April 16, 2012
The Los Angeles Times quoted USC Price Distinguished Fellow Stan Ross, chairman the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, about possible real estate or media development in Chavez Ravine.
April 14, 2012
The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Associate Professor Lisa Schweitzer of the USC Price School about Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 30/10 transit plan and possible sources of funding for it. Schweitzer wrote that receiving federal funding may be a dream, but turning to California's Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, the European Investment Bank or the private global capital market may be viable options.
April 11, 2012
The Atlantic published an interview with USC Price Professor David Sloane focusing on his new book, Planning Los Angeles. The article states, "Covering everything from early planning documents to the impact of the recession to the challenges of regional transportation development, Planning Los Angeles is a comprehensive look at how the city has been shaped by urban planning. Sloane says the essays paint a more complete picture of where planners have done well in the city, where plans have fallen short and why, despite its reputation as an unplanned city, urban planning continues to mold L.A."
April 11, 2012
LA Streetsblog published a story by David Sloane, professor and director of undergraduate programs at USC Price. In the story, Sloane writes about CicLAvia, "a civic event that brings together people of many ages, races and ethnicities, from many neighborhoods around Los Angeles for a momentary 'ephemeral event' where they walk, ride, talk and laugh together. Such moments are crucial to the public life and culture of any city, but especially our city." Sloane added: "Too often Angelenos see the world through the windshield of their car, not imagining that they can safely move around their neighborhoods by other means, and do it faster and more efficiently." The story mentions that Sloane's newest book, Planning Los Angeles, will be released this week.
April 6, 2012
The New York Times ran an op-ed by Senior Fellow William Fulton of the USC Price School on whether Los Angeles should increase its urban density to be more like New York. "While L.A. is still fairly low-rise and auto-oriented over all, it's increasingly a place where you can live a more traditional car-free urban lifestyle," Fulton wrote. "New Yorkers may think that reinventing Hollywood as an urban center is nuts, but the truth is Hollywood already is an urban center."
April 6, 2012
California Watch quoted Professor Richard Little of the USC Price School about a lack of public services in unincorporated communities. The story noted that it received support from the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, a program of the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships administered by the USC Annenberg School.
March 30, 2012
Planetizen ran a Q&A with David Sloane, professor and director of undergraduate programs at USC Price, that discussed his new book, Planning Los Angeles. In the interview, Sloane said: "I would argue that planning is everywhere in LA: from the very grid that underlies the vast majority of the basin, to the way that the rivers are controlled, to the residential neighborhoods that are so carefully protected from commerce and from traffic. So, all those things are just classic elements of 20th century planning. The question then becomes, is it well planned? In some sense, that's what the book gets at as well, the successes and failures."
March 14, 2012
U.S. News & World Report featured several USC schools and programs in its 2013 edition of "Best Graduate Schools." The USC Price School was ranked No. 4 for Health Policy and Management; No. 6 in Public Affairs, up from No. 7 last year; No. 6 for Public Management Administration; No. 7 for City Management and Urban Policy; No. 7 for Nonprofit Management; No. 9 in Social Policy; No. 12 for Public Policy Analysis; and No. 21 for Public Finance and Budgeting.
February 16, 2012
Politico ran an op-ed by Associate Professor Lisa Schweitzer of the USC Price School, in which she wrote that the Obama administration has been clueless on transportation policy. The administration has tried to cover urban transport needs with federal funds, which come from suburban and rural taxpayers in addition to urban ones, Schweitzer noted. That creates friction and opens the president up to conservative criticism. She wrote that transit advocates need to start looking for funding at the local, regional and state levels. "Without a change in the federal gas tax, the days of federal largesse to transit are coming to a close," Schweitzer added.
February 13, 2012
The San Diego Union-Tribune ran a Q&A with USC Price Senior Fellow William Fulton about the "smart growth" planning concept, and noted that he was mayor of the city of Ventura.
January 18, 2012
Bloomberg News quoted Senior Fellow Sherry Jeffe of the USC Price School about Gov. Jerry Brown's balancing act between supporting California's proposed high-speed rail network and raising taxes.
January 9, 2012
The Associated Press quoted USC Price Professor Marlon Boarnet about a Hollywood Community Plan that would allow more skyscrapers along the Hollywood Corridor.
