In the News

Dive Brief: Advocates for safe and equitable walking infrastructure shared their experiences working for reforms to longstanding jaywalking laws during a virtual event hosted last week by America Walks, a national nonprofit focused on mobility justice. California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Virginia have each recently taken up this issue, with different aims and outcomes. Cities including Kansas City, Missouri,... read more →

It's been over half a year since the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) became law, and local officials are continuing to allocate, process, distribute, and make sense of how the tranches of millions of federal dollars individual cities are receiving will impact municipal operations and residents’ quality of life in... read more →

Columbus, Ohio, wrapped up a federal grant-funded program earlier this year that allowed the city to roll out advanced smart technology, with a focus on helping its underrepresented communities. The state capital beat out more than 70 other U.S. cities to win up to $50 million in public and private... read more →

The Office of the D.C. Auditor will undertake a 10-month investigation into the work of the District’s Vision Zero program, the city’s flailing effort to eliminate traffic deaths and major injuries by 2024. While the District Department of Transportation has implemented a number of interventions, the numbers are stark: D.C. hit... read more →

Dive Brief: It is possible to achieve zero traffic fatalities if we "fundamentally rethink" the nation’s approach to transportation planning, even as traffic deaths continue to climb, said U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy at the Governors Highway Safety Association’s (GHSA) annual conference in Denver on Monday. An estimated 8,730 people... read more →

San Jose leaders embarked on a mission nearly a decade ago to transform the nation’s 10th largest city into a network of vibrant villages where people could live, work, shop, bike and play all within blocks of each other. Single-story strip malls and stand-alone shops and restaurants would be replaced... read more →

Dive Brief: The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the International Council on Clean Transportation and other nonprofits and industry groups have awarded Chicago, San Diego and San Jose, California, each with a $100,000 grant to support local partners working to achieve 100% zero-emissions commercial vehicles in their cities by 2030, according... read more →

To advance federal policies that make cities more sustainable, equitable and innovative, several smart city organizations, companies and leaders formed a new lobbying coalition late last month. The Coalition for Urban Innovation's founding members include Sidewalk Labs, the Smart Cities Council, Replica, and Via Transportation, among others. The coalition's advisory board also touts... read more →

Dive Brief: The federal government could save more than $1 billion by replacing nearly all of its light-duty vehicles and buses with electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of the decade, according to a new report from Atlas Public Policy released Wednesday by the Electrification Coalition. The report finds that by 2025,... read more →

Dive Brief: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed legislation meant to accelerate development of high-speed rail in the state, including a proposed route from Chicago to St. Louis. The High-Speed Railway Commission Act would form a 21-person commission tasked with creating a plan for a high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis, then use... read more →