The DOT awarded a billion and a half in grants to transit projects on the Fourth of July. Eric Jaffe has the lowdown on projects from Connecticut to Colorado.
Denver will get an airport connector and more than 30 miles added to its already impressive light-rail system. From the DOT's press release:
"Ultimately, the FTA projects contributing approximately $1 billion towards the $2 billion project, which is expected to create 5,400 jobs during peak construction."
Jaffe writes that New York is the big winner:
"...in particular, on the east side of Manhattan: Roughly $215 million went toward the building of a Long Island Railroad terminal in Grand Central, while the Second Avenue subway line received just under $200 million. Houston got $75 million apiece for two light rail projects."
FULL STORY: As DOT Awards $1.58 Billion in Transit Funds, the Future of Orlando’s Line Is Unclear

Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.

Car Noise Is Killing Us
It’s not just traffic collisions that kill—a new study from researcher at Rutgers finds that the loud noises emanating from cars has direct impact on heart health in Americans.

Acceptable Deaths
What can we learn from our Covid response?

New White House Housing Initiative Includes Zoning Reform Incentives
The Biden administration this morning released a new program of actions intended to spur housing construction around the United States.

Fare-Free Transit Hasn’t Reduced Car Trips, Data Says
Fare-free transit isn’t the climate change benefit that many have hoped, according to recent writing by David Zipper for Bloomberg.

Redevelopment Threatens Iconic, Affordable Chicago Homes
The ‘workers’ cottages’ are being replaced with larger, more expensive homes, threatening one of the city’s original forms of affordable housing.
City of Malibu
EMC Planning Group Inc.
Jefferson Parish
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
City of Lakeway, Texas
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.