The Infrastructurist runs down the ten most important news stories and trends in the world of infrastructure in 2010.
"Choosing the ten(ish) biggest infrastructure stories of 2010 required wading through a sea of problems and potential. On one hand, the United States endured a historic oil spill, the cancellation of its largest infrastructure project, and the never-ending debate about the merits of high-speed rail (is it still a debate if neither side listens to the other?). Then again, this year introduced us to the next generation of electric cars, saw bike riding and livability become major parts of the urban-planning discussion, and proposed plans - like the National Infrastructure Bank - that could, in time, change the way the country travels."
The list includes the arrival of electric cars and the ongoing debate over the gas tax.
Read the full story: Top 10 Infrastructure Stories of 2010: Part 1 [Gallery]
House Committee Proposes $250 EV Tax
The fee is higher than the average tax paid by gas-powered vehicle owners.
Hawaii Could Implement Road Usage Charge
The tax would apply to electric vehicles, which avoid the state’s gas tax and are a growing percentage of cars on the road.
Electric Driving Is the Future; Now Is the Time to Price It
EVs are great, but they’re not perfect. Let’s end their free ride.
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.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority