Alex Marshall points out the fallacy of creating transportation policy based solely on figures like miles traveled per hour, average commuting times, and cost per passenger. Quality of the time spent commuting is rarely taken into account.
Marshall compares the time/quality differences in his commute options: drive, subway, bike or walk.
"Travel between cities offers qualitative differences as well. Plane travel seems to have become a series of lines that one waits in, broken up by small quantities of actually flying. Train travel, if available and good, can offer unbroken hours for sustained concentration. Driving for hours in a car between cities, with or without company, can be good or bad depending on temperament, one's physical size and the quality of one's stereo."
Read the full story: Traveling at Good Speed
US workers spend nearly an hour a day commuting
High housing costs and return-to-office policies are forcing more American workers to live farther from work, pushing the average daily commute time to nearly an hour.
US Traffic Deaths Fell by 12% in One Year. How Did it Happen?
Biden-era investment in safe streets, shifts in travel patterns brought on by the pandemic, and increased traffic enforcement are all possible reasons why traffic deaths dropped significantly between 2024 and 2025.
US Traffic Patterns are Shifting, but Car-centric Development Persists
Los Angeles, Honolulu, and San Francisco ranked among the nation’s most congested cities, while New York reduced traffic and increased transit speed and ridership thanks to its congestion pricing program.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
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.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello