Public-Private Partnerships
Talking Headways Podcast: Caretakers of the Public Realm
This week we’re joined by Andrew Jones, program director for the Uptown and Downtown Oakland Community Benefits District. We chat about urban place management, how urban spaces are taken care of, and what it takes to keep them vibrant and engaging. It's really important.
April 6, 2023
Talking Headways Podcast: A Tour of Canadian Transit
Learn about the light rail in Ottawa, where they know when they need to expand!
June 30, 2022
Talking Headways Podcast: Who Represents ‘The Community’ — Part II
In Part 2 of our conversation with Jeremy Levine, assistant professor of organizational studies and sociology at the University of Michigan, we discuss how people talk about “the community” and what public outreach and participation could look like.
March 24, 2022
Talking Headways Podcast: Who Represents “The Community” Part 1
Jeremy Levine, an assistant professor of organizational studies and sociology at the University of Michigan, talks about his book "Constructing Community: Urban Governance, Development, and Inequality in Boston." How do neighborhood groups, elected officials, and public servants claim the mantle of representing “the community”? Part 1 of 2.
March 17, 2022
NYC Banished Cars for Buses — You Can, Too!
Some great advice and lessons from TransitCenter Director of Research Steven Higashide, author of "Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit."
October 17, 2019
City Officials Seek To Mold the Future of Driverless Cars
Using autonomous vehicles as a chance to shape streets for people.
September 10, 2019
Public-Private Partnerships Will Not Save U.S. Infrastructure
A panel of experts told Congress that, even with perfectly executed public-private partnerships, the federal government still needs to provide its own support -- especially for projects, like transit lines, that aren't guaranteed to generate toll revenue for profit-seeking investors.
May 17, 2017
How Macquarie Makes Money By Losing Money on Toll Roads
This is the second post in a three-part series about privately financed highways. Part one introduced the Indiana Toll Road privatization as an example of shoddily structured infrastructure deals. Part three looks at how faulty traffic projections lead bad projects to get built, and how the public ends up paying for those mistakes.
November 19, 2014
The Indiana Toll Road and the Dark Side of Privately Financed Highways
This is the first post in a three-part series on the Indiana Toll Road and the use of private finance to build and maintain highways. Part two takes a closer look at how Australian firm Macquarie manages its infrastructure assets. Part three examines the incentives for consultants to exaggerate traffic projections, making terrible boondoggles look like financial winners.
November 18, 2014
Answers to Your Top 6 Questions About Obama’s New Infrastructure Initiative
Last week, President Obama announced that amid Congressional dysfunction around transportation funding, he was taking action to foster infrastructure investment and economic growth. The Build America Investment Initiative will provide technical assistance to communities looking for guidance on how to leverage private dollars to build public works. But the initiative doesn’t actually provide any dollars itself.
July 21, 2014