Transportation
High Pollutions Levels in an Unexpected City
We've come to expect hight air pollution levels in Beijing and other Asian cities with high traffic levels and surrounded by dirty coal plants, but not in cities using emission-free nuclear energy and lots of bikes and mass transit. So why Paris?
Light Rail Extension Requires State Support in Virginia Beach
In a recent speech, Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms announced that Virginia Governor Terry McAullife and Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne have pledged financial support for a $1.3 billion light rail extension.
This is Awkward—Highway Widening Projects Based on Obsolete Projections
Several highway-widening projects on the East Coast were approved under the pretense of expected growth in traffic totals. Now planners are scrambling to figure out the new normal.
Southern Fried Urbanism
You do not hear much talk about meaningful urbanism in the Southeast U.S. Until political winds shift, don't expect that to change.
Mapping NYC’s Taxi Redundancies
MIT’s Senseable City Lab produced a beautiful visualization of every taxi ride taken in New York City in 2011. More valuable than the pretty pictures, however, are the insights the data provide about creating a more efficient transportation system.
Bikeable Cities: Lessons from Pittsburgh
While many of the cities leading the resurgence in the popularity of biking are growing, Pittsburgh has found its own reasons for making the city a better place to bike.
The End of the $2.8 Billion Columbia River Crossing Project
The Oregon Legislature adjourned this week with no actions regarding the Columbia River Crossing—a controversial project with opponents on either side of the aisle.
Evaluating the Growth of Transportation Network Companies like Uber and Lyft
Transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar are growing quickly. A recent article examines the potential of such networks to build new efficiencies into urban transportation, as well as some of the risks to that potential.
St. Louis at a Transit Crossroads
A recent article tackles the counter-intuitive state of transit investment in the St. Louis region: “While the abundance of transit possibilities create a veneer of progress, the region is quietly in a public transit state of crisis.”
What Cars Took: Lives
“There’s an open secret in America: If you want to kill someone, do it with a car,” says a recent article titled “Murder Machines.”
What Cars Took: the Middle Class
Following on the recent, promising news of increased transit ridership around the country, one writer calls for an end to the institutional bias toward cars. The key point of the appeal: public transit infrastructure benefits the middle class.
Survey Says: Californians are Walking, Biking, and Taking Transit More
Results are in from the California Household Travel Survey and they look good for alternative transportation—use has doubled since 2000. The survey also says a lot about the surveyor—Caltrans, long known for counting only vehicle trips.
Can New Financing Mechanism Deliver Multi-Modal Safety in Low-Income Areas?
A new bill in Congress would create a new $11 million program amidst the $1 billion Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan program. But can it deliver more safety improvements to under-served populations?
Houston Launching Car-Free Streets Pilot Project
Starting in April, Houston will close 2.5 miles of streets to automobile traffic between 11 am and 3 pm. Additional street closures will follow in May.
Increases in Transit Ridership Overthrowing Assumptions About Why We Ride
A recent report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) shows transit ridership increasing to historic levels. The surprise is that the increase occurs as gas prices have fallen.
USDOT Continues to Overestimate Future Vehicle Travel - When Will They Learn?
The USDOT's "Conditions & Performance Report" predicts that VMT will grow between 1.36% and 1.85%, although current demographic and economic trends have resulted in flat or negative growth in recent years. Why won't they learn?
The 'Quietways' Bike Network Revolution
London has been preparing for years for a “quiet revolution” for its bike network: the "Quietways" of side streets and back roads. London is already building Quietways in anticipation of a September launch.
Dallas Warming Up to Complete Streets
A new Complete Streets Design Manual is under consideration in Dallas City Hall, but according to a recent article explaining Dallas' move toward walkable neighborhoods, the city has some work to do before the idea fully takes hold.
First Transportation Plan Since 1940 Launches in Chicago’s Cook County
Cook County is in the early stages of public outreach for its first transportation plan since the 1940 “Highway Plan for Cook County.”
Wisconsin Struggles with Interstate Tolling Option
State transportation leaders are scrambling to increase funding as MAP-21 draws to its expiration on Oct. 1. Interstate tolling is being eyed by more than a few. While the Wisconsin Assembly likes the idea, Gov. Scott Walker rejects it.
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
