Should society encourage parents to drive children to school rather than walk or bicycle? Should our transportation policies favor driving over walking, cycling, ridesharing, public transit and telecommuting? Probably not. There is no logical reason to favor automobile travel over other forms of accessibility, and there are lots of good reasons to favor efficient modes, so for example, schools spend at least as much to accommodate a walking or cycling trip as an automobile trip, and transportation agencies and employers spend at least as much to improve ridesharing and public transit commuting as automobile commuting.
Sprawl
A Look at Houston and its Environmental Impact
This report from NPR looks at Houston's growth pattern, and the evolution of a city that at once provides a high quality of life but also creates a big environmental impact.
NPR
Stopping Sprawl Won't Happen Soon Enough to Fight Global Warming
Policies that encourage density as a way to reduce carbon emissions won't be able to play a significant role in reducing carbon emissions in time to counteract global warming, according to a new report from the National Academy of Sciences.
Technology Review
Shift in Consumer Housing Preferences Favors Smart Growth
Consumer preference surveys indicate that total U.S. demand for large-lot, exurban housing will not increase, while demand for small-lot and attached housing in accessible, multi-modal locations will double during the next two decades.
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
Home Location Preferences And Their Implications For Smart Growth
Wed, 09/02/2009 - 21:49
Location, location, location. Choosing a smart home location can help households become healthy, wealthy and wise, since it affects residents’ physical activity levels, long-term financial burdens and opportunities for education and social interaction.
Sprawling in Beijing
Beijing could be heading towards a sprawling future, according to a new report from the World Bank. Despite expanding transit options, the location of jobs is pushing more people out from the center of the city.
The New York Times Style Magazine
A Fable About Sprawl
Mon, 07/20/2009 - 14:32
Once upon a time, there was a city called City. And everyone living in City voted in the same elections and paid taxes to the same government.
And then 5 percent of the people decided that they wanted to live in an new neighborhood that was opened up for development by the highways. And they called it Richburb, because they were, if not rich, at least a little richer than many of the people in the city (since even if there wasn’t zoning to keep the poor out, new housing usually costs more than old housing anyhow).
The Planetizen News Brief - 7/9/09
4:30 minutes (4.19 MB)
Enviros struggle to move past NIMBY tendencies, iPhones begin tracking urban nuisances, and a small town main street succeeds -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
Light Rail in Phoenix
The Phoenix Region recently opened a 20-mile light rail serving three cities. StreetFilms brings you a video profile of the new system.
la.streetsblog.org
"Grow Smart Bay Area" Report Released
With great fanfare, the Bay Area's Greenbelt Alliance has released a new report, "Grow Smart Bay Area", the premise being that future population and job growth can be accommodated by infill and by doing so, will add to the region's sustainability.
San Jose Mercury News
The Planetizen News Brief - 6/11/09
4:35 minutes (4.25 MB)
The role of buildings on global warming, a car-free housing development, and the end of sprawl in New Jersey, all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
FL Growth Legislation Hinges on "What Is Urban?"
A controversial bill on the desk of FL Gov. Crist is touted by supporters as 'smart growth' because they feel it will direct growth to urban areas, which are defined as 1,000 people per sq. mile. At stake is transportation mitigation of new projects.
The New York Times - U.S.
Suburban Growth Is From Country, Not Abandoned Cities
Wendell Cox argues that the growth of the suburbs is not attributable to flight from cities, but to residents of small towns and the countryside moving to denser living.
New Geography
Transportation Concurrency and Sprawl
Mon, 04/06/2009 - 06:34
Transportation concurrency is the subject of a bill that has passed one house of the Florida legislature. "Concurrency" is the Florida term for "adequate public facilities controls," indicating that facilities need not necessarily be in place at the time of project approval but that they must be scheduled to become available "concurrently" with demand from proposed development.
