Could sand be the next great paving material? Thomas Kosbau and Andrew Wetzler recently won a design competition in Korea with their idea to combine sand with a bacteria that turns sand to stone.
Kosbau and Wetzler proposal suggests that road-building trucks "would carry hoppers of sand along with tanks of common Bacillus Pasteurii bacteria in solution. Sprayed on the road, the bacteria go to work chemically on the sand and turn it into a hard, tough cement." The idea would have a significant effect on the environment, because millions of gallons of crude oil go into asphalt road production each year.
Unfortunately, a U.C. Davis engineer asked to investigate the proposal said the material would likely not stand up to heavily-trafficked roads and would only be viable on low-volume roads.
FULL STORY: Will Roads of the Future Be Paved With Sandstone?
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.
Friday Eye Candy: America’s Most Scenic Abandoned Highways
Unused roadways provide opportunities for exploration and recreation.
Oregon Youth Activists Protest Highway Expansion
A group of young climate activists are demanding an end to traffic-inducing road expansion projects and a renewed commitment to sustainable, transit-oriented transportation.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
