Subways are proliferating across the globe as metro status symbols and attracting new forms of urban investment.
"It seems like everywhere you turn these days, a new high-speed train is whisking more passengers across longer distances faster than ever before. A ride to Paris from London is quicker than flying; Japanese bullet trains traverse the 320 miles from Tokyo to Osaka in two and a half hours; and magnetic levitating trains in Shanghai cut through the city at 268 miles per hour. But while high-speed trains may grab all the glamour, the more mundane business of subway construction is what's driving the biggest growth for transportation companies.
Indeed, the world is seeing an unprecedented boom in new subways and expansion to existing systems. Thanks to surging economic growth and urban populations, demand for subways is soaring in China and India. Lots of other places around the world also are building new lines, from Dubai to Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. And many European and American cities-including even such improbable locales as Los Angeles and Phoenix-have caught the transit bug."
Thanks to Jeff Wood
Read the full story: Subways: The New Urban Status Symbol
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Trump wants to cancel nearly 98% of funding for HUD housing support program
Multiple housing groups are suing the administration in an effort to preserve the funding.
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.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello