Photo by Maryland GovPics on Flickr.

It’s been ten years since Boston finished one of the country’s biggest-ever transportation projects, Minneapolis suburbs might build an express bus network, and it turns out sprawl contributes to fatal car crashes. Check out what’s happening around the country in transportation, land use, and other related areas!

Dig, dug: It’s been ten years since the completion of the Big Dig, a project to burrow under the soul of Boston. All told, it cost $24 billion. Was it worth it? (Boston Globe)

To boldly go: Four agencies near Minneapolis are hoping to build a suburb-to-suburb express bus line. It’s an experiment in transit service that you don’t see in many places. (Streets.mn)

Risky business: Sprawl is a major risk factor for fatal auto collisions, says a study out of the University of Utah. (Urban Studies Journal)

Hogan’s heros: The NAACP is suing the state of Maryland for cancelling the Red Line transit project and redistributing money to suburban transportation projects. It says the move violates the civil rights of the African American community the Red Line would have served. (Washington Post)

Skybox: With large towers going up rapidly in NYC and other major cities, one of the world’s top architects says we need to be mindful of incorporating human needs into the design of work, community, and living spaces. If more, taller buildings is our only focus, what we make won’t be useful for humans. (Wall Street Journal)

Surely certified?: A neighborhood in Florida with a very low walk score and where houses are designed with auto garages at the very front just received the best environmental certification possible. Another leading architect says the requirements for LEED Platinum certification need an update. (Treehugger)

Quote of the week:

“A bistro has a distinctive sonic profile that’s textured, enveloping, open, bright. You can imagine the clink of glasses and plates, the scrunch of bodies on leather banquettes, the hum of voices reflecting off mirrors and windows. The sound is inextricable from the experience, like the smell of roast chicken or freshly baked bread.” - Michael Kimmelman in the New York Times on sound in architecture.

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Jeff Wood is the Principal of The Overhead Wire, a consulting firm focused on sharing information about cities around the world. He hosts a weekly podcast called Talking Headways at Streetsblog USA and operates the daily news site The Overhead Wire.