Follow Planetizen’s analysis of surface transportation reauthorization

One of the many pleasures of helming Planetizen’s editorial operations is witnessing daily just how much urban planners in America care. Whether it’s housing, transportation, public lands or the policies and procedures that govern all of the above and more, planners might just be some of the most engaged and attentive professionals out there when it comes to the matters that impact the lives of every citizen. 

I witness this passion most profoundly through the commitment and dedication of Planetizen’s incredible contributors. From every corner of America and beyond, they flood my inbox with ideas and proposals for how we can push dialogue forward on the most pressing issues facing planning today. 

Case in point, earlier this year I received an email from our fabulous transportation columnist, Kristina Curtiss, with an urgent call for reporting and analysis on the looming surface transportation reauthorization process. Surface transportation reauthorization is the federal government's primary mechanism for deciding how transportation money is raised, distributed, and governed for the next several years. The current authorization is part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed in November 2021. It expires on September 30, 2026, making the current reauthorization process particularly important.

Identifying this year’s reauthorization as a critical turning point for transportation in America, Curtiss rallied others in the Planetizen network to do a deep dive into how reauthorization is playing out — and, most importantly, whether those who understand the issues most poignantly on the ground are being heard in the process of setting its priorities. 

To start, she teamed up with the fabulous Tom Sanchez — an expert in using artificial intelligence to deepen and hasten the good that urban planning seeks to enact in the world — to analyze the 13,000+ comments that agencies, organizations and citizens across the country submitted about how to prioritize funding allocation. 

Over the next few months, Kristina, Tom, his amazing student Yoonjeong Kang and others will offer Planetizen readers insight into how surface transportation reauthorization is playing out. You can read the first installment of their analysis here. I invite you to join them in whatever way you can: by reading along, sharing their work, discussing their findings in the comment sections below their pieces or on Planetizen’s social media channels, or even joining in and contributing to their investigations and analysis yourself. (Email us at [email protected] to get involved.)

And if surface transportation reauthorization is new to you, get informed. Transportation for America has a helpful 101 guide aiming to "dewonk" the process on the whole. Smart Cities Dive has rounded up their reporting on this year’s reauthorization process so far and Brookings has already taken a stab at analyzing the 1,000 page BUILD America 250 Act, which is currently one of the main legislative vehicles through which Congress is trying to accomplish reauthorization. 

Alongside the channels mentioned above, sign up for Planetizen’s Newswire to keep up with what Kristina, Tom, Yoonjeong and others dig up as the September reauthorization deadline approaches. 

Stay tuned, and stay engaged.