The city of Glendale, CA has replaced its employees' password protection system with fingerprint scanners that use biometrics, once considered a space-age technology.
"Biometrics, the analysis of physical features such as eye, face, and finger characteristics, might seem an extreme form of access control for city employees, but the driving factor was efficiency. Both the city's IT department and its approximately 2,000 employees had struggled to maintain up-to-date and secure password protection. "We struggled, users struggled, and independent auditors were pressing us to change our passwords at more frequent intervals," says Scott Harmon, assistant director of information services with the City of Glendale."
Thanks to Christian Peralta
Read the full story: Glendale locks down PCs with Digital Persona biometrics
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.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Brightline Florida files for bankruptcy
The transit company is over $5 billion in debt.
St. Louis Metro to test if single-car trains can reduce operating costs, maintain rider satisfaction
The pilot program will run from October to spring 2027, and begin with one single-car train operating on Metrolink’s Red and Blue lines.
Pennsylvania is building data centers in abandoned mines
Housing data centers in mines provides an alternative to destroying local forests and may spare residents from data centers’ noise and air pollution.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello