Now that General Motors is facing financial ruin and seeking a federal bailout, Harvey Wasserman argues that before it receives any help, GM must redress its participation in the conspiracy to destroy America's mass transit system.
"Bail out General Motors? The people who murdered our mass transit system? First let them remake what they destroyed.
In a 1922 memo that will live in infamy, GM President Alfred P. Sloan established a unit aimed at dumping electrified mass transit in favor of gas-burning cars, trucks and buses. GM [had] lost $65 million in 1921. So Sloan enlisted Standard Oil (now Exxon), Philips Petroleum, glass and rubber companies and an army of financiers and politicians to kill mass transit.
GM has certainly proved itself unable to make cars that can compete while healing a global-warmed planet. So let's convert the company's infrastructure to churn out trolley cars, monorails, passenger trains, truly green buses."
Read the full story: GM Must Re-Make the Mass Transit System it Murdered
Stimulus For Transit, Un-Stimulus For Auto Industry
Funding in the federal stimulus package for high speed rail has been cheered by transit advocates across the country. This opinion piece argues that in addition, funds should be taken away from the auto industry.
California invests $2.7 billion in over 150 transportation projects
The fund allocates money to transit upgrades and safety improvements to streets surrounding schools, among other ventures.
Providence train station to gain new bus hub
The new hub will replace the one currently located at Kennedy Plaza.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Metra may invest $9.1 billion in regional rail
The agency released a draft of a study examining potential ways to offer more frequent train service.
California city breaks ground on transit connector
The project includes three mobility hubs and a pedestrian bridge.
After public outcry, Massachusetts city releases housing development tracker
Cambridge’s tracker currently shows 250 housing projects in various stages of development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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