January 5, 2012
Leaders from government, business, academia, media and the community recently met at USC to discuss the state's energy future in a forum titled "Powering California." The November forum focused on California's increasing energy needs, the viability of various sources to meet those demands and the impact of energy development on growing the state's economy. The event was a joint effort by the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, The Communications Institute and Sandia National Laboratories.
December 14, 2011
The Center for Sustainable Cities, housed within the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, held its inaugural forum on climate change last month. Mary Nichols, chair of the California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board, offered the keynote address on the role of cities in mitigating climate change. USC Price professor Dan Mazmanian, director of the Judith and John Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public Enterprise and a member of the executive committee of the USC Center for Sustainable Cities, and Con Howe, managing director of CityView and a member of the latter center's advisory board, moderated a discussion following the speech.
December 12, 2011
Bloomberg News quoted Richard Green, USC Price professor and director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate, about Delta Air Lines investing in upgrades at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
December 2, 2011
The Ventura County Star profiled USC Price Senior Fellow William Fulton, an urban planner and mayor of the city of Ventura. Fulton is losing his sight as a result of retinitis pigmentosa. Due to the progression of the disease, he has announced that he will not seek reelection when his term is up this year. He will join a think tank in Washington, D.C., but will continue to teach a course at the Price School.
December 2, 2011
The Los Angeles Timesprofiled William Fulton, senior fellow at the USC Price School of Public Policy, an urban planner and mayor of the city of Ventura. Fulton is losing his sight as a result of retinitis pigmentosa, which limits his peripheral and depth perception. Due to the progression of the disease, he has announced that he will not seek reelection when his term is up this year. Fulton said that Americans with Disabilities Act issues surrounding accessibility are very real to him. "They're not an abstraction," he noted.
November 30, 2011
NPR Boston affiliate WBUR-FM's "On Point" interviewed Associate Professor Lisa Schweitzer of the USC Price School of Public Policy about California's plans for a high-speed rail system and a new estimated cost of nearly $100 billion. "This is a much better cost estimate," Schweitzer said, noting that initial estimates seemed unrealistically low at roughly $30 billion. Schweitzer said in 2008, she had students calculate cost estimates for the plan. They ranged from $85 billion to $110 billion. She said whether the cost is worth it depends on what voters value in terms what the project has to offer, including taking cars off the road and reducing accidents and pollution.
November 15, 2011
The Los Angeles Times quoted USC Price Senior Fellow Richard Little about Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's timeline for a recently proposed street repair plan. Little directs USC's Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, the story noted.
October 30, 2011
The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted Emeritus Professor Catherine Burke of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and Henry Koffman of the USC Viterbi School about a San Diego pipeline project whose builders asked for approval without reporting a total cost estimate.
October 9, 2011
The Columbus Dispatch quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about Ohio State University's sale of its parking operation to a private vendor. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
September 26, 2011
Politico quoted USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development Senior Fellow Richard Little about "shovel ready" infrastructure projects. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
September 14, 2011
LA Streetsblog quoted Professor Gary Painter of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development on his role as a member of the Measure R Oversight Committee Advisory Panel.
August 25, 2011
The Orange County Register ran an op-ed by Richard Little, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, about the role infrastructure projects could play in California's economic recovery. "There are currently billions of dollars in bonding authority for infrastructure already approved by voters but as yet uncommitted to projects," Little wrote. "Putting these billions to work now on long-overdue infrastructure projects would not only revitalize construction and related industries but would also ensure that other important sectors of the economy would have the infrastructure in place to support their activities in the future."
July 29, 2011
The Los Angeles Times published an op-ed by SPPD and USC Viterbi School of Engineering Professor James Moore on finishing the 710 Freeway. "In the best case, the political impasse over raising the nation's debt ceiling would lead to a new political reality for evaluating transportation projects: new rules that favor projects with needs and benefits solidly documented, with proven technology, and that do not push funding obligations onto future generations of taxpayers. The poster child for such a scenario would be the long-debated completion of the 710 Freeway," Moore wrote.
July 18, 2011
BBC News (U.K.) interviewed SPPD Senior Associate Dean and Professor Genevieve Giuliano about this weekend's partial freeway closure in Los Angeles, dubbed "Carmageddon."
July 15, 2011
ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV interviewed Professor Genevieve Giuliano of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development about this weekend's partial freeway closure in Los Angeles, dubbed "Carmageddon."
July 14, 2011
ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV interviewed SPPD Senior Associate Dean and Professor Genevieve Giuliano about this weekend's partial freeway closure in Los Angeles, dubbed "Carmageddon."
