San Diego will soon host a federal pilot program on unmanned drones.
In May, San Diego became one of 10 cities selected by the Federal Aviation Administration to pilot unmanned aerial drone systems. Ahead of the program's launch, Route Fifty reports, the city has launched an online survey to gather residents' hopes and concerns about living with the new technology.
Questions on the survey include:
- "Would you be in support of law enforcement using drones in your community?
- "What is your top concern about drone technology?
- "How comfortable are you with drones flying near you or over your home in transit to some other location?"
The applications being tested in San Diego will range from the vital—like wildfire monitoring and emergency transport of medical supplies—to the profit-driven: Uber is preparing to launch sky food delivery through UberEats by 2021. The two-year pilot program will inform federal regulations on drone safety and use.
FULL STORY: Surveying the Public in a City Being Used as Federal Drone Testing Site
Op-ed: Federal austerity is funding what kills us
Tracing the backstory of the last year of cuts to multimodal transportation reveals an alarming definition of road safety that only serves one mode.
San Diego County to build treatment plant for Tijuana River sewage pollution crisis
The river has carried millions of gallons of untreated sewage into San Diego’s South Bay region.
California lawmakers approve bill that would shield housing, sports arena project from environmental lawsuits
The bill passed the Assembly with 72 votes out of a possible 80 and later cleared the Senate on a unanimous vote.
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