The program is part of the 2021 infrastructure law and calls for improving access in communities disadvantaged by freeways.
A new round of federal Reconnecting Communities grant funding will jump-start some major infrastructure projects that have been lying dormant. “The program is designed to improve residents’ access to jobs, education, healthcare, food, nature and recreation, with priority given to projects that benefit disadvantaged communities.”
As Dan Zukowski explains in Smart Cities Dive, “Eligible for the grants are projects that remove, retrofit or mitigate existing facilities and infrastructure to restore community connectivity. The funds can be used to study such projects or to fund construction.”
The grants are available to states, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations as part of the 2021 infrastructure law. The law, and the Reconnecting Communities Program, are set to end in 2026.
FULL STORY: $607M in US DOT grants available for reconnecting communities
Disconnecting Communities: Measuring the Social Impacts of Freeways
Research from 50 major U.S. cities shows social connections are weakest in neighborhoods where highways are present.
Highway Removal Slowed by Outdated Policy, Lack of Committed Funding
Resistance from state transportation departments and precarious funding sources mean highway removal projects are few and far between, despite their benefits.
Bridging Divides: The Crucial Role of Collaboration in Highway Removal
Highway removal is most successful when agencies at all levels of government work closely with each other and the impacted community.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association