Transportation
LA County Transit Agency Tests Public-Private Partnerships
Doug Failing, Executive Director of LA Metro's Highway Programs, proudly shares the agency's $700 million strategy for testing the value of public-private partnerships to finance and accelerate planned transportation upgrades.
Meet the Man Who Will Shape Maryland's Transportation Patterns for Decades to Come
With $4.4 billion in additional revenue expected to be generated from a new gasoline tax over the next six years, Maryland's new transportation secretary will have a historic role in shaping the state's transportation and land use patterns.
The Newest Thing in Mobile Commerce: The Book Truck
Inspired by the food truck movement, book-publisher Penguin Group (USA) has rolled out two new book-buying venues: the Penguin Book Truck, and the Penguin Book Pushcart.
Is Your Project Transit-Oriented or Merely Transit-Adjoining?
As many planners know, building next to transit doesn't guarantee a project will have the ridership boosting effects envisioned by proponents of such developments. A new tool seeks to provide an objective measurement of TOD effectiveness.
Could Carless Cities Be On the Horizon?
As plans to pedestrianize UK city centers gain steam, Lord Richard Rogers, architect of the Pompidou Centre and advisor on urbanism issues to successive London mayors, has predicted a widespread ban on cars in London within 20 years.
Will Car-Sharing Apps Unclutter L.A.'s Roadways?
Thanks to mobile technology, Los Angelenos no longer have to choose between driving their own cars and paying expensive cab fares after a night out on the town.
Foxx's First Goal: Find the Money!
Keith Laing, with help from Josh Schank of the Eno Center for Transportation, describes the reality facing the new Secretary of the Department of Transportation. With gas tax revenue dwindling and MAP-21 expiring next year, securing funds is crucial.
Michael Bloomberg: Global Transportation Dynamo
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's progressive transportation advocacy isn't limited to the five boroughs. From bike lanes in Turkey to auto-rickshaws in India, his philanthropy is funding transportation and road safety projects worldwide.
Insider Advice on How Best to Bike Your City
With bike use exploding across North America, The New York Times has asked its readers to submit their suggestions for how best to navigate their city streets on two wheels. Covering 16 cities, the project has received 4,614 comments to date.
Big Plans for Bike Parking Take Shape
We've recently looked at the shortage of bike parking plaguing cities like Amsterdam. Designers are on the case, inventing 'ingenious ideas' for parking all those bikes. Ben Schiller looks at five of the best.
Friday Reality Check: An Honest Car Commercial
Leave it up to the fine folks at Copenhagenize, the cycling crusaders, to produce a fake commercial based on the real dangers of car driving, rather than the fantasy sold by car companies in their advertisements.
New Tool Facilitates Stunning City Comparisons
The creator of the TED conference has teamed up with Esri to develop an innovative interactive exhibit and online mapping tool to compare 16 global cities along 16 data points, including: population density, open space, and traffic.
Complete Streets Policies: Easy to Adopt and Easy to Ignore
More and more local governments are adopting complete streets policies. But gaps in implementation in these places suggests that the building of actual complete streets is dependent on a true culture shift. Angie Schmitt looks at the obstacles.
D.C.'s Gridlock Has Improved; What Can Be Done to Sustain Recent Gains?
Recent studies report a noted decrease in traffic congestion in the D.C. area. Robert McCartney credits two trends and asks how the area should spend additional transportation revenues that will be generated by recent tax increases.
Proposed Virginia Parkway: Gift to Developers or Necessary for Region's Growth?
In Northern Virginia, where D.C.'s suburbs dissolve into rural landscape, the state's Department of Transportation is planning the Bi-County Parkway. Opponents question whether the state should provide a multi-billion dollar subsidy to developers.
Nation's First VMT Fee Bill Passed By Oregon Legislature
If Gov. John Kitzhaber signs SB 810, as expected, Oregon will create a voluntary program for up to 5,000 motorists who will pay 1.5-cents for every mile they drive instead of the 30-cent state fuel excise tax.
From Peak Car to Peak Parking?
Fewer cars on the road, less driving, why not fewer parking spots? Cities like D.C., L.A., Denver, Philadelphia are responding by reducing or eliminating parking minimums, while Portland, which had already eliminated them, are bringing them back.
Call Off the 'Peak Car' Celebrations
Planners and environmentalists have applauded the seven-year decline in America's auto ownership levels with understandable enthusiasm. But around the world, automobile production has never been higher.
How Did Portland Become North America's Bicycling Capital?
In retrospect, it may seem like Portland’s biking boom was inevitable. But not too long ago the city was eclipsed by other Pac NW cities for share of bicycle commuters. What happened between 2002-2008 to kick-start the city’s bike craze?
The Great Repurposing: Envisioning the City of Driverless Cars
With driverless cars poised to appear in the not-too-distant future, planners and engineers are beginning to envision the effect on the urban landscape and the spaces within cars themselves. Nick Bilton shares some of the predictions.
Pagination
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.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello