From Helen Cox Richardson’s Nov. 5 dispatch: “At about 11:30 p.m., the House of Representatives passed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) by a vote of 228–206. Biden promised to pass a bipartisan measure and after nine months of hard work, he did it: thirteen Republicans voted in favor of the… Read More
Maintaining our infrastructure is expensive. ITDP estimates the cost to maintain the public’s built infrastructure at 1.4% of the cost to build the infrastructure. What this $1 Trillion infrastructure bill is intended to cover are the one time renovations required in our most essential infrastructure systems. The money will address the renovations needed for roads, bridges, electric and water systems, etc. for the decades of neglect. The money does NOT address the cost of maintaining our infrastructure. Read More
UPDATE (7/12/17): Elon Musk makes transportation news again. (Note: We don’t count Tesla under transportation. It is a demonstration of battery power for the future.) The Hyperloop lets us imagine true long distance rapid transit, moving sci fi to reality, letting us speed across the planet’s surface. According to a June 27 article by Nick Statt,… Read More
Cities around the world are exploding with new inhabitants and newly built structures. The world population is growing at about 750 million people per decade. That is the equivalent of adding 88 new New York Citys in 10 years. By far the fastest growth, 80% of the growth, is happening on the edges of current… Read More
Jeffrey Sachs recommends: Rather than trying to deploy construction workers within the next 60 days, I propose that we envision the kind of built environment we want for the next 60 years. With a shared vision of America’s infrastructure goals, actually designing and building the new transport, energy, communications, and water systems will surely require… Read More
Lucky California! They get the High Speed Rail AND the Hyperloop “bullet train” too! …. or not. As Jeff Morales, CEO, California High Speed Rail Authority, recently said at the CityAge SF conference, “$3 billion in investment so far and people still deny it is happening!” He’s referring to the construction on the initial section… Read More
So you don’t think infrastructure can be fun? Watch comedian John Oliver explain its intricate, critically important, hilarious fascinations in this video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpzvaqypav8 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Infrastructure (HBO) Infrastructure investment will save lives. Also, from: CEO FORUM GROUP: “Infrastructure refers to the large-scale public systems, services, and facilities of a country… Read More
The Obama administration, in conjunction with the Smart Cities Council Annual Meeting, on Sept. 14, announced $160mm in federal research, grants and collaborations to help local communities manage major challenges using 21st century tools. As part of the initiative, the Administration is announcing: More than $35 million in new grants and over $10 million in proposed… Read More
In 2011 the USA rated a grade of D+ on Infrastructure from the American Society of Civil Engineers, citing a need for a $3.6 TRILLION investment by 2020. Despite one of America’s favorite comedians, John Oliver, using comedy to call attention to this infrastructure problem on national television, not much is changing. Nor is the… Read More
John D. Macomber, Harvard Business School lecturer and construction finance expert addresses the long term challenge of infrastructure finance in the context of the short term public transit crisis facing the city of Boston and the MBTA in the city’s snowiest Boston winter on record… so far. The MBTA faces the same problems that confront every… Read More
Boston is divided about the possibility of hosting the Summer Olympics in 2024. Public concerns fall into three categories : How much will it cost? Will it distract from other priorities? What do we get out of this deal? The cost estimates range from $5 b with no cost from the citizenry to $20 b. … Read More
Article 3 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process. Prepared by Barbara Thornton A conversation about transportation issues extends well beyond rush hour car traffic congestion. As the Town contemplates its future 20 years from now, should it build wider streets, wider bike paths, wider sidewalks or none of the above? If… Read More
