The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at the University of British Columbia has been designed to encourage researchers, doctors, and patients to interact while making it easy for impaired patients to find their way. 

The Connecticut DOT chose bus rapid transit from among many options for expanding capacity on Interstate 84 between New Britain and Hartford, determining that dedicated buses given the right of way could cut some commutes in half without breaking the bank. 

Civil engineering projects that focus on sustainability are among the 15 winners of the 2012 EPA P3 Awards selected from among entries submitted by 300 university and colleges. 

Punch list work is under way on the Portland Streetcar Loop extension project, which brings a modern streetcar system to the eastern side of the city of Portland for the first time. 

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has begun deconstruction work on the state’s longest bridge, known as the Crosstown Bridge, in Oklahoma City. The bridge’s longitudinal steel girders are being recycled so that they can be used for new county bridges within the state. 

The City by the Bay taps CH2M HILL to develop an interactive map that enables property owners to see if a small wind turbine installation is practical in their location. 

In Christchurch, New Zealand, an inspiring cathedral made of cardboard is set to rise from the rubble, a symbol of a new beginning in a hard-hit city. 

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County embraces nature by constructing an extensive network of gardens to attract wildlife and visitors alike. 

A new multiyear economic impact study conducted by researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey—in collaboration with the National Park Service and the World Monuments Fund—spotlights communities along the famed Route 66 corridor.

A charitable organization is teaming with faculty and students from a Georgia university to build sturdy homes in Haiti from the rubble left behind by the 2010 earthquake. 

The conceptual design of a curvilinear, single-tower pedestrian suspension bridge was approved by the City of St. Paul earlier this year. The bridge will cross a highway and railroad tracks, connecting the waterfront to a nature sanctuary. 

The 140-year-old structure will be a key link and enticing attraction in a more than 20 mi trail for pedestrians and cyclists in New York’s Wallkill Valley. 

By treating and reusing process water and generating electricity with photovoltaic panels, a food production facility in Arizona is trying to go “off the grid.” 

The annual readers’ choice awards bestowed by Minority Engineer magazine include several civil engineering firms among a mix of titans including Microsoft, Google, and General Electric. 

A curved, double bascule pedestrian bridge in Cleveland offers an elegant solution to tricky site constraints. 

A ground-mounted solar array on the campus of Occidental College near Los Angeles is designed to follow the undulating topography of the campus’s grounds. 

A new geothermal system ideal for dense urban environments has come to the United States. The system uses a heat-transfer process to turn large-scale sewer lines into geothermal wells. 

A wastewater treatment plant, in Oakland, California, that converts wastewater and trucked-in food waste to energy, has become the first such plant in the U.S. to generate more power than it uses. 

An order of nuns in Harlem is living out the ideal of environmental consciousness in a home built with rooftop gardens, solar panels, water-saving plumbing, and a rainwater collection system. 

Los Angeles has announced an international design competition to find the perfect cable-stayed structure to replace the historical 6th Street Bridge. 

A new report published by the National Academies focuses on the U.S. Department of Defense’s future STEM workforce needs. 

Two investigations into last summer’s fatal stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair reveal a structure with inadequate lateral load resistance and questionable decision making as a severe storm approached. 

The light-rail system in the Phoenix metro area is expanding after just three and a half years of operation. The first phase of a planned 37 mi extension—nearly double the current length—is expected to be ready by 2015. 

A five-story structure, portions equipped as a hospital, is being tested on the outdoor shake table at the University of California San Diego to help engineers understand the response of critical structures and their potential for remaining fully operational after an earthquake. 

The Natural Resources Defense Council looks at measures states are taking to address climate change water resource issues and finds few leaders. 

New York City moves forward on a series of sustainability zoning changes that could bring more solar panels and wind turbines to city roofs and reduce energy costs by $800 million a year. 

The bridges and station that comprise the latest extension to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Blue Line were designed to complement their surrounding communities. 

Redevelopment will come quickly for a historical Boston 6.2-acre property in a trendy neighborhood after a local newspaper moves out. 

A professor in Canada puts reinforced masonry to the test and finds some surprising results about how structural components interact during seismic events. 

Construction work has begun on a new rail bridge in Missouri that will remove the last rail bottleneck between the cities of St. Louis and Jefferson City. 

Mexico City’s building codes, strengthened after a powerful earthquake devastated the city in 1985, were put to the test in March. 

Fears of methane release from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf renew discussion of cloud whitening as a way to stop Arctic ice loss.