Another city experimenting with another wireless network: this time it's Las Vegas, and according to this article in the always-educational IEEE Spectrum they're building not WiFi but a mesh network, and it's for municipal services, not bloggers drunk on the Strip. A mesh network, as almost everyone reading this will know better than I do, is nodeless -- that is, instead of having a hub that directs traffic to and from spokes, mesh networks treat every user as a place to route data.
Another city experimenting with another wireless network: this time it's Las Vegas, and according to this article in the always-educational IEEE Spectrum they're building not WiFi but a mesh network, and it's for municipal services, not bloggers drunk on the Strip.
A mesh network, as almost everyone reading this will know better than I do, is nodeless -- that is, instead of having a hub that directs traffic to and from spokes, mesh networks treat every user as a place to route data. They're super-fast, robust, and expensive. In Vegas, the town got interested when black-market devices started showing up that let drivers change traffic signals from red to green, the way emergency services vehicles can. But Vegas also has a network of traffic cameras, like a lot of towns. And, says Spectrum:
The mesh network also offers an opportunity for Las Vegas to solve its interoperability problem. What visitors think of as a single glitzy metropolis is actually a patchwork of municipalities and areas that fall under the control of the surrounding county. Even the Las Vegas Strip, the city's signature avenue of outlandish hotels and casinos, is nearly all part of an unincorporated township called Paradise.
As a result, when major problems arise, it's difficult to coordinate the different agencies involved, such as the fire and police departments.
A mesh network infrastructure left over from a busted company, Richochet, was one of the few communications nets still in operation in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks, the article says. If the tech works in Vegas, and gets cheap enough (hardware's up to 10 times as expensive as your basic 802.11g gear), and they let civilians on the network, you can expect me to start surreptitiously blogging from craps tables on Fremont St.

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.

Opinion: Transit Agencies Must View Service Cuts as Last Resort
Reducing service could cripple transit systems by pushing more riders to consider car ownership, making future recovery even less certain.

‘Smart Surfaces’ Policy Guide Offers Advice for Building and Maintaining Urban Tree Canopies
Healthy, robust tree canopies can reduce the impacts of extreme heat and improve air quality.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
