Asphalt
Headlined by vertical (and horizontal) sprawl in China, India, and elsewhere, the global building boom requires vast quantities of concrete and asphalt. And to get those materials, sand must be taken from the environment.
The Guardian
Decades ago, developers installed sub-standard asphalt on residential streets in Omaha, with the understanding that residents, not the city, would maintain them.
The Associated Press via The Denver Post
A recent study discovered that towns and cities around the country had removed the pavement on thousands of roads in the last five years.
Wired
Unable to find funding to repair roads damaged by the booming oil industry traffic, Texas will convert asphalt roads to gravel. Texas's gas tax is among the lowest in the nation.
The Texas Tribune
More than a third of the land in our cities is covered by black asphalt, an exemplary heat trapping surface and major contributor to the urban heat island effect. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Lab are studying "cool pavement" alternatives.
Fast Company Co.Exist
Michael J. Coren has a preview of an MIT report that lays out the economic and environmental benefits of stiffer pavement.
Fast Co.Exist
Emily Badger reports on pioneering research that is looking into ways to utilize the heat trapping properties of asphalt, rather than fighting it.
The Atlantic Cities
Winter storms have combined with bad road engineering, geography, funding shortfalls and inequities in Sonoma County, California. drivers and cyclists can expect an unusually rough ride this year and more to come.
The Press Democrat
"When counties had lots of money, they paved a lot of the roads and tried to make life easier for the people who lived out here," said Stutsman County Highway Superintendent Mike Zimmerman, "Now, it's catching up to them."
Wall Street Journal
Rather than being part of a car liberation or permeable pavement movement, poorly maintained county roads are having their asphalt ground into gravel as a cost-cutting measure to avoid costly road reconstruction. Lack of funding is the cause.
Wall Street Journal - U.S.
In an effort to cut transportation maintenance costs, some cities are ditching their asphalt roads and going back to gravel.
USA Today
As oil prices rise, so does the cost of asphalt. Concrete, historically more expensive, is now becoming a viable cost competitor. Because of its lighter shade, its also been shown to contribute less to climate change.
The Infrastructurist
Landscape architect Paula Meijerink is calling on designers to rethink asphalt, and she's taking her efforts to the streets.
The Boston Globe
<p>Asphalt is a byproduct of oil production, and so is getting more expensive along with rising oil costs. A $5 million research project is looking for greener solutions.</p>
CNET News
