Is it still possible to promote new bicycling and walking options in harmony with vehicular traffic? Or as city space gets more limited, will planners have to take sides?

There was talk in New York recently about tearing down the Sheridan Expressway in the Bronx and replacing it with open space along the Bronx River -- about 13 acres' worth, according to the New York Times. The paper summed up the clash by calling the Sheridan "a reliable thoroughfare for truckers and an eyesore for Hunts Point residents" and saying it had become "a battleground in a national fight to take urban spaces back from the automobile." John Norquist, president of the Congress for the New Urbanism, was quoted as saying, "We're rolling back the freeway system." 

As the Transportation Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development team up to award planning money for "sustainable community" projects, what should they be looking for?

The DOT and HUD formally announced last week that they're making available $75 million for planning on "projects that integrate transportation, housing and economic development." Those projects could include anything from zoning changes allowing more development near transit centers to freight corridors designed for minimum impact on the surrounding area. The alliance is intended to ease the bureaucracy of dealing with multiple agencies. DOT's share of the money is $35 million in TIGER II Planning Grants.

Read more: What To Look For In Transportation-Housing Projects?

Should Mass Transit Get $2 Billion In Emergency Operating Aid?

Public transportation systems across the country are under tremendous pressure as the recession has reduced the state and local revenue streams that help fund their operating expenses to nearly a trickle. According to the American Public Transportation Association, 84 percent of transit systems have cut service or raised fares, or might do so. More than half have cut jobs and a third have laid off employees, APTA says.

In response, eight Democratic senators from the Northeast and Midwest have introduced legislation to provide transit systems with $2 billion in emergency aid to cover their operating budgets. By law, mass transportation can only use its share of revenues from the Highway Trust Fund, which provides most federal funding for transit programs, to pay for capital expenses.

Read more: Listening to Low-Income People

In the United States, transportation infrastructure is lagging significantly behind the commercial and residential building sectors in environmental sustainability. Although we have an internationally recognized standard for determining that a building was designed and built and is being maintained according to various measures of sustainability (LEED green building certification), there is no universally accepted method for transportation infrastructure.

Read more: Does Transportation Need A Sustainability Measurement System?