Collective Form Weekly - December 6
Roadway deaths are rising, community-led planning efforts face major challenges, and Tuscon has issued an RFP for an eTOD study.
Welcome to the second weekly newsletter for Collective Form. This week, we’re sharing news and research that would be of interest to design and planning professionals along with anyone tracking developments in urban infrastructure.
Feel free to reach out with comments or suggestions on topics you’d like to see more of at hello@collectiveform.io.
The United States is one of the few countries in the developed world where traffic deaths have actually increased since the start of the pandemic, according to a new article by the New York Times.
“In 2021, nearly 43,000 people died on American roads…” according to the article. “…the recent rise in fatalities has been particularly pronounced among those the government classifies as most vulnerable — cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians.”
Community-led planning efforts to tap into grant funding for freeway removal studies from the $1 billion Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program are facing opposition from state departments of transportation. Advocates Warn ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Program Could Actually Expand Highways (Streetsblog)
The City of Tucson, Arizona has released an RFP for an eTOD (Equitable Transit Oriented Development Plan). The proposal submission deadline is January 5, 2023. Tucson eTOD (Equitable Transit Oriented Development Plan) Norte-Sur Phase II
Did an AI write this? The Internet is buzzing with the recent launch of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools — what does it mean for urban design and planning? We’ll explore this topic in the future…
In other news…
Amtrak gets $4.3B to improve intercity passenger rail network.
U.S. cities are investing billions of dollars to improve digital services and civic technology, including citizen engagement, as outlined in a recent CityLab article.
The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in 2021, is inspiring a frenzy of lobbying efforts as cities, states, and other public agencies compete for infrastructure funds.
Present With Insite
Last week, we announced the launch of Insite Early Access, a beta program for our new community engagement platform. The goal of this program is to work directly with project teams on urban design and planning projects to better understand how we can improve the community engagement process.
Our first few projects will focus on communicating location-based data for a given area in order to inform citizens around the public health consequences of urban freeways. From there, project teams will gather additional urban data and work with local citizens to create a shared vision for their community.
If you’re currently working on — or about to start — a planning study to better understand and communicate the effects of freeway removal, tell us about it! Head over to collectiveform.io and sign up to join the waiting list.