Two months ago President Obama announced the recipients of eight billion dollars in federal funds for the construction of high-speed rail projects, with much of that money being given to Florida and California. Since then there has been much sparring over the federal money, suggestions that California's share will disappear into the state's budgetary black hole, and accusations that the agency charged with managing the funds is incompetent. Meanwhile, the UAE is embarking on its own high-speed system and China, which has built the world's most advanced train network—it will soon connect Shanghai to London—is bidding on contracts to build whatever lines the U.S. can afford. What lies in store for the U.S.? In issue 7 of Triple Canopy, Rustam Mehta and Thomas Moran of the VPL Authority, a public-private group developing a massive eco-friendly rail hub in the desert southwest, presented their group's plan for the future of transport in America—suburban sprawl meets Japanese efficiency. Read their prescient article here.