Transportation

How To Retrofit The Suburbs to Increase Walking

Researchers look at the largely suburban South Bay area of Los Angeles to offer ways to retrofit auto-oriented suburbs for more pedestrian travel.

January 9, 2012 - Access

Las Vegas Monorail Bondholder Sues for Fraud

Citigroup is being sued for knowingly overstating ridership and advertising revenue projections for the Las Vegas monorail while soliciting investors for the system.

January 9, 2012 - Nevada Journal

Airport-BART Connection Materializing Amid Cost Disputes

Nearly 10 years in the works, a connector between Oakland International Airport and the BART transit system is taking shape.

January 8, 2012 - The Contra Costa Times

Watch Your Behavior on the 'F' Train

Put you feet up on an an subway seat, and risk going to to jail. Bad behavior, sure. But criminal? In an effort to make the subway safer, NYPD is viewing even minor code violations seriously.

January 7, 2012 - The New York Times

Taking Parking Lots Seriously, as Public Spaces

With perhaps as many as 2 billion parking spaces in the US, planners and architects should "take seriously" the parking lot as an actual, useful public space.

January 7, 2012 - The New York Times

Friday Amusement: Transportation Infographics

Delicious offers an engaging collection of transportation-related infographics, from the history of transportation to why freeway traffic occurs.

January 6, 2012 - Delicious

Capitalizing on India's Auto-Rickshaw Sector

India's Bajaj Auto company introduces an ultracheap small car focused on the country's rickshaw industry. Meanwhile, an unrelated study finds that the unorganized auto-rickshaw sector presents a huge business opportunity.

January 6, 2012 - The New York Times

Don't Fund California's High Speed Rail, Says Review Committee

A 'peer review' committee advises that the legislature should refuse to authorize funding for the first phase of California's high speed rail project, citing a "immense financial risk" for the state.

January 6, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Hawaii's Light Rail Close to Breaking Ground

After decades of planning, a 20-mile light rail line in Honolulu is set to begin construction this March, despite persistent concerns over the project's cost.

January 5, 2012 - The New York Times

A Mayoral Attack on Transit in Toronto?

A recently implemented 10-cent fare increase is just one sign of Mayor Rob Ford's attacks on public transit in Toronto, according to this editorial from the Toronto Star.

January 5, 2012 - The Toronto Star

Midwest HSR Gets $186 Million Boost

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the money will be going to the Illinois Department of Transportation to continue work on its high-speed rail project.

January 5, 2012 - U.S. Federal Railroad Aministration

Manhattan Parking Reforms Loom

After a flawed parking study on Manhattan's core last fall, the NYC Department of City Planning have released a revised version that calls for an end to parking minimums, especially those linked to affordable housing.

January 4, 2012 - Streetsblog New York City

A Proposal To End The Highway Trust Fund

Gabriel Roth, a civil engineer, transportation economist and research fellow is fed up with the federal government's inability to fully fund transportation and suggests that its time to hand off responsibility to the states.

January 3, 2012 - Winona Daily News

European Study: Cycling, Not Electric Cars Are Key To Emissions Reduction

Emissions would be reduced 25% if Europeans adopted the Danish cycling habit, a new study reports. The ECF warns politicians it would be a mistake to invest heavily in technological solutions like electric cars.

January 2, 2012 - The Guardian

Transit Usage Increases While Subsidies Decrease

It's the best and worst times for public transit. More travelers are turning to transit, but without additional subsidies, public transit across the U.S. is hurting. This editorial look toward the federal government to increase transit funding

January 2, 2012 - The New York Times - Sunday Review

2012's Big Urban Projects

Will Doig takes us through some of the biggest projects to look out for across the nation this year, proving that cities are neither as cash-strapped nor as unimaginative as we perhaps thought.

January 2, 2012 - Salon

Stranded Metro Riders Sue New York MTA for Better Emergency Response

Last winter, subway riders were stuck on a New York City train overnight. Now some have filed a lawsuit against the MTA for its poor handling of the situation, highlighting the need for emergency planning in public transit agencies.

January 1, 2012 - Transportation Nation

Six Trending Urbanist Themes for the New Year

Chuck Wolfe analyzes his 2011 articles which appeared on Planetizen and in other sources, and derives his urbanist trends to watch for in 2012.

December 31, 2011 - myurbanist

Biggest Transportation Failures of 2011

Atlantic Cities offers a review of ten of the worst urban transportation failures to take place in American cities in 2011.

December 30, 2011 - Atlantic Cities

CA HSR Plan B: Amtrak

If high-speed rail fails, 130 miles of track will have to go to Amtrak. But critics say that the backup plan comes with no guarantee that Amtrak would even have to use the tracks and is, therefore, a useless backup plan.

December 30, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.