Transportation

Will Toronto's Mayor Drag the City Back to the Twentieth Century?

Just a year into his term, Christopher Hume delivers a scathing critique of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his pro-vehicular policies.

January 30, 2012 - Toronto Star

Return of Streetcars to D.C. Brings Nostalgia

Fifty years after they last plied its streets, Washington D.C. awaits the return of the city's streetcars in 2013 with nostalgia and hope.

January 30, 2012 - The Washington Post

California Passes Historic Zero Emission Vehicle Regulations

The CA Air Resources Board unanimously approved new rules that require 15% of new vehicles sold in the state to emit zero emissions and require conventional vehicles to reduce smog and climate emissions by 75% and 50%, respectively, by 2025.

January 30, 2012 - San Jose Mercury News

How to Fix New York's Abominable Airports

This past week, Frommer's ranked the world's worst airports, and all three of New York's made the top ten. Matt Chaban looks at the reasons why, and some possible solutions on the horizon.

January 29, 2012 - The New York Observer

Does California Need High-Speed Rail?

For the second time this week, the "Room For Debate" section of The New York Times is tackling an area of interest for planners. This time, High Speed Rail in California is up for debate by a series of contributors.

January 28, 2012 - The New York Times

Boulder Officials Consider Per-Household Transportation Tax

The extra $24 a year, tacked onto existing utility bills, would go toward covering a $3 million transportation budget gap and highway and bridge repair. This is the transportation officials' second try in convincing the City Council.

January 28, 2012 - Boulder Daily Camera

What's Wrong With America's Streets - And How To Fix Them

Ben Goldman reports on a new illustrative guide, Sustainable Street Network Principles, published by the Congress for New Urbanism, that seeks to educate planners and officials on how to create successful streets and neighborhoods.

January 27, 2012 - Streetsblog D.C.

There are 4,114 Intersections in LA, and He Controls Them All

Jon Bruner profiles Los Angeles Department of Transportation Engineer Edward Yu, and the ATSAC system run by Yu and his team, which controls the timing of traffic lights at each of the city's 4,114 intersections.

January 27, 2012 - Forbes

The Newest Subway in the World

The Atlantic Cities has posted a photo essay of the world's newest subway system, which opened on December 1, 2011 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

January 27, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Electric Vehicle Chargers: Coming to a Mall Near You

Shan Li reports on the increasing prevalence of electric vehicle charging stations at retail centers across the country, even though demand for such services is small.

January 27, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Federal Government to Consider Social Equity in Funding Decisions

In new rules published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the Department of Transportation is amending Bush era policies on awarding grants for Light Rail, Subway, and Bus Rapid Transit projects.

January 27, 2012 - Bloomberg

Parsing the State of the Union Address for Planners

Three pieces on last night's State of the Union address by President Obama focused largely on what wasn't said, than what was, concerning Energy, Infrastructure, and Urbanism.

January 25, 2012 - the transport politic

Is China the Answer to LA's Transportation Funding Woes?

With L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 'America Fast Forward' plan to fund 30 years of transportation improvements in 10 years going nowhere fast in Congress, Joel Epstein asks if the Mayor might be lining up our country's creditor-in-chief.

January 25, 2012 - The Source

Younger Auto Consumers Boost Hybrid Vehicle Demand

A new survey provided some good news for the alternative technology sector of the auto market: younger consumers prefer hybrids and other electrified vehicles over conventional vehicles, especially fuel-inefficient ones.

January 25, 2012 - Bloomberg News

CicLAvia Tour Integrates Crowdsourcing

As cyclists toured Watts and other parts of South Los Angeles, they were invited to share photographs and record places of interest along the way.

January 24, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Transportation as a Civil and Human Rights Issue

Writing about 'one of the most pressing civil and human rights issues facing our nation,' Lexer Quamie sees the renewal of the nation's federal transportation law as a key tool in addressing issues impacting low-income and minority communities.

January 24, 2012 - Urban Habitat

New Report Ranks Top Cities and States for Bicycling and Walking

A new report ranks all 50 states and the 51 largest American cities in terms of bicycling and walking levels, safety, funding, and other factors.

January 24, 2012 - Alliance for Biking and Walking

The Self-Driving Car of the Future is Here

Tom Vanderbilt writes about the current crop of self-driving cars in Wired. "After almost a hundred years in which driving has remained essentially unchanged, it has been completely transformed in just the past half decade."

January 23, 2012 - Wired

Pedestrian Headphone Death Study Misses the Mark For Some

A pedestrian safety study from the University of Maryland overstates the perils of walking while using headphones, while ignoring a fundamental reason for auto-pedestrian accidents--dangerous streets lacking adequate infrastructure for pedestrians.

January 22, 2012 - Transportation for America: campaign blog

Quality or Quantity: What is More Important in Attracting Transit Riders?

What is more likely to constitute a successful transit system -- one that runs dirty old vehicles at shorter headways or one that runs beautiful comfortable vehicles less frequently? Tom Vanderbilt wades into the public conversation in Slate

January 21, 2012 - Slate

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.

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.