Strong Towns, the same organization that runs the #BlackFridayParking campaign every year, is back with another social media campaign meant to raise awareness about the effects of car dependence.
Strong Towns is kicking off their #NoNewRoads campaign this week, "to stop unnecessary and unaffordable spending on highways and roads." The webpage announcing the campaign also explains that the United States has "built more auto-infrastructure than we are willing to pay to maintain."
As of this writing, Charles Marohn had written two articles to explain in more detail the thinking behind the campaign. The first covers the diminishing returns of transportation infrastructure spending in the United States. The second is actually an article from December that provides a case study from Mankato, Minnesota of how road spending is justified by politicians and engineers.
Read the full story: No New Roads
Reconciling Highway Investments With Climate Plans
The Colorado Department of Transportation has plans to expand highways, but it also has a mandate to reduce emissions from the state's transportation systems. Is it possible to do both?
Governor's Transportation and Climate Actions Stir Controversy in California
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order last month directing state agencies to consider climate goals in their spending and operations. Two weeks later, three highway widening projects were deleted, and locals are crying foul.
Long-Term Transportation Planning Underway in Northeast Ohio
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency is in the community outreach phase of a long-term transportation planning effort. The plan is expected to be complete by the end of 2016 and ready for board approval early in 2017.
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.
Newsom kills bill requiring polluting factories near schools to undergo environmental review
In his veto letter, Newsom wrote that protecting communities and strengthening manufacturing “were not mutually exclusive.”
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.
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