Transportation

"Millionaire's Tax" Hurts the Poor, Too

NYU Urban Planning professor Mitchell L. Moss says that the poor will bear a larger burden as a result of their dependence on an equally burdened MTA--whose finances are being leveraged to help the rest of the state.

December 10, 2011 - The New York Times

High-Speed Rail R.I.P.?

Between the Obama Administration's patchwork approach to funding and outright Republican opposition, high speed rail appears to be dead.

December 9, 2011 - Slate

Public Parks to Cover Highways in Hamburg

The City of Hamburg, Germany is planning on building elevated public parks on sections of the to-be-expanded A7 (Highway 7), which is considered one of the most important north-south connectors in Germany.

December 9, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

Retrofitting Long Island Suburbs For The Pedestrian

Complete streets, road diets, streetscape improvements - geared to promote suburban downtowns for new residents who seek access to amenities without having to drive is a hit for some towns who have successfully obtained government grants to fund them

December 9, 2011 - The New York Times- Real Estate

HUD Announces Sustainability Grant Winners

The 27 communities and regional planning organizations selected will receive a total $96 million to achieve their economic and environmental goals.

December 9, 2011 - Smart Planet

Dude, Where's My People Mover?

Automated monorails were the hottest invention since the wheel back in the 1960s, and the Feds wanted to see them in every city. So what happened?

December 8, 2011 - New Urban Network

Big Retailers See Benefits of Transit

At a recent conference, spokespeople for Burlington Coat Factory and other big retailers explained that they are having great success at locations on subway stops and major bus lines.

December 8, 2011 - Globe St.

Rising Prices All Too Familar in D.C.

In Washington D.C., Michael Perkins explains that starting next July, Metro would be at a deficit of $120 million. They have come up with several ideas to raise a portion of that money through fares.

December 8, 2011 - Greater Greater Washington

A Pedestrian Plaza for Outer Brooklyn

Public plazas aren't just for Manhattan. As part of DOT's Public Plazas program, one outer Brooklyn neighborhood has seen a traffic island turned into a pedestrian plaza. Matt Chaban reports on the praise it has earned.

December 8, 2011 - The New York Observer

Public-Private Partnerships Don't Solve Everything

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo touts private investment as a solution to New York's transportation funding woes. But a conference of infrastructure experts agree that private partnerships aren't a substitute for public funds.

December 7, 2011 - Streetsblog

LaHood Defends HSR At House Transportation Committee Hearing

Speaking before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood defended the viability of the President's ambitious, national high-speed rail program.

December 7, 2011 - Governing

Massive Mixed-Use Transit Oriented Development To Hit White Flint

In Maryland, the Washingtonian Tower has been the tallest skyscraper in Montgomery County. Developers in White Flint are proposing an even taller building that will incorporate mixed-use, transit-oriented, and retail/office development in one plan.

December 6, 2011 - Greater Greater Washington

Freight-Oriented Development To Be Implemented Along the Red Line

In Charlotte, N.C, planners are looking at ways to appeal to freight users. In addition to transit-oriented development, their plan is to allow freight trains to run on the same tracks as passenger trains promoting the use of the Red Line.

December 6, 2011 - the transport politic

Field Poll: HSR Falls Into Disfavor With Majority Of Californians

According to the non-partisan, independent poll, 64% of respondents endorse placing the 2008, $9.95 billion bond measure back on the ballot to allow voters to choose to proceed with the train project now that costs have doubled; 59% would vote 'no'.

December 6, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Myth of the Elitist, Gentrifying Bicyclist

Will Doig asks, "Are urban bicyclists just elite snobs?" Turns out the answer is, basically, no.

December 5, 2011 - Salon

Toll Increase Pushes Commuters Into Transit

The Port Authority of N.Y & N.J toll increase on Hudson River bridges and tunnels causes a 4% drop in vehicles and 3.7% increase in PATH train ridership despite fare increase; 3/5% increase in E-Z pass usage, and 20% increase in toll revenue.

December 5, 2011 - The New York Times- N.Y. / Region

Why Transportation Projects Are Expensive

David Levinson poses some possible answers, such as inaccurate project scopes, insufficient economies of scale, and an increase in safety standards.

December 5, 2011 - The Transportationist

Gas Prices & Transit Ridership: New Report Details The Connection

Eric Jaffe reports on new research by urban travel behavior expert Bradley Lane of U. of Texas/El Paso on elasticity of gas prices and bus and rail ridership. Interestingly, rail ridership spiked twice as much as bus ridership when gas prices rose.

December 4, 2011 - The Atlantic Cities

Regional Planners Sued for Promoting Sprawl

The Cleveland National Forest Foundation is suing SANDAG over a $200 billion transportation plan that purportedly only promotes sprawl through freeway extensions.

December 4, 2011 - KPBS

San Francisco: "Transit First" In Name Only

Well ahead of it's time, San Francisco adopted a 'transit-first policy' in 1973. However, the 'drive-alone' mode dominates at 39%. While far better than elsewhere in the Bay Area and much of the U.S., transit remains clearly in second place at 32%.

December 2, 2011 - San Francisco Examiner

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.

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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.