A 2012 report on the return of tramways to France by the Ministry for Ecology, Stustainable Development and Energy has been added to the Research Center best practices database.

Editor's Note: This week's excerpt from Are We There Yet? explores why communities need to pay attention to the ongoing reorganization of job markets in order to provide people of all skill levels with the transportation choices they need to access opportunity. This is what will make regions more competitive nationally and globally.
Visit the Are We There Yet? home [N]ot everybody works for Google or has the option of using transit. Even though transit ridership has been at record highs — transit use has increased 38 percent since 1995 — transit agencies across the country are facing unprecedented fiscal crises in this recession, and they are laying off workers, cutting back service and raising fares at the worst possible time. The transit riders who are being left stranded tend to be older, African-American or Latino. “As employers and commuters everywhere know only too well, public transportation is an essential…

Visit the Are We There Yet? home Some places just don’t have the density of jobs and residents and intensity of activity that justifies an investment in rail transit. Many of these communities are investing in bus and shuttle service as well as in programs that make it easier and more pleasant to carpool, walk and bike to jobs in an urban or suburban downtown, and to get healthier while doing it. Des Moines, for example, which has a population 400,000, has been investing nearly $2 million a year to make the downtown more walkable and create a network of bike lanes and trails. Google — which offers job perks that are the envy of Silicon Valley, including chef-prepared food at all hours — is trying to make commutes as painless as possible by ferrying its pampered workers on shuttles that run on biodiesel, with leather seats, wi-fi, and even room for dogs. The Google shuttle carries a quarter of the company’s…

FTA Joint Development Proposed Circular After much anticipation, the Federal Transit Administration released its Joint Development Proposed Circular today. The proposed circular defines the term "joint development", explains eligible activities for FTA funding, describes the legal requirements applicable to the acquisition, use and disposition of FTA funded real property, and outlines the most common crosscutting requirements. The FTA is requesting comments on the proposed circular until April 5, 2013. Federal Register Link Download Joint Development Proposed Circular National Online Dialogue FTA has announced an online dialog seeking ideas on how to effectively include transit operators on…

Editor's Note: This week’s excerpt from Are We There Yet? introduces a growing tension in America. The shift in the American economy from manufacturing and production to services and information has been decades long, and have major implications for our economic success. Attracting talent, through investing in complete communities is one method for region’s to capture some of that elusive “talent” that drives economic competitiveness, but the challenges facing the shrinking middle class (as those jobs that were once the backbone of the American middle class disappear) are real and growing.
Visit the Are We There Yet? home In order to address the growing income disparity, and stay competitive in this 21st century reorganization of markets, labor and resources, the American landscape is likely to change at least as much as it did in the years following World War II. Then the U.S. built a national highway system…

Transportation for America will hold a webinar Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 1pm EST to explore how the new 2012 federal transportation bill affects rural communities.

The Federal Transit Administration will hold three public webinars to discuss the New Starts final rule published on Jan. 9 in the Federal Register and the accompanying proposed policy guidance, available on the website here. Comments on the proposed guidance are due March 11.

The November 2012 "Orange Line Opportunity Corridor Report" report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) in Boston has been added to the Resource Center best practices database.