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.

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

USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure
If their work is suspended, states could lose a valuable resource for monitoring, understanding, and managing water resources.

End Human Sacrifices to the Demanding Gods of Automobile Dependency and Sprawl
The U.S. has much higher traffic fatality rates than peer countries due to automobile dependency and sprawl. Better planning can reduce these human sacrifices.

Seattle Transit Asked to Clarify Pet Policy
A major dog park near a new light rail stop is prompting calls to update and clarify rules for bringing pets on Seattle-area transit systems.

Oregon Bill Would End Bans on Manufactured Housing
The bill would prevent new developments from prohibiting mobile homes and modular housing.

Nashville Doesn’t Renew Bike Share Contract, Citing Lost Federal Funding
The city’s bike share system, operated by BCycle, could stop operating if the city doesn’t find a new source of funding.
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.
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
New York City School Construction Authority
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
