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The Planetizen News Brief

9 August 2007 - 7:00am
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The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

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Full Transcript

Have planners and social scientists been wrong all along? Could greater diversity actually be bad for cities? New research from Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam suggests it is, and that as demographics get more and more mixed, the situation will only get worse. At issue are Putnam’s findings that the greater the diversity in a city, it residents are less civically-engaged. This amounts to fewer people voting, volunteering, giving to charity, and even trusting their neighbors. The greatest diversity is found in cities, and the mix of many ethnic backgrounds, incomes and education levels tends to increase people’s perception of alienation. This, Putnam’s research argues, keeps people primarily to themselves and to their families and effectively removes them from civic life.

Meanwhile, rail advocates in Central Florida are celebrating the recent approval of a long-sought commuter rail system. The plan had been in the works for nearly 18 years and will consist of a 61-mile system connecting cities in four counties near Orlando. Residents and transit advocates have welcomed the approval of the $615 million project, which many in the state hope will reduce the region’s thick traffic congestion. The Orlando Sentinel reports that developers have already begun releasing plans for transit oriented housing and office developments near the system’s routes, and public officials are anticipating substantial job growth due to their cities’ newfound accessibility. Many have high hopes for the system, which is set to open in 2010, but the work has only just begun – not even the land for the system or the rights of way for its tracks have been purchased.

But while commuter rail is on the rise in Florida, magnetic levitation rail may be on its deathbed in China. The world’s only public mag-lev rail system in operation has had such little commercial success that many economists are saying it will never be embraced on a global scale. The International Herald Tribune reports that the Chinese mag-lev train system serving Shanghai has seen less than one-quarter of its expected demand, and that unless the system shows more success, other countries will be – and already are-- incredibly hesitant to spend the billions of dollars on their own mag-lev lines. And although nine projects are currently under consideration in the U.S., but funding limitations have kept them from moving anywhere beyond the drawing board.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

Is Diversity Bad For Cities?

Orlando Says Yes To Commuter Rail Plan

Do Maglev Trains Have A Future?

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In the long term, removing major urban freeways should be part of a more comprehensive approach to reduce automobile dependency by promoting public transportation and transit-oriented development.
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