"Beam me to Philadelphia, Scotty": A "utopian" observation about public infrastructure. Seamless transportation that can be expeditiously planned, designed and constructed through a series of massive interstate initiatives without regard for jurisdictional boundaries - transportation capable of delivering people to their destination without requiring a single transfer has always been the definitive regional dream; the quest for that perfect "one seat ride".

A fitting irony for this visionary transportation fantasy would be that technology reaches a point in the next 50 years where the construction of endless rail networks and mega-airport terminals is rendered obsolete by the ability to transport people through the airwaves in classic "Star Trek" fashion. The question then becomes what to do with all that real estate and infrastructure history.

Robert Davidson
Chief Architect
Port Authority of NY&NJ

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