Open data can be a powerful tool for illustrating the risks to public safety that will have to be overcome as more cities adopt Vision Zero initiatives.
"Montgomery County now publishes detailed traffic violation data, which goes online daily here," according to a post by Jacob Mason. "This data allows anyone to see where and when the police are issuing citations, and to whom." Mason used that data, for instance, to create a map of speeding violations covering June 1 through August 16. On the map, the size of the bubbles representing violations even correspond to how far over the speed limit the driver was traveling when cited.
With the map as an illustration, Mason argues for more and better open data projects by local governments. Mason pays specific attention to the Washington, D.C.'s region, which he says had made progress but can still improve.
Read the full story: When governments make road data public, anyone can help make roads safer
Let’s End Traffic Stops
The technology to make traffic enforcement obsolete is becoming available. But in the U.S. willing to use it?
When it Comes to Road Diets, Evidence Doesn't Matter
Drivers are a powerful enough lobby to overcome all evidence of the need to redesign streets for safety. Examples from Maryland and Virginia provide the latest case studies in Vision Zero futility.
Speeding Camera Issues 6,000 Tickets in a Day—Is it Unfair?
After issuing 6,000 speeding tickets in one day, a speeding camera in Sheepshead Bay in New York City has already influenced driving habits. But some in the community are calling the location of the cameras a trap.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
NYC cools commuters with city's first rain garden above a bus stop
New York City officials say the plants in the rain garden can absorb 16 gallons of rainwater during heavy storms.
Brightline West’s future may rely on $6 billion federal loan
The company has until Nov. 2 to make a $400 million equity investment into its proposed high-speed rail line.
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.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
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
Journal of the American Planning Association