With growth ten years ahead of estimates, Boston's Innovation District is in need of some fresh ideas to help stave of death by traffic asphyxiation. Local roads and mass transit are already stretched to capacity during the evening commute.
While meteoric growth and packed buses may sound like a problem any city would be happy to have, the unexpected popularity of Boston's Seaport District has planners playing catch-up to stave off development-killing gridlock.
“All this growth wasn’t supposed to happen until 2025,” said Mayor Thomas Menino. “It’s a wonderful success. Because of the success, we’re having a problem. It’s amazing to me.”
"Menino this week gathered a collection of transportation officials and Seaport leaders in the Eagle Room of City Hall to try to address the potential choke hold on the area’s meteoric growth," reports Shirley Leung. "The group plans to start implementing immediate fixes starting in September and spend up to a $1 million on a yearlong study to develop a comprehensive transportation plan by the end of the next year."
FULL STORY: A snarl in Seaport District’s success story

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

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)