Last summer, most of the nation was justifiably outraged when Raquel Nelson was convicted of vehicular homicide because her four-year old son stepped off a median into oncoming traffic and was killed. Common sense alone should have kept this case from going to trial, but I believe this case should have raised a bigger and more encompassing issue for planners and a question of social ethics: What is the responsibility we take as individuals for the choices we make living in an urban environment?
Transportation
Brown's California Reorganization Separates Transportation and Housing
Jerry Brown has proposed a huge governmental streamlining to make the state more efficient. But in the process he is proposing separating transportation and housing -- now housed in one agency -- and putting them in separate agencies.
California Planning & Development Report
The High Cost of Free Roads
In Wisconsin, taxpayers pay roughly $779 per household for roads and $50 for transit. But most drivers still believe that transit is subsidized and roads pay for themselves, writes Tanya Snyder.
Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Tea Party Candidate Nixes Transit Center
They mayor of Troy, Mich. chooses ideology over investment, The Atlantic's says Eric Jaffe.
The Atlantic
VIA Clashes With San Antonio City Council Over Wireless Streetcar Plan
VIA Metropolitan Transit Company met with the city council regarding future plans involving a new streetcar line. According to Vianna Davila, "VIA must drastically change its streetcar proposal if it wants the city to help pay for the project."
My San Antonio
Electric DeLorean Scheduled to Hit Streets in 2013
DeLorean Motor Company has not only resurrected that iconic car many remember from 'Back to the Future,' but have made it a true car from the future. The 2013 DMC-12 EV will run on lithium-ion batteries, making it fully electric.
Your Atascocita News
$2 Congestion Fee When Parking In Downtown Chicago
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to use congestion fees to help fund a new rail station and the city's first bus rapid transit line. Anyone parking in a downtown lot will be required to pay an additional $2 on top of the existing parking fee.
Streets Blog
Partisanship Stalls Infrastructure Investment, Says Blumenauer
Congressional support for transportation and infrastructure projects has traditionally been bipartisan. In an interview, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon discusses how political tantrums in Congress may handicap the US in the long run.
The Planning Report
What Would Happen If All Public Transportation Stopped?
The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) released its 2011 Urban Mobility Report, which shows how many additional hours in traffic each commuter would be subject to if public transportation were discontinued.
Urbanophile
Solyndra, Moneyball, and Lessons for Planning
Sat, 10/01/2011 - 15:37
The Los Angeles Times recently had a story about the collapse of Solyndra – the once heralded poster-child of the Obama administration’s green jobs plan. A big part of Solyndra’s demise was due to the rapidly falling price of their competitors’ solar panels. In 2008, the cost of solar panels was a bit over $4 for each watt generated. Solyndr
My Future City is Houston?
The BMW Guggenheim Lab has released an online urban planning game called "Urbanology," which asks a serious of questions to determine the type of city you think is the future.
TheCityFix.com
Florida Found Most Dangerous Place for Pedestrians
Four Florida metropolitan areas recently ranked as the most dangerous places for pedestrians, according to a survey by Transportation America.
New York Times
Will Postcarbon Cities be More Kid-Friendly?
The post-carbon city will require dramatically different planning. Why not plan them with children in mind, writes Jason McLennan?
Yes! Magazine
Most Successful Bus Rapid Transit Stalls Out
Bogota, Columbia's TransMilenio bus rapid transit system has been widely praised and imitated around the world. However, many consider the successful bus system to be suffering from its own success.
www.TheCityFix.com
Santa Monica's Ambitious Plan For 'No Net New Car Trips'
Beachside Santa Monica recently launched an ambitious Land Use and Circulation Element, which will balance growth, neighborhoods, and traffic. The plan has received accolades, and the city has become a model for consensus-based planning.
The Planning Report
California Law Doesn't Stop Sprawl
A draft report from San Diego reveals that California's SB 375 law, which passed in 2008, was ineffective in reducing sprawl in the long term, Ethan Elkind writes for the UCLA UC Berkeley Legal Planet blog.
Legal Planet
Building Roads to Cure Congestion Is an Exercise in Futility
University of Toronto professors say that building more roads just encourages more driving. Building transit doesn't help reduce congestion either, though it still maximizes the value of the transportation system.
Streetsblog Capitol Hill
U.S. Builds Roads That Kill Pedestrians
A new report from Transportation for America says that more than half of pedestrian fatalities happen on arterial roads that lack ped-friendly design - and therefore are preventable.
Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Philadelphia Leads the Largest Cities in America for Bicycle Mode Share
A new report from The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia shows that Philadelphia's bicycle mode share is more than double that of Chicago's (the big city with the second-greatest share).
philly.com
Budget Cuts Take Bite Out of Urban Agenda
CNN is reporting on the budget cuts for 2011, many of which will affect America's cities, infrastructure and vulnerable populations.
CNNMoney
