make that vision come true, is for the city to effectively oppose a plan proposed by the state department of transportation to spend $7 billion to $10 billion widening Interstate 45.
Speck is thoroughly opposed to the project, known officially as the North Houston Improvement project (NHHIP):
The planned expansion of I-45, as it is being perpetrated upon Houston by the Texas Department of Transportation, can be described as having significant costs and significant benefits. The costs are best understood as tremendous, and the benefits are best understood as false.
Speck argues that such a destructive plan exists at all, and is being hastily ushered through to approval by the TxDOT should be the subject of public scrutiny, and a proper accounting. To help drive home the potential costs of the project, Speck provides a startling list:
...By TxDOT’s own admission, this expansion will destroy no less than 1,235 units of housing, home to about 5,000 people. These people may not land on their feet: The citizens I met in the Delaney Street Homes worry that TxDOT’s version of “fair market value” will not allow them to afford houses of similar quality nearby.
The expanded highway will also plow through 331 existing businesses providing almost 25,000 permanent jobs. Together, these residential and business losses are predicted to cost Houston about $135 million in forgone city property and sales taxes each year.
Those financial and economic costs pale in comparison to the human costs, according to Speck, before also tackling a laundry list of false benefits, induced demand, air quality impacts, and more. Two futures lie before Houston, according to Speck. "If I-45 is widened, it will be remembered that, in the decade prior, Houston enjoyed a brief glimpse of a better future."
FULL STORY: Widening I-45 will be a disaster for Houston

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie