The American and Canadian governments are caught in a "policy paradox:" they want to promote green vehicles but they need to save their domestic auto industries. Both may not be possible, says Konrad Yakabuski.
"From gas-powered subcompacts to fuel-efficient diesel engines to all-electric vehicles, the market for green cars is about to reach a tipping point. Just how fast it happens, though, will depend on how governments on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border juggle a set of conflicting objectives.
On one hand, they are vowing to crack down on carbon-emitting activities such as driving gas guzzlers. They are promising to impose tougher fuel-efficiency standards on auto makers. They are pushing public transit like never before.
On the other hand, the same governments are propping up Chrysler and General Motors Corp. with billions of dollars in order to save jobs. Staving off the car companies' collapse revolves around getting consumers to buy more of the larger vehicles that dominate the companies' current offerings, emissions be damned.
The auto bailouts, for all their expediency, represent a case of government policy at odds with itself."
FULL STORY: Green Dreams, Unplugged
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.
EV Infrastructure Booming in Suburbs, Cities Lag Behind
A lack of access to charging infrastructure is holding back EV adoption in many US cities.
Seattle Road Safety Advocates Say Transportation Levy Perpetuates Car-Centric Status Quo
Critics of a proposed $1.3 billion transportation levy say the package isn’t enough to keep up with inflation and rising costs and fails to support a shift away from car-oriented infrastructure.
Appeals Court: California Emissions Standards Upheld
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, the nation's two most powerful environmental regulatory agencies, won an important round in federal court last week. But the emissions standards battle may not be over.
Barrett Planning Group LLC
City of Cleburne
KTUA Planning and Landscape Architecture
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
City of Laramie, Wyoming
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