For the first time ever, more people live in the world’s cities than in rural regions, and most population growth is occurring in urban areas. This trend points to the need for urban sustainability which uses green building practices and creative city planning to help reduce environmental damage. Cities may seem to be a threat to the environment since they generate more than three-quarters of carbon emissions globally; however, the concentration of so many people and vehicles in one place may also offer a chance to solve problems, whether in transport systems, fuel economy or urban planning.
View this complete post...Archive for the ‘Urban Planning’ Category
Urban Sustainability: Saving the Earth with Sustainable Cities
Monday, March 24th, 2014This Infra Week
Friday, March 21st, 2014INFRA STORIES YOU SHOULDN’T MISS!
Parking Mad!
Report of Significant Rulemaking
Want to Build A Wildly Successful Startup?
Atlanta, GA: Innovation Report
Friday, March 21st, 2014CITY OF ATLANTA INNOVATION DELIVERY TEAM
All across our city, we are making remarkable progress to ensure that Atlanta continues to be the capital of the Southeast. From forging public-private partnerships and developing initiatives that support our youth, to launching the world’s first 311 system on the cloud, the work we are doing in Atlanta is not only moving our city forward, but is setting a standard for cities nationwide.
-Mayor Kasim Reed
ULI Case Study: Riverfront Park, Denver
Wednesday, March 19th, 2014URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
Riverfront Park is the result of a 25-year collaborationto create a viable and vibrant urbanresidential community in downtown Denver. Builtunder a form-based zoning code, the developmentencompasses 1,859 privately developed,for-sale, for-rent, and affordable homes, withbuildings first opening in 2001 and with constructionstill underway in 2014. The neighborhood fits within the city’s grid and is connectedto surrounding areas by four pedestrian bridgesthat cross railroad tracks, an interstate highway,and a river, each funded through a combinationof public and private investment. Built on abrownfield and former rail yard, the project wasan early model of sustainability. Today, residentscan play, wander, skate, swim, and walk their dogs along dedicated nonvehicular pathways orin four different parks built by the state, the city,the developer, donors, and residents.
Guests on The Infra Blog: Jonathan Bowles & Adam Forman of the Center for an Urban Future
Tuesday, March 18th, 2014Steve Anderson, Managing Director, InfrastructUSA, interviews Jonathan Bowles and Adam Forman of the Center for an Urban Future. Topics include NYC’s need to focus on infrastructure, the role of the Center for an Urban Future, and the new report, “Caution Ahead: Overdue Investments for New York’s Aging Infrastructure.”
Forman: New York City’s infrastructure is old. Whether it’s our transportation infrastructure, our bridges and roads, utility infrastructure, our steam mains and gas mains, or our buildings: our hospitals, our schools, our public housing buildings, it’s old…I think there are so many areas where we can improve the functioning of our infrastructure and the safety if we were investing more intelligently.
View this complete post...Minnesota Bike Lanes: Learning to Share the Road
Tuesday, March 18th, 2014Minnesota has a national reputation as one of the best states in the county for biking. Part of this acclaim includes hundreds of miles of on-street bike lanes. We talked with pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists in Minnesota in order to identify some common misconceptions about bike lanes. (Produced by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board.)
View this complete post...King County, WA: 24 Hours of King County Metro
Friday, March 14th, 2014This animation shows 24 hours of Metro activity, over 200 bus routes on more than 12,000 trips. In this animation every bus is on time. Each bus is represented by a black dot that moves between stops. The bus positions are computed every 6 seconds of real time, though the bus routes are approximated as straight lines between stops (faint grey dots).
I created this visualization of Metro activity to show how integral the bus system is to daily life in Seattle. Simply mapping the bus stops traces every major street and boundary in the city. The Metro system provides over 115,400,000 passenger trips per year.
View this complete post...Pedestrian Roadway Crossing Behavior
Friday, March 14th, 2014FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
Pedestrian–vehicle crashes are both common and deadly. In 2010, 13 percent of all fatal crashes involved pedestrians. Of these, 68.1 percent occurred outside intersections. As a result of thelarge proportion of pedestrian fatalities that occur at non-intersection locations, it is important toinvestigate the causal factors of these collisions. Despite the large proportion of crashes, little research has investigated the reasons pedestrians cross roadways at unmarked locations.
Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State
Wednesday, March 12th, 2014GOVERNORS HIGHWAY SAFETY ASSOCIATION
Pedestrian fatalities in the United States decreased in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009,but increased in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The 15% increase in pedestrian deaths from 2009 to 2012 compares with a 3% decrease in all other motor vehicle deaths during the same time period.
Follow InfrastructureUSA
CATEGORIES
- Accountability (219)
- Aging Infrastructure (747)
- Aviation (130)
- Biking (323)
- Bipartisan (271)
- Bridges (491)
- Broadband (57)
- Buses (160)
- Carbon Tax (22)
- Clean Air (182)
- Climate Change (199)
- Competitiveness (229)
- Congestion (327)
- Dams (77)
- Democrat (123)
- Drinking Water (191)
- Economic Stimulus (275)
- Employment (207)
- Energy (584)
- Environment (615)
- Equity (239)
- Funding (879)
- Global (205)
- Great American Infrastructure (33)
- Green (293)
- Guests on The Infra Blog (264)
- Hazardous Waste (27)
- High Speed Rail (224)
- Highway (783)
- Inland Waterways (204)
- Jobs (251)
- Land Use (97)
- LEED (28)
- Levees (42)
- Local (1,909)
- National (1,523)
- Policy (1,121)
- Pollution (215)
- Private Investment (213)
- Public Opinion (189)
- Public Parks & Recreation (194)
- Public Transportation (1,025)
- Racism (6)
- Rail (501)
- Recession (65)
- Recovery (218)
- Republican (109)
- Roads (1,118)
- Schools (79)
- Seaports (66)
- Smart Grid (98)
- Smart Growth (442)
- Solid Waste (26)
- Sustainability (763)
- Tax (112)
- Technology (395)
- Telecommunications (46)
- Transit (1,330)
- Urban Planning (977)
- Wastewater (180)
- Water Treatment (165)
Video, stills and tales. Share images of the Infra in your community that demands attention. Post your ideas about national Infra issues. Go ahead. Show Us Your Infra! Upload and instantly share your message.
Is the administration moving fast enough on Infra issues? Are Americans prepared to pay more taxes for repairs? Should job creation be the guiding determination? Vote now!
What do the experts think? This is where the nation's public policy organizations, trade associations and think tanks weigh in with analysis on Infra issues. Tell them what you think. Ask questions. Share a different view.
The Infra Blog offers cutting edge perspective on a broad spectrum of Infra topics. Frequent updates and provocative posts highlight hot button topics -- essential ingredients of a national Infra dialogue.
Dear Friends,
It is encouraging to finally see clear signs of federal action to support a comprehensive US infrastructure investment plan.
Now more than ever, our advocacy is needed to keep stakeholders informed and connected, and to hold politicians to their promises to finally fix our nation’s ailing infrastructure.
We have already engaged nearly 280,000 users, and hoping to add many more as interest continues to grow.
We require your support in order to rise to this occasion, to make the most of this opportunity. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to InfrastructureUSA.org.
Steve Anderson
Managing Director
SteveAnderson@InfrastructureUSA.org
917-940-7125