The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

TODs With Juice

New Energy Hubs is a proposal to focus alternative energy production around transit-oriented developments to create synergistic benefits.

January 19 - WorldChanging

Transportation Officials Pool Knowledge for Bicycle Planning

The National Association of City Transportation Officials has launched an initiative to help members better plan for and implement infrastructure for cyclists.

January 19 - Governing

Free Transit Opens in Baltimore

Despite the downward trend in public services like transit, the city of Baltimore in opening a free transit line.

January 19 - Wired

The New Prefab

A group of green architects in Philadelphia are creating new ways to use pre-fabricated elements, using digital design to distance them from the prefab of yore.

January 19 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Congressional Deaf Ears Over Transportation Concerns

America's transportation system is in trouble, according to many experts. But action at the congressional level doesn't seem to recognize the importance of the problem, writes Neal Peirce.

January 19 - Citiwire

Disparity Between Success and Failure Widening in U.K. Cities

The difference between success and failure in the U.K. has gotten worse with the recession, with ailing cities getting worse and successful cities are coming out even stronger.

January 19 - Public Finance

Improving City Services Through Technology

This infographic from GOOD looks at how city departments can use technology to better share data, and improve communication with citizens and streamline city services.

January 19 - Good

Give Cap & Trade Revenue To....The People?

A key committee has recommended a novel approach to distributing revenue from a forthcoming cap & trade scheme, the key strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the CA Air Resources Board in order to meet the reductions mandated in AB 32.

January 19 - The New York Times - Environment

BLOG POST

The Country's Best Urban Bike Commute?

More than two years years ago I chronicled my <a href="/node/26876">daily bicycle commute in Miami</a>. The 8-mile trip was as representative of Miami's built and socio-cultural landscape as it was harrowing. While that city has surely made progress in the pas two years, I'd be lying if I didn't disclose that I partially moved to New York City because of the progress being made in designing livable streets infrastructure. Quite simply, it feels good to be in a city that "gets it."

January 18 - Mike Lydon

Las Vegas Monorail Bankruptcy: An Omen For Private Transit?

Railway Age advances the notion that private transit is simply not feasible in the U.S. due to economic fluctuations, as shown by the declaration of bankruptcy of the not-for-profit Las Vegas Monorail Company.

January 18 - RailwayAge

How Should Port-au-Prince be Rebuilt?

With Haiti's capital city in ruins, and emergency response still underway, rebuilding efforts are a ways off. But the rebuilding following recent disasters may provide guidance, writes Mark MacKinnon.

January 18 - Globe and Mail

Portland Learning from Los Angeles

An interdisciplinary team of urban designers, architects, and analysts have proposed a neo-retro-futurist scenario for making downtown Portland nearly car-free by 2050.

January 18 - Hugeasscity

Good Bones

That's what a consultant told Robert L. Hubbard, city director of planning and community development of Gardner, Massachussetts, about the city's infrastructure. Gardner intends to build on those bones with an urban renewal plan.

January 18 - Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Brazilians Reinterpret Their Living Spaces

In this paper, Gustavo Rivera Jr. (Ph. D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago) evaluates the economic and sociocultural impact of recently developed public housing estates within the favelas of Belo Horizonte.

January 18 - The Urban Reinventors Online Urban Journal

FEATURE

Watching Urban Change Via Satellite

Recent earthquake response efforts in Haiti showed how comparing satellite imagery could help to identify physical changes in the damaged country and assist rescue workers. That same sort of imagery could play a similar role for urban planners.

January 18 - Nate Berg

Eliminating the Booth At The Toll Plaza

NYC would certainly not be the first, but the Henry Hudson Bridge would be one of the most significant bridges to go to all-electronic fare collection. No E-ZPass? No worry - your license will be photographed and you'll get the bill in the mail.

January 18 - The New York Times - N.Y./Region

Bringing the Forest Back to the City

This piece from Urban Omnibus looks at ideas to counteract global warming by adding more trees to urban areas.

January 18 - Urban Omnibus

Don't Call It 'The Bus'

Cities across the country are experimenting with free "shuttles" that circulate people through top destinations and have a unique brand to take away the stigma of riding the bus.

January 18 - the transport politic

BLOG POST

Report from TRB

Last week I attended the <a href="http://www.trb.org/AnnualMeeting2010/Public/AnnualMeeting2010.aspx">Transportation Research Boards (TRB)</a> 89th annual meeting, which attracted approximately 10,000 transportation professionals from around the globe to Washington DC. More than 2,000 papers were presented at more than 700 sessions, plus several hundred committee meetings took place. Let me share some highlights.

January 18 - Todd Litman

America's Spanish High Speed Rail Envy

Spain has rapidly developed high speed rail system, leaving many U.S. politicians -- including President Obama -- wondering how the U.S. can catch up. This article and video from PBS looks at the Spanish model.

January 18 - PBS