July 13, 2011
The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by SPPD Professor Lisa Schweitzer on whether the U.S., like Greece, might have to privatize large portions of its transportation system as a result of debt crisis. "So long as Americans refuse to even index gas taxes to inflation, let alone raise the tax outright, we won't be spending enough to maintain our transportation infrastructure, which means that its value will continue to fall," Schweitzer wrote. "That will make it difficult to attract private investment or get a fair price for state-owned assets if the government opts to privatize its transportation assets. Too many more years of disinvestment and we will have to make gun-to-the-head decisions like Greece's," she added.
July 12, 2011
La Opinion quoted Professor James Moore of SPPD and the USC Viterbi School about Los Angeles' hope that adding capacity to the 405 freeway will alleviate congestion in the long run.
July 8, 2011
The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal quoted Richard Little, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, about whether high-speed trains could share tracks with regular passenger and freight trains. Little is the director of USC's Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, the story noted.
July 7, 2011
L.A. Weekly quoted Professor James Moore of SPPD and the USC Viterbi School about the city's hope that adding capacity to the 405 freeway will alleviate congestion in the long run.
July 7, 2011
The Los Angeles Times quoted USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and USC Viterbi School of Engineering Professor James Moore about L.A. County adding toll lanes on the 10 and 110 freeways.
June 23, 2011
The Dallas Observer quoted SPPD Professor Lisa Schweitzer on whether streetcars actually improve transit conditions.
May 26, 2011
The Los Angeles Wave noted that Michael Kodama, adjunct associate professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, is executive director of the Orangeline Development Authority.
May 7, 2011
CW News Los Angeles affiliate KTLA-TV interviewed SPPD Adjunct Professor Errol Southers about al Qaeda plans to target train systems in the United States. Southers is the associate director of the USC CREATE Homeland Security Center.
May 5, 2011
The Kommersant (Russia) cited USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development Research Professor Adam Rose regarding the economic cost of the September 11 attacks.
April 29, 2011
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development gave new meaning to the words "travel planning" during the recent international planning studios in India and Argentina. Led by Tridib Banerjee, SPPD professor and director of graduate programs in urban planning, the two studios gave students an opportunity to put theory into practice, collaborating to address real-world planning challenges in international settings.
April 26, 2011
Seventy-nine students from the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development spent their spring break working with government agencies, nonprofits or consulting firms through the school's Externship Program. SPPD's Office of Career Services matches students with host organizations nationwide based on their skills and interests. They work on substantive projects and gaining real-world exposure to jobs relevant to their studies.
April 25, 2011
The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and USC Viterbi School of Engineering Professor James Moore about the drying up of funds for California's high-speed rail project. "California officials, lawmakers and citizens now have the opportunity to step back and reconsider the inflated promises that pervade the high-speed rail program," Moore wrote. "Railroads are a crucial component of the U.S. freight management and distribution system, but we do not need and cannot afford a high-speed rail system for passengers."
April 19, 2011
The METRANS Transportation Center has been named Organization of the Year by the California Transportation Foundation (CTF), a leading nonprofit providing support for the transportation community statewide. METRANS is directed by Professor Genevieve Giuliano, senior associate dean for research and technology at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
April 1, 2011
The Daily Trojan featured a Q&A with SPPD alumnus and transportation planner, Alan Hyun. Hyun took courses with SPPD Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Kodama. After graduating in 2010, he joined Kodama's urban planning consulting group.
March 23, 2011
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Gujarat and the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology University in India to establish a long-term institutional partnership in education and research.
January 22, 2011
The Fresno Bee quoted Professor James Moore of SPPD and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering about California's high-speed rail project.
December 5, 2010
The Hartford Courant mentioned a research project by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development graduate students, on economic development policies in Hartford, Conn.
October 27, 2010
The Fresno Bee quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about the timing of high-speed rail funds, mostly by Democratic lawmakers, to coincide with the upcoming election.
October 18, 2010
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development faculty members Richard Little and Mark Pisano spoke at a "Funding and Financing Solutions for Surface Transportation in the Coming Decade" conference at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. The conference, held last month, was co-sponsored by the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
October 15, 2010
The Wall Street Journal quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about the difficulties of construction projects that lead to increased costs. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
October 5, 2010
Researchers at the USC METRANS Transportation Center and the USC Integrated Media Systems Center have received a three-year, $1.8 million grant from L.A. County Metropolitan Transit Authority to create an integrated data system that ultimately could improve traffic flows in and around Los Angeles. The work will include development of applications in regional planning, traffic management, system performance and policy analysis. METRANS is directed by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor and senior associate dean Genevieve Giuliano.
