According to Charles Marohn, institutional inertia continues to carry the nation's transportation agencies on a wayward path that correlates highway spending with economic development. He offers 9 principles to guide "Next Generation DOTs."
Marohn argues that the "highway building heyday" has left the nation's transportation agencies simultaneously over committed and under funded. "In reality," he says, the corellation between highway building and increased prosperity is "an illusion brought about by quick and easy development leveraged off these massive investments."
"It is the Ponzi scheme of the Suburban Experiment," he adds. "We're in the unwinding phase."
So what are the principles and understandings that America's DOTs must embody to correct course? Marohn offers the following:
- Transportation spending is not economic development.
- Transportation spending is not job creation.
- We need to budget based on what we have, not what we want to do.
- The most unsafe condition we can build is a STROAD. Our primary design goal must be to eliminate them.
- We must build differently within a city than we build outside of it.
- We need to improve travel time by eliminating access points outside of cities.
- We must stop using traffic projections to give a veneer of expertise to something we have proven incapable of doing: predicting the future.
- We need to build transit, but only through a value capture funding approach.
- We must remain humble in the face of adversity.
"The word contraction is sure to become part of this generation's lexicon," concludes Marohn, "particularly when it comes to and cities and our infrastructure systems. We need to acknowledge -- to ourselves and to society -- that we do not have a pain free solution to the contraction dilemma. In fact, our toolbox contains no solutions, just rational responses that begin with acknowledging the reality of contraction."
FULL STORY: The Next Generation DOT

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents
The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.

Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing
Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie