Transportation

New York's Pedestrian Malls: Architects and Planners Weigh In

Six architects, planners, public intellectuals and authors give their differing opinions on Bloomberg's plan to turn Broadway into a pedestrian-only space.

March 2, 2009 - Freakonomics - NY Times Blog

Raise The Gas Tax AND Switch To VMT Fee, Says Commission

The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission advises Congress that the U.S. is in an infrastructure crisis, and that they must raise the gas excise tax by ten cents now and begin the switch to a VMT fee.

March 2, 2009 - The New York Times: Energy & Environment

Stimulus To Help As Transit Tries To Keep Up

American Public Transportation Association President William Millar visits Living on Earth to discuss how the stimulus will benefit public transit in the U.S. -- and why it's "the best of times and the worst of times."

March 2, 2009 - Living on Earth

Better Transportation Needs Better Cities

A new design competition is seeking solutions to L.A.'s transportation problems. But the real solution may not have anything to do with transportation at all.

March 2, 2009 - Nate Berg

How to Become an Expert Transit Rider

This commentary from re:place magazine offers tips and insights into how one can ride transit like a pro.

March 1, 2009 - re:place

Denver Gets TOD Fund

The City of Denver plans to spend more than $15 million over the next decade to purchase real estate near mass transit.

March 1, 2009 - The Denver Post

Midwest Expecting High Speed Rail Windfall From Stimulus

The Midwest has high hopes on capturing a big chunk of the federal stimulus money directed towards high speed rail projects.

February 28, 2009 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Edmonton's $100 Million Bike Plan

Edmonton Alberta is planning to go from a "somewhat bike friendly city to a very bike friendly city." But can it afford it during a recession?

February 27, 2009 - CBC

New York City to Reclaim Broadway For Pedestrians

Mayor Bloomberg and Janette Sadik-Khan have unveiled plans to turn a large segment of midtown into a pedestrian-only thoroughfare. The bold move is being applauded by livable street advocates across the United States.

February 27, 2009 - Streetsblog

As Gas Prices Drop, VMT Rises

Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry looks at low gas prices, a down economy, and vehicle-miles-traveled, noting that the precipitous declines in VMT have halted, and suspects it may plateau.

February 27, 2009 - WorldChanging

Mid-Town Manhattan To Go Car-Free

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to close off parts of Broadway in Manhattan to car traffic. The city will experiment with the closing as early as May, creating a large pedestrian zone near Times Square.

February 26, 2009 - The New York Times

Trucking Industry Prepping for Reauthorization Bill

The American Trucking Associations is preparing to focus their upcoming annual meeting on advocacy, promoting their agenda on the TEA-21 Transportation Reauthorization bill to Congress and the Obama administration.

February 26, 2009 - Transport Topics Online

How to Spend $8 Billion in High-Speed Rail Funds

Transportation reporter Tom Belden of the Philadelphia Daily ponders how and where the $8 billion in stimulus funds allotted to high-speed rail should be spent, referencing a report by the Progressive Policy Institute.

February 26, 2009 - Philadelphia Daily

A Better Transit-Oriented Design

Kent Kammerer asserts that by jumping too quickly on a TOD bandwagon that stresses density, local municipalities may leave out elements of social infrastructure and adequate services--the real driving forces behind successful, walkable areas.

February 26, 2009 - Cross

Car-Free on Market Street?

San Francisco's Market Street is heavily used by buses, cars, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. Officials are studying the potential effect of restricting cars either partially or completely, to make it "great once again."

February 25, 2009 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Stimulus For Transit, Un-Stimulus For Auto Industry

Funding in the federal stimulus package for high speed rail has been cheered by transit advocates across the country. This opinion piece argues that in addition, funds should be taken away from the auto industry.

February 25, 2009 - The Boston Globe

Why Bus Rapid Transit Works

This interview with Walter Hook, director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, probes the merits of Bus Rapid Transit versus subways and light rail. The first of four installments.

February 25, 2009 - Streetsblog

With Nowhere to Go, Rail Cars Stall and Stay Put

Over a hundred boxcars have sat for about a year in an Indiana hamlet, proving to be the biggest nuisance to those who, live, and play near them. Of no use to railroad companies with nothing to ship, such rail cars now sit idle all over the country.

February 25, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

'Keep Freeways Free' Legislation Introduced

In 2007, the PA legislature passed Act 44 that calls for converting Interstate 80 into a tolled facility. A freshman PA Congressman, continuing in his predecessor's footsteps, introduced a bill to ensure that never occurs.

February 24, 2009 - theNewspaper.com: A Journal of the Politics of Driving

Wired Says: It's Time for Cities to Favor People, Not Cars

Wired Magazine figures out what the planning world already knows- that there is a need to shift planning policies away from auto-oriented development and towards the pedestrian.

February 23, 2009 - Wired

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.