Build a Bullet Train? California Can’t Even Build a One-Mile Rail Tunnel in San Francisco

The Golden State Is Bad at Big Projects, and Even Worse at the Little Ones

How is California ever going to finish its high-speed rail project when it still can’t finish San Francisco’s Downtown Rail Extension?

I can’t read Gavin Newsom’s mind, much less understand what he meant, or meant to mean, when he gave his State of the State speech and said something about a diminished high-speed rail line that would run only from Merced to Bakersfield.

But I can tell you that 23 years ago, a restauranteur named Gavin Newsom was appointed by San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to his first real gig in politics, …

by Joe Mathews | April 1, 2019

Can a Troubled Bridge Show California How to Avoid Big Errors?

The Bay Bridge’s New East Span Proves Why Megaprojects Must Be Both Transformational and Functional

by Joe Mathews | December 3, 2018

How do you learn from a really big mistake?

Walk across it.

Which is why I recently found myself putting on a windbreaker and beginning a long, slow walk across the east …

If You Can’t Beat the Bay Area, Join It

Solving Northern California’s Toughest Problems Requires a New Megaregion, from San Francisco and Tahoe to the San Joaquin and Salinas Valleys

by Joe Mathews | July 30, 2018

Welcome to the Bay Area, Merced!

Further north, welcome as well to Modesto, Sacramento, Placerville, and Yuba City. And, to the south, you’re invited, too, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, and …

The Next Great California Bridge Should Span the High Desert

Infrastructure Linking Palmdale and Victorville Could Boost L.A.—and All of North America

By Joe Mathews | July 10, 2017

What’s the fastest way to change California?

Assuming you don’t have the power to set off a major earthquake, your best bet would be to connect the two small desert cities …

In the Amazon Jungle or a California Subdivision, Sometimes Less Infrastructure Is More

Using Localized “Min-Frastructure” Prevents Costly Runaway Urban Sprawl

By Roger Sherman | May 2, 2017

The need for more infrastructure is one of the few areas of genuine bipartisan consensus in the United States. But my experiences working in two rapidly urbanizing regions outside this …

Vulnerable Voting Machines Are Putting America at Risk

How Antiquated Equipment Could Imperil Democracy Itself

By Lawrence Norden and Christopher Famighetti | November 25, 2016

Although more than half the country may be unhappy with the results, America dodged a bullet on Election Day. That is, our voting machines generally held up. The tabulations they …

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