September 27, 2010
The Laist cited USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and USC Viterbi School of Engineering Professor James Moore about an environmental impact report which found that the Subway to the Sea project would not relieve congestion in Los Angeles' Westside.
September 6, 2010
National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" interviewed SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about public-private partnerships in city parking systems. Little directs the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure at USC.
September 5, 2010
Interplan, a publication of the international division of the American Planning Association, featured an article (pp. 6-7) written by SPPD master of planning student Joy Kwong on the recent planning studio in Berlin. Fifteen SPPD graduate students collaborated with eight master of urban design students from Berlin's Technical University "in a planning studio to re-imagine the potential of the gray field sites surrounding Berlin's newest mega-project, Hauptbahnof," Kwong wrote.
August 17, 2010
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about public-private partnerships in city parking systems. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
August 15, 2010
The San Jose Mercury News quoted Professor Genevieve Giuliano about financing for a high-speed rail system in California. Giuliano is director of the METRANS Transportation Center, the story noted.
August, 8, 2010
Bloomberg News quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about public-private partnerships in city parking systems. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
August 2, 2010
The San Francisco Chronicle quoted SPPD Professor Genevieve Giuliano about reform of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Giuliano is director of the METRANS transportation research center.
July 31, 2010
The Fresno Bee quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about private investment in high-speed rail. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
June 7, 2010
The Financial Times (U.K.) quoted Richard Little, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, about infrastructure spending included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
May 16, 2010
The Modesto Bee cited research by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development graduate student Tiffany Chao, who produced a study with two colleagues on suburban infill development that included a case study on Modesto. The study recommends incentives for infill development as opposed to sprawl, the story noted.
May 7, 2010
During spring semester, 15 graduate students from the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development collaborated with students from the Technical University of Berlin on a comparative study of transit-adjacent urban redevelopment. "The overall focus of the Berlin planning studio was the large-scale redevelopment of inner-city rail station sites," said Deike Peters, a SPPD adjunct and director of the planning studio.
April 1, 2010
SPPD adjunct associate professor Michael Kodama scribbles on the board at USC's Von KleinSmid Center, trying to keep pace with a dozen students who are calling out transportation-related news headlines during his "Transportation Planning" class. "The first part of the class is led by the students," Kodama said. "They can talk about anything they want and put me on the spot for an hour." It's a fitting way for Kodama to kick off each session, since he's been making news himself as the new executive director of the Orangeline Development Authority.
January 29, 2010
The Wall Street Journal quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little on California receiving stimulus funding to seed high-speed rail plans. "There's a huge push for electric systems in the state to get emission-free transportation," said Little, who directs the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. Little also said it was "dicey" that California would be able to garner all the funding through conventional means; he expects other sources to be tapped, including more user fees, the story noted.
January 3, 2010
The Contra Costa Times quoted SPPD Associate Dean and Professor Genevieve Giuliano in an article about construction on the 405 freeway that will add a carpool lane through the Sepulveda Pass. Giuliano, who directs the METRANS Transportation Center, said that the new carpool lane will absorb about 15 percent to 25 percent of vehicles on the road today. "If those cars move into the carpool lane, the traffic will be more evenly distributed across the lanes," she explained.
November 27, 2009
The Los Angeles Times quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little in a story about slow progress on green jobs in California, despite targeted federal stimulus funding. The real effect will probably be seen in the first quarter of 2010, as projects move from the planning stage to implementation, said Little, who directs the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
November 4, 2009
More than 200 experts from the world of goods movement converged on the National Urban Freight Conference, which was organized by the METRANS Transportation Center, to discuss critical issues ranging from traffic to logistics to pollution. METRANS, a research partnership between USC and Cal State Long Beach, is directed by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor Genevieve Giuliano.
November 2, 2009
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development alumna Anupama Mann recently received the Gill-Chin Lim Award for the best dissertation on international planning for her thesis, "A Megaproject Matrix: Ideology, Discourse and Regulation in the Delhi Metro Rail." The award is given by the Global Planners Educators Interest Group at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
October 17, 2009
The New Planner, an online publication for and by student members of the American Planning Association, featured an article in its Fall 2009 issue written by Alan Huynh, a senior in the urban planning program at SPPD. His article is titled "The Importance of Transportation Demand Management."
