Transportation
Transit in Demand: US DOT Can't Keep Up With Requests
On Friday, the US DOT awarded TIGER 2012 funds to 47 projects totaling $500 million -- far less than the $10.2 billion that was asked for from an astounding 703 applications from all 50 states.
The Future of Transit, According to France
Yonah Freemark investigates France's new love affair with the tram, which is spreading like wildfire in cities across the country, supplanting major bus routes and giving transit ridership a healthy boost in the process.
Solving the "Bus Bunching" Problem
Everyone has seen the phenomenon of "bus bunching" - no matter what the schedule, buses end up clustered together in packs, resulting in some full buses and some empty ones and a long wait for some. Two professors say they have a solution.
A Departure from Traditional Airport Design
Back in 2001, Jim Starry proposed a radical rethink of airport design, with inclined runways and gates on top of terminals and parking lots. Lost in the 9/11 shuffle, Sarah Rich takes a second look at the idea.
Census: The Top Bike Commuting Cities In U.S.
The League of American Bicyclists updated their webpage with a link to the American Community Survey's data on bike and pedestrian commuting for the 70 largest cities and 375 more cities where data was available. Portland, OR and Davis, CA are tops.
In China, Are Bikes Going the Way of the Dodo?
Matthew Stevenson anticipates the end of the bicycle in China's major cities, now overrun with scooters and scrambling for Western status symbols – in spite of ever-worsening traffic.
At Manhattan Big Box Mall, Parking Garage Still Sits Empty
A big box mall built in East Harlem, complete with an 1,100 space garage, is seeing its customers walk to shop instead of driving. The suburban assumptions underlying the enormous garage never panned out in the heart of the city.
Study Says Induced Traffic Effect Too Often Ignored
Despite many studies confirming the effect of induced traffic, the effect is often ignored in the transport models used for project appraisal, says a team of Scandanavian researchers creating an extreme bias in the assessment of new projects.
San Francisco Launches Website to Encourage DIY Urbanism
The city recently launched SFBetterStreets.org to be a central source of information to help residents with street improvements like traffic-calming, parklets, bike corrals, plantings, art installations, and sidewalk fixtures.
Generation X Author Pitches Futuristic Utility Pole
Douglas Coupland, most famous for authoring the book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, is pitching a combined street lamp / wifi / cell phone tower to bring connectivity to Vancouver's streets.
Automakers Grapple with Urbanization
In a discussion at the Automotive News Europe Congress in Monte Carlo last week, panelists said the trend towards urbanization will require making cars part of a larger eco-system of transportation.
The Death of the Urban Freeway? Not Yet
The long-sought after demolition of Bronx's Sheridan Expressway hits obstacles as the City of New York now looks to save and retrofit it.
Gov. Brown Relents To Environmentalists: CEQA to Apply to HSR
Under intense political pressure to retain the full application of the CA Environmental Quality Act to CA High Speed Rail project, Gov. Brown withdrew his proposal to allow the project certain exceptions to lawsuits.
Map Making Before Computers: How'd They Do It?
Ever wonder how maps were made in the decades before vector-based graphics software like Adobe Illustrator were invented? The Atlantic has posted a film from the 1940's that documents the process of "Modern Map Making."
The Perpetual End of Philadelphia's SEPTA
Forever plagued with issues, from lack of funding to a lack of political support, Philadelphia's SEPTA mass-transit network is (again) on the verge of collapse.
Newsflash: Something Has Been Accomplished at Rio+20
Andrew C. Revkin delivers the good news out of Rio, where global leaders are gathered to argue incessantly over how not to address climate change. At a side event, $175 billion in loans have been pledged for sustainable transportation.
Smart Parking Meters at Work in Santa Monica
Thanks to new technology embedded in the asphalt, the days of left-over meter minutes are gone in this southern CA beach city. Depending on whom you ask, parking is now managed more efficiently or the city is just making more money.
Federal Transportation Agreement Seems Elusive
As yet another deadline for reaching agreement on federal transportation legislation approaches, Ben Goldman takes measure of the ominous signals emanating from negotiators.
Excellent Parking is Rewarded
While some may argue that an award-winning parking project is any that doesn't get built, the International Parking Institute has identified projects from across the country that have taken parking lot innovation to the next level.
Planners Backtrack on Reform of Parking Standards
A bill in California that would reduce parking minimums in transit-oriented areas has drawn opposition from an unlikely group: the American Planning Association.
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
