Benjamin Ross discuss highway expansions, lexus lanes, and congestion charging as he refutes conservative "free-market fundamentalists" such as Wendell Cox, Randal O'Toole, Peter Gordon, and Sam Staley.
"Broadsides against transit issued by researcher-publicists like Wendell Cox, Randal O'Toole, Peter Gordon, and Sam Staley set the tone of conservative thinking. These writers present themselves as free-market fundamentalists. The American transportation system, they argue, is a success, its domination by the automobile a reflection of consumers' preference for driving their own cars. But when you scratch below the surface, their devotion to the sovereign consumer and the efficient market is a pose; concealed beneath the rhetoric is a defense of ever-increasing subsidies to the highway lobby."
"Decades of highly subsidized automobile use have introduced vast economic distortions in American transportation and land use. They impose an increasing price in economic inefficiency, environmental damage, and loss of livable communities. But the misguided policies of the past have been built into the landscape, and they will not be easily undone.
Escape from traffic gridlock requires a shift toward price mechanisms in transportation; but the transition can only occur at a measured pace. It took more than half a century to build our present sprawl, and it will take decades to replace it with something better."
FULL STORY: Stuck in Traffic: Free-Market Theory Meets the Highway Lobby
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
How California Transit Agencies are Addressing Rider Harassment
Safety and harassment are commonly cited reasons passengers, particularly women and girls, avoid public transit.
Significant Investments Needed to Protect LA County Residents From Climate Hazards
A new study estimates that LA County must invest billions of dollars before 2040 to protect residents from extreme heat, increasing precipitation, worsening wildfires, rising sea levels, and climate-induced public health threats.
Federal Rule Raises Cost for Oil and Gas Extraction on Public Lands
An update to federal regulations raises minimum bonding to limit orphaned wells and ensure cleanup costs are covered — but it still may not be enough to mitigate the damages caused by oil and gas drilling.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.