October 14, 2009
KPCC-FM interviewed SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little in a story on the feasibility of a tunnel for the 710 freeway through Mt. Washington. "The tunnel is feasible from an engineering and financial standpoint, and if by taking the surface route off the table you could make that move forward, it seems to me to be a good thing to do," said Little, who directs the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. "I think tunnel-boring has come a long way. This isn't the old excavation method. It's a very elaborate but well established process."
September 28, 2009
The Chronicle of Higher Education featured SPPD Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Kodama and his work in transportation planning. Kodama was recently named executive director of the Orangeline Development Authority, charged with planning a high-speed rail system that will link 14 cities through Southern California. The story highlighted Kodama's transportation planning class, in which he requires his students to travel an assigned route on a commuter train and write an essay about the experience. Kodama also requires his students to develop their own public transit projects, which they discuss with transportation professionals and present to the class. Board members viewed Kodama's teaching background as a plus when they chose him to direct the project, said the development authority's chairman. "I've been involved with a lot of different transportation projects and they all find their ways back into the classroom," Kodama said. "Teaching is enjoyable and rewarding -- and I get to see where some of the students end up. I still run into quite a few of them."
September 28, 2009
The New York Times quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development in an article on recent water main breaks around Los Angeles. "I am one person who thinks there is something odd going on here," Little said, referring to a theory that fluctuations in water pressure related to the city's conservation efforts could be putting added stress on the city's pipelines. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
September 24, 2009
MSNBC quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about water main breaks in Los Angeles. The story cites changes in water use resulting from rationing rules as a possible cause. "Potentially it could cause a surge in flow," Little said. "Couple that together with old brittle pipes and that's not a good recipe." This was an Associated Press story. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
September 19, 2009
The Los Angeles Times quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little and Jean-Pierre Bardet of the USC Viterbi School about recent water main breaks around Los Angeles. Little and Bardet theorize that the city's watering restrictions, limiting watering to two specific days a week, may have something to do with the breaks. "As Sherlock Holmes used to say, when you eliminate everything, whatever is left is the reason... . If the pipe wasn't bad, and it [wasn't seismic activity] and it wasn't a funky contractor, well, what you've changed is this twice-a-week surge flow because of watering restrictions," said Little, director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. Bardet began informally consulting with Department of Water and Power officials last week on the water main problem, the story reported. Bardet said that rationing should be examined, but questioned why other cities with similar programs haven't seen a surge in blowouts. Fox News Los Angeles affiliate KTTV-TV and ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV also covered the story.
September 16, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development hosted members of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce this summer in the first stop of the Texas delegation's three-day Los Angeles tour aimed at exchanging information with local civic leaders and experts.
August 3, 2009
More than 160 leading experts, ranging from USC faculty to government officials and business executives, gathered at USC to address pressing infrastructure challenges facing the Southwest Megaregion, which encompasses Southern California and portions of Nevada and Northern Baja, Mexico. The conference was part of an America 2050 forum, sponsored by the Regional Plan Association, the USC Bedrosian Center and the USC Keston Institute.
July 7, 2009
The Orange County Register noted that SPPD Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Kodama has been named executive director of the project to develop a maglev train system for Southern California. Planners envision an elevated, 110-mile train line between Irvine and Palmdale, with overall costs estimated in the $12 billion range, the story stated.
June 30, 2009
The New York Times noted that Professor Genevieve Giuliano of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and USC doctoral student Mohja Rhoads selected the finalists for a Times essay contest on the worst roads in America.
June 28, 2009
The Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about a proposed high-speed train from Southern California to Las Vegas. Some have criticized the plan for locating the terminus in Victorville, 80 miles from Los Angeles, the story noted. "I don't think the Victorville connection is anybody's first priority for doing California's high-speed rail," he said. Little is director of the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
May 6, 2009
Reuters noted that SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little spoke at the Reuters Infrastructure Summit about a possible national infrastructure bond fund. Little's idea for such a fund seemed odd to officials in Washington a year ago, he said. Now they are giving it a second look, in light of the trillions of dollars in infrastructure work the U.S. may require in coming decades, Little added. "Why not create a vehicle where the federal government could issue infrastructure bonds?"
