Chapter 9 is the section of the National Bankruptcy Code that provides for the reorganization of debt incurred by municipalities such as cities, towns, counties, and villages. The very first municipal bankruptcy was filed in the United States in 1934 during the Great Depression. While the provision has been around for 60 years, there have [...]
In 2010, I was involved in a campaign to bring light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) to Tampa and Hillsborough County, Florida. The measure did not pass, and every day I see a portion of land that was purchased for the light rail line from my office. Seeing that every day, combined with my [...]
It has been a wonderful experience writing various blogs pertaining to urban planning issues in the Montreal, Canada area, as well as learning the advantages of professional logo design. After six months, it is with much regret that I am leaving my blog-writing position at Global Site Plans (GSP), but this lets me do more [...]
Taksim Square, in Istanbul, Turkey, is one of the liveliest public spaces in the city. It was a part of the modernization project of the newly-formed republic in the late 1930s. Like many other parts of the city, it was based on the plans of Henri Prost, the prominent representative of the French school of [...]
Montreal has long been a bike-friendly city, with well over 500 kilometres (or 310 miles) of bike paths on Montreal Island to date. An interactive map of bike paths in the metropolitan area shows these paths. In fact, in 2011, Montreal was ranked the best city in North America for bicycling (and eighth worldwide). In [...]
The Tempe, Arizona Orbit Bus System is a thorough system that connects most areas of Tempe. It is very efficient, and it is completely free to ride. Currently, I have a car but opt to take the bus because it is quicker and easier. So, I ride the bus to class every day of the [...]
The subway system in New York City is one of the most extensive public transit systems in the world. Nonetheless, the number of people living, working, and traveling through the East Side has been steadily increasing since the 1940’s and the Lexington Avenue Line (4, 5, and 6 trains) is now operating beyond its capacity. [...]
Master-planned communities are all-inclusive neighborhoods that are located on the fringe of the urban core. While these have been lauded in the past for incorporating an all-inclusive design, they also have been blamed for perpetuating the movement of people and families to the outskirts of town and perpetuating urban sprawl. The city of Tampa, Florida [...]
Greater Montreal is one of the few large metropolitan areas in North America that do not have effective beltways (or ring-roads) surrounding the metropolitan region. This situation prevents passing vehicles from bypassing the inner parts of the city. There were plans to build two partial beltways north of Montreal (Autoroutes 440 and 640), but certain [...]
Bogota, Curitiba, and Guayaquil are very different South American cities that share something in common: they have the most successful and longest-running BRT systems in the world. BRT stands for Bus Rapid Transit, which is an innovative, low-cost model for making buses run more like express subways. It combines the speed and reliability of fixed-rail [...]
