When then-Pres. Bush signed a transportation bill in 1991, he said it 'could be summed up in three words; jobs, jobs, jobs. Bruce Katz and Robert Puentes of Brookings say that infrastructure spending is much more than that.
Katz and Puentes write, "[T]he pressure for jobs in the near term is intense. At minimum we should focus any additional investments on repairing the nation's existing crumbling infrastructure, helping transit agencies avoid drastic cutbacks in their workforce and their service, and holding the states and metropolitan entities responsible for their performance.
But to truly produce real prosperity, federal leadership, as with the interstates in the 1950s, is more necessary than ever and should advance an updated vision identifying strategic, transformative infrastructure investments of critical importance to national economic competitiveness. That vision should include robust plans for freight movement, the electric grid, and water infrastructure across state borders and between metropolitan areas."
FULL STORY: Rethinking the way on infrastructure
Brookings: A Demographic Post-Mortem of the Midterms
Young adults, according to a deep dive analysis by Brookings Metro demographer William Frey, were a key demographic group responsible for stopping the red wave that most polling predicted as the likely outcome of last month's midterm elections.
'The Great Real Estate Reset'
Business as usual in the real estate industry is failing the economy and the political and social cohesion of the United States, according to a new initiative launched by the Brookings Institution.
The Blue Beltway
Ronald Brownstein, a senior editor at The Atlantic, coins a new political-geographic term in the wake of the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff elections to describe a shift in the political alignment of nearly all large metropolitan areas in the nation.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)