April 15, 2009
Appearing on a panel at the Financial Times' Asia Infrastructure Summit, Richard Little addressed the question of whether private investment in infrastructure could be Asia's highway to economic growth. Little is a senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
March 24, 2009
As the Obama administration prepares to disperse economic stimulus money for infrastructure, a timely new book sheds light on special districts -- the "shadow governments" that will be responsible for spending a large portion of these funds. In her book, Paying the Toll, Louise Nelson Dyble, associate director for research at the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, documented how the bridge district grew from well-intentioned public corporation with bipartisan support to notorious organization rife with corruption.
March 18, 2009
With cargo flow down about one-third since last year, port stakeholders packed the 10th METRANS Town Hall meeting on March 11 in Long Beach. More than 1,000 people, including longshore workers, terminal operators, logistics providers and elected officials, attended the event. The topic was how to make the San Pedro Bay ports competitive and protect high-paying local jobs.
March 13, 2009
The Ventura County Star quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which authorized $787 billion in federal stimulus spending. While the package was touted as an investment in infrastructure, some officials and analysts are disappointed with the amount that ended up being set aside for such projects, according to the story. The stimulus act is "a great bait-and-switch," Little said. "The whole thing was that this was all about infrastructure, and $50 billion isn't chump change, but it's not what the country needs," Little said. "I find that troubling. I think people were expecting maybe $200 billion or $300 billion for infrastructure." Little is director of the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, the story noted.
March 6, 2009
National Public Radio interviewed SPPD Senior fellow Richard Little about President Obama's infrastructure stimulus plan, which designates tens of billions of dollars for so-called "shovel-ready projects." Little, director of the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, discussed the impact of those projects on the nation's economic crisis and decaying infrastructure. "Essentially, it's projects that can be gotten underway within 120 days, meaning they are out to bid and ready to proceed," Little said. "The emphasis is on getting people to work and spending money," he added.
February 9, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the World Bank signed an agreement designed to merge scholarly research and specific program initiatives to address sustainable development in the East Asia and Pacific Region. The signing ceremony took place during a conference in Washington, D.C., focusing on challenges facing megacities in the developing world.
January 26, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development marked its 80th anniversary by hosting a special colloquium Jan. 16 at the Davidson Conference Center. During the conference, Dean Jack H. Knott noted that SPPD remains dedicated to advancing academic theory and making a vital impact in the world.
January 14, 2009
The Los Angeles Times quoted Richard Little about plans for federal infrastructure spending. After the initial round of funding, more thought and evaluation should come into play in determining worthy projects, Little said. "But first thing, you need to get the money flowing, get your contractors working," he noted. "You need to prime the pump." Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
January 10, 2009
The Ventura County Star quoted Richard Little about how President-elect Obama's proposed stimulus funds may be channeled into "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects. "The goal of the stimulus is just to get people working, get projects going and buying materials, which will trickle down through the economy," he said. "Whether infrastructure is always the best bang for the buck, there's some debate, but there are going to be some short-term benefits." Little is director of the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
January 6, 2009
Reuters quoted Richard Little about how President-elect Obama's proposed stimulus funds may be channeled into "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects. "We must save the patient first, then think about long-term strategy," Little said. "If the objective is to create jobs, we should focus on projects that are ready to go." Little is director of the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, the story noted.
December 21, 2008
The Los Angeles Times quoted Professor Genevieve Giuliano about the expected departure of L.A.'s Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Roger Snoble. "The next person is going to have to be hardheaded about the market for some of these capital investments," Giuliano said. If not, the cost of running and building rail could drain agency coffers, she noted. Guiliano is senior associate dean for research and technology at SPPD and director of the METRANS Transportation Center.
December 16, 2008
The New York Times published a statement on infrastructure stimulus spending, signed by SPPD's Richard Little and Mark Pisano and 24 other infrastructure experts. "A new approach is needed that establishes a new level of accountability, transparency, and economic and environmental performance for how this country invests in infrastructure projects," the experts wrote. "We should only invest in projects that achieve job creation in the short run while creating the foundation for long-term economic success and energy independence." Little is director of the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, and Pisano is a senior fellow at SPPD.
December 12, 2008
Eight USC students conducting research on transportation projects ranging from toll roads to airport runway incursions have been recognized with scholarships from two Southern California chapters of the Women's Transportation Seminar. Two of those students are from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
November 30, 2008
The Los Angeles Times quoted Assistant Professor Lisa Schweitzer about the light rail extension set to join Union Station with East Los Angeles. Rail lines mean access, which is valuable, Schweitzer said. Rail means a bump in property values, with land around the line becoming "perpetually valuable," she added.
November 20, 2008
The impact of Hurricane Katrina continues to be felt in the New Orleans region and beyond as researchers and policymakers examine what went wrong and how to deal with the effects of a similar disaster in the future. The latest contribution comes from a team of professors at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, who edited and wrote chapters for Natural Disaster Analysis After Hurricane Katrina: Risk Assessment, Economic Impacts and Social Implications.
November 6, 2008
Dr. Louise Nelson Dyble, associate director for research at the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, recently received the American Public Works Association (APWA) Michael Robinson Award for her article, "Revolt Against Sprawl: Transportation and the Origins of the Marin County Growth-Control Regime."
October 29, 2008
During an Oct. 21 panel hosted by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry said that the goal of downtown's revitalization effort is to restore "the excitement of an earlier time." The changing downtown landscape was the focus of the panel discussion, which took place inside City Hall. The event was part of the SPPD Dean's Speaker Series.
October 22, 2008
METRANS celebrates 10 years of research and education on metropolitan transportation. For the past decade, the center has aimed at "generating the highest quality basic and applied research," according to METRANS Director Genevieve Giuliano, professor and senior associate dean at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
August 12, 2008
SPPD Assistant Professor Lisa Schweitzer was quoted in the Los Angeles Times about transportation policy and the presidential election. "I think both sides of the political spectrum agree that Americans' consumption patterns have to change," Schweitzer said in a story on USC's Election 2008 Web site, cited by the Times. "For example, we had President Bush's 'addicted to oil' comments in his State of the Union address a few years ago. Barack Obama has transit in his platform, and John McCain's platform includes advanced transportation technologies to deal with both energy and climate change. Everybody sees the writing on the wall clearly enough; the devil is in the implementation."
July 29, 2008
In a Los Angeles Times story, Prof. Gary Painter was quoted about the penalty for delays with Los Angeles' Grand Avenue project. The board overseeing the project approved a measure stipulating that if the project is delayed beyond February, the developer will be fined $250,000 a month. Financial penalties like this can sometimes help get projects moving, Painter said. He added that $250,000 per month seemed not a large sum of money relative to the scale of the project.
June 11, 2008
A study by Genevieve Giuliano was cited in a Los Angeles Times story on traffic congestion in southern California. "People say they want less traffic, but they don't want to be forced to alter their habits," the story stated. The mandatory changes required for the 1984 Olympics worked because the changes required were temporary, according to Giuliano's study.
The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy was well represented at the American Planning Association's national planning conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 14-17. To coincide with the conference, David Sloane, professor and director of undergraduate programs for USC Price, edited the book Planning Los Angeles, published by the American Planning Association, using contributions from many USC Price faculty and alumni to catalog the history and trends that impact planning in the city.
Rapid urbanization has created a need for sustainable funding and financial strategy for infrastructure renewal in China, said Richard Little, a senior fellow at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, in a seminar offered on March 7 by USC Price and the METRANS Transportation Center. In 1980, China's population was just 20 percent urbanized. Today, that number has reached about 50 percent. To support this unprecedented growth, the country has invested enormous sums to provide transportation, power, communications, sanitation and other basic infrastructure.
The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy was among several USC schools and programs that ascended in the latest national rankings released by U.S. News & World Report . The Price School climbed to sixth place (from seventh in 2008) in the newest edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools" for public affairs.
Genevieve Giuliano, professor and transportation researcher at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, has been chosen to receive the Distinguished Researcher Award, an honor that includes two Nobel Prize winners among its past recipients, from the Transportation Research Forum. Giuliano, senior associate dean of research and technology at USC Price, is the first woman to receive the award in its 35-year history.
City planners long have debated how to get people on their feet and cars off the road. But encouraging urban dwellers to go pedestrian could require different strategies depending on their attitudes toward walking, according to USC Sol Price School of Public Policy professor Marlon Boarnet. The research comes at a time when scholars from multiple disciplines tout the value of walking for health and environmental benefits as much as to alleviate congestion.
How can an online game educate Californians about carbon emissions? What's the best way for the California government to prepare for the baby boomer retirement? Can private canine companies provide an effective and reasonably priced screening method to enhance airline security? These are a few of the real-world issues that USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development MPP students tackled during the 2011 Policy Analysis Practicum.