Entries tagged with Infrastructure
The Infrastructure Imperative
May 27, 2010
The Urban Land Institute, with Ernst and Young, has released a new report on infrastructure called "Infrastructure 2010: Investment Imperative." Here is the imperative in a nutshell:
...America’s future prosperity, world economic standing and ability to accommodate over 100 million more people by 2050 depends directly on “bolstering…
Alternate Ideas for San Francisco Span
January 13, 2010
In the spirit of breathing new life into disused infrastructure, UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design graduate students were given the challenge of thinking big about repurposing the trussed steel span from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island.
Their task was not “simply to recycle, but to renew the steel bones…
Digging into Infrastructure
June 13, 2009
New York Times Magazine tomorrow is all about infrastructure. The Infrastructurist has the Cliff Notes.
Amsterdam as Smart City
March 16, 2009
Amsterdam is going green fast, and Business Week has the story. Amsterdam will complete its first-round of green infrastructure investments by 2012, making it one of the first and most ambitious adopters of the smart city concept.
The Ugliness around Us
February 12, 2009
He foresaw the ugliness. The meme of doomed suburbs went mainstream with Chris Leinberger's cover story for the Atlantic magazine last March, “The Next Slum?” The problem, he says, goes much deeper than the foreclosure crisis. It’s part of a painful societal adjustment that will take a generation…
Transit Cuts
January 25, 2009
Find them here, courtesy of Transportation for America.
Ray Hood's Opening Statement
January 22, 2009
A Trillion Dollars' Worth of Bad Ideas?
January 22, 2009
"A trillion dollars' worth of bad ideas — sprawl-inducing highways and bridges to nowhere, ethanol plants and pipelines that accelerate global warming, tax breaks for overleveraged McMansion builders and burdensome new long-term federal entitlements — would be worse than mere waste. It would be smarter to buy every American an…
Time Magazine Says Fix It First
January 15, 2009
Writing in next week's Time Magazine, Michael Gruenwald advises President-elect Obama on how to spend $1 trillion. Compared to building new roads, Gruenwald says repair the old roads. Fixing existing infrastructure first not only produces more jobs but it has a more favorable overall long-term economic impact. (Hear that, Congress?) …
Reinvesting in the Erie Canal?
January 6, 2009
Eliot Spitzer, former governor of NY, has posted a very smart piece on Slate challenging current plans for the economic stimulus package. After noting that the lasting impact of the New Deal was the way in which it redefined the social contract, Spitzer wrote, "The off the shelf infrastructure…
Regionalism in Action
December 24, 2008
Today's announcement that The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun will begin sharing stories and photos as a cost-saving measure is a concrete example of regionalism in action. In the case of the newspapers, it makes sense.
It also makes sense for local governments to form regional pacts to support…
Investing in Infrastructure Wisely
December 23, 2008
Bob Yaro, who continues to lead on good regional planning from his post as head of New York's Regional Plan Association, has prepared a statement to the new administration on the economic stimulus plan that outlines a five step program for infrastructure investment as part of the America 2050 Coalition:
…Good and Bad Infrastructure
December 15, 2008
The Economist warns that America is in danger of getting the wrong kind of infrastructure. Thank goodness some credible organization has finally said it.
U.S. infrastructure problems result from two causes, "the smaller of which is lack of money." But "the greater problem is the lack of a strategy.…
Obama: Santa to Cities?
December 1, 2008
As reported by Politico: "To the nation’s mayors, Barack Obama seems a little like Santa Claus — with a big sack of federal money to build local projects that would help stimulate the nation’s faltering economy.
"With infrastructure investment a key tenet of the economic…
Hoping for a Boost from Obama
November 21, 2008
"How do we recapture the value of the investments we've already made?"
If ever there were a time in the life of this nation to ask that question, it is now. And if asked in a public sense, the answer leads inevitably to the need to re-focus on cities.
Transportation for America
November 17, 2008
As calls for federal investments in infrastructure get louder, send President-Elect Obama a message to support a new direction for America developed by Transportation for America.
Major points include:
1. A 21st CENTURY NETWORK: Invest in a world-leading, sustainable transportation system.
2. NO MORE BLANK…
A Differentiated View of Infrastructure
November 15, 2008
Every time the word "infrastructure" is mentioned as a priority for the next Administration, it is usually followed by two words: roads and bridges. And that should be a big concern for anyone who wants to see America finally build a next generation economy.
We seem to be accepting an…
The Momentum of Special Events
October 19, 2008
In preparation for the World Cup in 2010, Johannesburg is building its first metro line that will run approximately 60 km (with stops to include the airport). In the central city, the line is underground, again. The city is also building bus rapid transit in the city center, based on…
Urban Agenda Relaunch
August 25, 2008
Watch today for the relaunch of Barack Obama's "urban agenda," documented in a 32-page blueprint. According to today's Wall Street Journal, the plan features an increase in the minimum hourly wage, a new White House office focused on metropolitan areas and $60 billion to establish a national bank to…
Stimulus Proposal Released
January 16, 2009
The House Appropriations Committee has released information on the proposed economic stimulus package that has the following as its focus:
- Clean, Efficient, American Energy
- Transforming our Economy with Science and Technology
- Modernizing Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways
- Education for the 21st Century
- Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and…
MML to the Feds: Fix it First
January 14, 2009
The Michigan Municipal League is urging Congress to make the restoration of deteriorating infrastructure the No. 1 priority in the upcoming stimulus package. According to an MML press release, "This "fix-it first" approach will also combat sprawl and inject new economic vitality in communities that have lost jobs, businesses and…