A seemingly never-ending incentive program for Appalachian states provides $4 dollars for every $1 dollar spent by the state on interstate highways.
It's called the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS).
"While the ADHS was meant to help spur economic development in rural areas by creating approximately 2,300 miles in highway across nine states, the project has now grown to over 3,000 miles spanning thirteen states. Many people view the overgrowth as the cause of decline in inner cities and a poor allocation of money, since many of the roads end up being underused."
Read the full story: Zombie Highways Attack!
The True Cost of Texas Highways
An explainer of the monetary, environmental, and social costs of exuberant road building.
Anchorage High-Speed Highway Project Met With Skepticism
The Alaska Department of Transportation and its consultants are working on a Planning and Environmental Linkages study of the Glenn-Seward Highway that bisects the middle of Anchorage, Alaska.
Proposal Would Link Highway Funding to Zoning
Experts argue that zoning, housing, and transportation policy are intimately linked.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority