Most North American cities offer only basic public transit service, with limited coverage and frequency, modest speeds, unattractive waiting areas, poor land use integration, and few amenities. Such service is used primarily by people who lack alternatives. In such communities, riders tend to abandon public transit as soon as feasible.
Public Investment
Bike Sharing Becomes Part of Transportation Picture
Erik Weber of non-profit EMBARQ argues that bike sharing systems combine the benefits of cycling and public transit and is a sustainable solution for cities.
TheCityFix
A Cost-Benefit Analysis for High Speed Rail
In the first of a series of posts to the NYTimes' Economix Blog, Edward Glaeser explores the value of high-speed rail in the US.
Economix Blog: NYTimes
London's Big Stadium Gamble
Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:57
The Olympics can be awesome for cities. Or they can be devastating. Rarely they're both, and most often they are an economic drain caused by over-investment in facilities with limited long-term usability. So when London's plans for a 2012 Summer Olympics stadium that would reduce from 80,000 seats during the games to a more realistically usable 25,000 seats after, Olympics experts, city officials and taxpayers rejoiced. But recent news has turned that rejoice to disgust.
Economic Benefits In Question in New York Stadium Redevelopments
Stadium construction in New York that was intended to have only a small cost to taxpayers has turned out to be a major investment and allocation of tax breaks, causing many to question whether the economic benefits of rebuilding will ever be seen.
The New York Times
Stadium Development Could Hurt More Than Help
New data on stadium development show that economic benefits fall way short of public investment.
The Wall Street Journal
