Transportation

Can Color Make Bike Lanes Safer?

A Portland study shows that bicyclists feel 50% safer when biking in a solid blue bike lane rather than just the classic dotted line. Could color make that much of a difference?

July 3, 2010 - Treehugger

Dispatch From Denmark

Executive director of the SF Bike Coalition, Leah Shahum on sabbatical in Europe, reports on a bicycle conference that she attended in Copenhagen as well as her impressions of bicycle culture in the Denmark capital in her first Streetsblog dispatch.

July 3, 2010 - SF Streetsblog

Friday Funny: Slide to Work

This video shows a slide installed on a staircase leading down to a subway station in Berlin, making it quick an easy to catch the train on time.

July 2, 2010 - Chicago Now

Bike Highways, Boulevards, and Infrastructure

The idea of separated bicycle lanes is growing in popularity. Tom Vanderbilt at Slate looks at the increase in investment and attention to making room for bicycles and increasing safety so more people will ride.

July 2, 2010 - Slate

BART Expansion Raises Questions About TOD in San Jose

Plans to expand the Bay Area's BART system to the Silicon Valley have brought into question the future of a San Jose flea market that some want to turn into a transit-oriented development.

July 2, 2010 - The Wall Street Journal

California Should Alter Its HSR Plans to Save Money

Thomas Elias argues that California's HSR plans should be altered to reduce costs and avoid some urban municipalities against the plans. This would reduce the $25 billion funding gap and allow construction to move ahead.

July 2, 2010 - San Jose Mercury News

NYC Kids are Safer Because They Ride Public Transit More

A recent study shows that traffic fatality rates are lower for children in areas where public transit is widely used.

July 2, 2010 - TheCityFix DC

Asian Cities Must Look For A Sustainability Beyond the Economic

As Asian economic prowess powers the continent's businesses toward prosperity, governments need to find a way to accommodate the 2 billion extra people that will inhabit its major cities by the middle of the century.

July 1, 2010 - Financial Times

Free Rides on Bangkok's New Bus Rapid Transit System

All summer long the newly installed BRT in Bangkok will offer free rides to passengers as the kinks are worked out of the system.

July 1, 2010 - TheCityFix

Barcelona Undercuts New York and Los Angeles in Metro Extension

Yonah Freemark explains how Barcelona has managed to get a better deal for its new metro extension than those in New York and Los Angeles.

July 1, 2010 - the transport politic

China's Drive Toward Carbon Neutrality

By 2030, China will have 220 cities containing a population of 1 million or more, 24 of which will be megacities. The boom China is expected to go through, 'boggles the imagination of North Americans and Europeans.'

June 30, 2010 - World Changing

The Flying Car is -- Finally -- Here

Decades of expectations appear to have been finally realized in the Terrafugia Transition, the world's first street-legal flying car.

June 30, 2010 - Huffington Post

Will Congestion Pricing Cause Slow-Downs?

The Bay Area's first experience in peak-hour road tolling starts July 1. At 10 am, the Bay Bridge toll decreases to $4 from the $6 commute toll that starts at 5 am - will motorists intentionally slow to save $2 as they approach the tolls at 10 AM?

June 30, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

Cuts to Public Transit Endangering Sustainable City Agenda

In their attempts to deal with their budget deficits, state and local governments are slashing public transit funding, which may leave residents little choice but to return to their cars.

June 30, 2010 - Guardian (UK)

Walking and Biking on the Rise

This infographic from GOOD shows how walking and cycling have grown in America -- and how federal funding for bike and pedestrian projects have steadily increased.

June 30, 2010 - Good

Bright Times Ahead for Amtrak

Amtrak Chief Joseph Boardman says now is a good time for the much-troubled national rail system. Support from the federal government is helping the system grow and improve, according to this interview.

June 30, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

Successful Bike Sharing Program Now Needs Bikable Streets

In this editorial, the Denver Post applauds the early success of the city's new bike-sharing program (launched on Earth Day) but notes that what's missing is urban street infrastructure for cyclists though there are plenty of recreational trails.

June 29, 2010 - The Denver Post

Lifting Parking Requirements

As part of its series looking at improving transportation in the U.S., Slate delves into the intricacies of parking requirements and how they impact transportation and traffic in cities.

June 29, 2010 - Slate

Redesign To Cut Traffic in Tysons Corner

A recently approved plan to redesign Tysons Corner, Virginia, to be more transit- and pedestrian-friendly would help reduce traffic, according to this column from The Washington Post.

June 29, 2010 - The Washington Post

Suburbia Isn't The Problem

John Jensen at the Seattle Transit blog makes a persuasive argument that the suburbs themselves aren't the problem - depedency on the automobile is.

June 29, 2010 - Seattle Transit Blog

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.

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

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.