Transportation

Friday Funny: Durham's Bridge of Death

Courageous is the brave soul who drives a truck through Durham, North Carolina, where a bridge has been decapitating high-profile vehicles with reckless impunity.

November 2, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Bikes Are Big Winners Post-Sandy

With gasoline increasingly hard to find in New York and many subway lines still down, biking has surged in popularity in the aftermath of Sandy. Bikes are selling briskly and new adherents are jumping in the saddle.

November 2, 2012 - CNBC

Can a Parking Garage Spark Detroit's Retail Comeback?

John Gallagher writes about the optimism surrounding a project proposed by Quicken Loans founder and developer Dan Gilbert, which could bring 33,000-square feet of retail space, and 1,300 parking spaces, to downtown Detroit.

November 2, 2012 - Detroit Free Press

New Mayor Could Derail Honolulu Transit Project

Despite a ceremonial groudbreaking last year, a $5.2-billion elevated rail project four decades in the making is facing an uncertain future as the centerpiece of a fierce campaign battle.

November 2, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Critics Outline Grey Areas in L.A.'s "Green" Harbor Rail Yard Project

Critics of the proposed $500-million Southern California International Gateway, which is being touted as “one of the 'greenest' freight yards in the nation," contend it will actually reduce air quality and harm low income, minority residents.

November 1, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Seeking Return to Normalcy, New Yorkers Struggle to Get to Work

In many parts of the city located on higher ground than Lower Manhattan, the lights are on and the flood waters have receded. But New York's transportation network is struggling to reconnect the city's business centers with commuters.

November 1, 2012 - The New York Times

Can Good Design Lead to Good Deeds in Auto Obsessed L.A.?

For 10 years now, Michael Lejeune, Creative Director for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (M.T.A.), has made taking transit in L.A. seem a lot cooler. These re-branding efforts have contributed to a 38 percent increase in ridership since 2005.

November 1, 2012 - The New York Times

Can Cargo Bikes Replace Trucks and Minivans?

Is the adoption of cargo bikes the next step in America's evolution towards a European model of bikeability?

October 31, 2012 - Next American City

Planes that Run on Natural Gas

Qatar Airlines is gearing up their jets to run on a fuel derived from natural gas - so don't expect to see fuel tanks holding liquefied gas. Similar to the "Messerschmitt Fuel" in World War II that was derived from coal, they are called synfuels.

October 31, 2012 - The New York Times - Green Blog

Saving a Transit System Through Free Rides

Jean-Francois Mayet, the mayor of Châteauroux, introduced free ridership in a bid to turn around his town's failing transit system. Eleven years later, total ridership has increased 208 percent. Henry Grabar examines whether free transit is scalable.

October 31, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

The One Form of Public Transit That Sandy Didn't Shut Down

Though fewer in number, taxis had no competition with subways, buses, and commuter rail all shut down in advance of the Monday night storm. Matt Flegenheimer continues his update on how Hurricane Sandy affected pubic transit and roads in New York.

October 30, 2012 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Unprecedented Northeast Transit Shutdown as Sandy Approaches

Sommer Mathis writes about the largest planned shutdown ever of train and bus service in the U.S. as New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. cancel service on the eve of Hurricane Sandy's arrival along the mid-Atlantic seaboard.

October 29, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Who Will Pay for America's $2.2 Trillion Infrastructure Backlog?

With the federal government unable to agree on much of anything, state and local taxpayers are bearing the burden for repairing and replacing America's aging infrastructure says a new report from Standard & Poor’s Rating Services.

October 29, 2012 - The Washington Post

Visualizing the Connection Between Transportation and Public Health

An informative infographic produced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation illustrates the role of walkable, bikeable, and transit-oriented communities in producing healthier populations.

October 28, 2012 - New Public Health

Bad Habits Are Hard to Break for US Metro Commuters

Despite significant investment in transit infrastructure, and renewed interest in downtowns and walkable neighborhoods, new data shows that gains in transit commute mode share have been hard to come by in America’s largest cities, says Kaid Benfield.

October 27, 2012 - Switchboard

In a Victory for People Over Cars, Indian Court Upholds BRT

In a landmark ruling issued last week, the Delhi High Court upheld the use of New Delhi's streets for a 5.6-kilometer bus rapid transit corridor, in a blow to auto owners seeking have it removed for use by all traffic, including private vehicles.

October 26, 2012 - The New York Times

LA Politicos Make Final Cases For and Against Extending Transportation Sales Tax

In 2008 Los Angeles voters passed a half-cent sales tax to finance construction of a new transit system. In November, Angelenos will decide whether to extend this tax to 2069, allowing Metro to borrow more in the short term and expedite construction.

October 26, 2012 - The Planning Report

Transit Improvements Boost Business in NYC

In addition to making the city's streets safer, the pedestrian plazas, bike lanes and rapid-transit bus system built in New York City over the past several years have been a boon to surrounding businesses finds a new report released this week.

October 25, 2012 - The New York Times

Guide to Building Better Streets Released

This week, NACTO released a preview of its Urban Street Design Guidebook, a document meant to assist local governments in designing their streets on the principle that they're spaces for people and commerce as well as arteries for traffic.

October 25, 2012 - Next American City

An 'Earth Friendly' Parking Garage in Chicago Begs the Question: What is 'Green'?

With wind turbines, a "daylighting" system, and charging stations for electric cars, Chicago's Greenway Self-Park bills itself as the city's first "earth friendly parking garage." John Greenfield asks, can a downtown garage truly be eco-friendly?

October 25, 2012 - Grid Chicago

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.

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.