Technology

L.A. Metro Introduces Fare Capping Tech
Los Angeles transit riders who pay as they go will have their fare capped at $5 per day or $18 per week.

Google Maps Feature Identifies Most Fuel-Efficient Routes
A new feature highlights routes that use the least gas to help users make the most fuel-efficient driving decisions.

AI and Downtown Recovery: Missing the Mark in Seattle?
In his fourth GeekWire article on downtown recovery, Chuck Wolfe reviews the use of AI imagery in a section of the Seattle Downtown Activation Plan and suggests how it may have missed the mark.

Transit Advocates Fear On-Demand Microtransit Undermines Bus Service
A new on-demand transit service is meant to fill gaps in Kansas City regional bus service, but some transit supporters worry the service is drawing funding away from fixed-route buses.

Utah to Test Personalized Road Usage Pricing
A pilot program will use GPS-enabled devices to track driving habits, allowing cities to use the data to create road pricing fee structures based on hyper-local and individual driving needs.

Podcast Shows Urban Planning Is Anything But Dull
“Urban Planning is Not Boring” is a podcast created by USC alumni Samantha Ellman and Natalie Ikhrata which highlights just how fascinating the field of planning can be.

Friday Eye Candy: AI Envisions Solutions to the Challenges Facing Cities
Phoenix reimagined for shade. Los Angeles as a place where everybody walks. San Francisco with affordable housing. AI makes a vision of the future possible.

Shared Mobility Starts to Reach Critical Mass
The growing popularity of shared mobility modes, many small and highly efficient, could soon begin having a significant impact on urban transportation patterns.

Robotaxi Regulations Lag Behind Reality
As fleets of autonomous cars make their way onto city streets, the need to effectively regulate the technology is becoming more urgent.

Federal Program Funds Broadband in Underserved Areas
The program supports efforts to improve internet connectivity in remote and rural areas.

San Francisco Officials Want to Put the Brakes on Self-Driving Taxis
Local officials say autonomous cars are not yet safe enough to be permanently deployed across the entire city.

Leveraging Blockchain Tech to Build Smart Cities
Blockchain is far from exclusive to cryptocurrency. Smart cities have a lot to gain from the technology and can thrive with its application.

Federal Bill Would Preempt Local Authority on Telecommunications Siting
A congressional committee advanced a bill recently that would streamline telecommunications infrastructure investments by preempting local control of siting decisions.

Addressing the Noise Impacts of Pickleball
Pickleball may be America's fastest growing sport, but it is not universally loved because of the noise it causes. Learn one expert's ideas for mitigating the noise impacts.

California Moves to Limit Autonomous Trucks
A bill passed by the State Assembly and moving on to the Senate would require autonomous semi trucks to have a trained human operator in the vehicle.

‘Biourbanism’ Combines Nature and Data to Boost Resilience
The concept of biourbanism views cities as natural systems, but brings a data-driven approach to quantifying and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Key Points From the Tesla Data Leak
Thousands of leaked safety complaints about the electric carmaker reveal a pervasive effort to hide problems from the public and prevent customers from filing lawsuits.

Is Twitter Still an Effective Planning Tool?
Twitter has been a daily dose of drama and upheaval ever since Elon Musk offered to pay over $40 billion to buy the social media platform. Media outlets and public transit agencies had been abandoning the social media platform—should planners?

Healing a Neighborhood: Amy Stelly’s Efforts to Tear Down the Claiborne Expressway in New Orleans
Amy Stelly’s childhood dream was to remove the highway that devastated her neighborhood. Now that those efforts have gained traction, institutional biases remain as much of a barrier to neighborhood healing as the highway itself.

Columbus Launches E-Bike Rebate Program
The Ohio capital will offer rebates for residents purchasing e-bikes as part of its goals to reduce carbon emissions and encourage active transportation.
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