Transportation
Momentum Builds Behind Kansas City Streetcar
Despite major resistance for an extended streetcar line, a shorter, 2-mile downtown light rail is quite popular. Supporters say there is a sense of "urgency" behind the project, which could be built as soon as 2015.
The High Cost of Status Quo Infrastructure
Infrastructure costs are towering in the U.S., but much of that could be because of old habits in road building. This column looks at how cities and states can reduce their infrastructure costs.
Mag-Lev Project Meets Approval in Japan
Japanese officials recently approved plans to build a 320-mile magnetic levitation train system. The $114 billion project is expected to begin construction in 2014.
A Russia-U.S. Tunnel?
Russian officials are pushing a plan to build a tunnel connecting Russian territory to the United States.
TOD Booms in California
Transit oriented development is on the rise in California, with new projects being pushed in conjunction with new rail lines in Southern California and the Bay Area.
Want More Bike Lanes? Would You Pay a Bike Tax?
Blogger Chewie suggests a controversial idea - a tax on bicycle sales and repair to go to creating more bicycle infrastructure.
Take a Ride on Chicago's Elegant Electroliner
Writer J.J. Sedelmaier recalls riding the beautifully streamlined Electroliner trains, which ran on the same tracks as other Chicago rail transit but were a special event all to themselves.
$417 Million To Fund Highway Projects
Last week, the Federal Highway Administration awarded discretionary highway grants in what could be among the last expenditures before the Sept. 30 expiration of the gas tax. Included were $8m for Value Pricing Pilot Program projects in 5 states.
Reversible Lanes Puzzle Drivers
The 10-lane Kennedy Expressway in Chicago is forced to manage significantly more traffic than it was designed to handle. Traffic planners have installed a flexible lane that can increase the flow in one direction, but Chicagoans are baffled by them.
My Future City is Houston?
The BMW Guggenheim Lab has released an online urban planning game called "Urbanology," which asks a serious of questions to determine the type of city you think is the future.
Brookings Compares 'Zero-Vehicle Households' To Those With Vehicles
Not to be confused with zero-emission-vehicles, the Brookings Institution looks primarily at the demographics and access to jobs of what they define as zero-vehicle households. Access to vehicles reveals equity (income) and urban vs. suburban issues.
Learning to Love the Megabus
Private bus companies are gaining in popularity, but Aaron Renn says that a large segment of the "urbanist/sustainability community" despise them for no good reason.
Complete Streets Arrives In Bay Area
Gary Richards, the Roadshow columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, provides many examples of redesigning streets for bikes, peds, and transit throughout the Bay Area, a direct result of the 2008 California Complete Streets legislation.
Texas Infrastructure Under Gov. Perry
Now that Gov. Perry has declared his candidacy for President, the Houston Chronicle has begun a series of articles to spotlight how infrastructure has fared under the state's longest serving governor. Transportation is the focus of the first report.
Friday Funny: Crossing the Street in Vietnam Takes Gumption
What crosswalk? Watch this man effortlessly synchronizes his steady gait with the oncoming cavalry of cars, buses, and motorcycles as he crosses a busy street in Vietnam. If there is fear, he sure does a great job not showing it.
Expanding the Panama Canal On Time and Under Budget
Completed in 1914, the project was the most ambitious undertaking by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its time. Today, the $5.25 billion upgrade is in the works.
The Trouble with Designing for Transit Preference
Suburban areas don't necessarily equate with car-dependence, according to some New Urbanist plans for far-out areas. But convincing residents to opt for transit can be a challenge.
Hauling By Barge is Back
The Manchester Ship Canal has gone underused for shipping goods for decades, but is now having a resurgence with the realization that barge freight can greatly reduce carbon emissions.
Tunnel Wins Vote in Seattle
A long simmering debate over how to deal with a damaged inner city freeway has seemingly found a conclusion as voters in Seattle have approved a plan to begin work on replacing the freeway with a tunnel.
Behind the Decline in Driving
Driving is down in the U.S. and countries all over the world, according to a variety of studies. This piece from New Scientist looks into why the road is less traveled.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
