Let me wade into an ongoing debate among fellow Planetizen bloggers Samuel Staley and Michael Lewyn concerning the meanings of accessibility and mobility, and their implications for transportation and land use policy.
Mobility
Considering A Car-Free L.A.
New ideas are emerging to address the mobility issues faced by cities. One specific project focuses on the epicenter of congested America: Los Angeles.
Metropolis
Mobility Lacking in Toronto
Toronto's lack of focus on transportation planning and the absence of a national strategy for mobility is turning the city into a messy gridlock, according to this column.
Globe and Mail
Urban Mobility, 2025
This post from This Big City looks at how transportation needs to evolve, and some of the ways it could in the near future.
This Big City
TTI's Urban Mobility Report Flawed, Says Critic
The Texas Transportation Institute just released its 2010 Urban Mobility Report, which is a standard reference in the road-building industry -- and is seriously flawed, says Joe Cortright.
CEOs For Cities
Better Transportation Options to Relieve Inequality in Latin America
Safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable public transport options could be integral in addressing inequality in Latin America.
TheCityFix
Investing in Brazil's Urban Mobility Ahead of the World Cup and Olympics
As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, its cities are trying to improve their public transit systems.
The City Fix
Redesigning Cities for Better Mobility
A new project aimed at reducing car reliance in world cities has paired ten architects with ten cities to create a redesigned public space that encourages a mix of transit modes.
WNYC
Confusing Access and Mobility
Transportation planner Jarrett Walker, on why transportation planners can't stop applying freeway concepts to transit and the important difference between access and mobility.
Human Transit
The Car Reconsidered
When most people use their cars in urban settings, what sort of vehicle is optimal? MIT's Media Lab asks the question, in their quest to invent the next generation of personal mobility.
Metropolis Magazine
Envision Utah
Extensive citizen involvement was essential in the development of this comprehensive statewide framework. The elements addressed include air quality, mobility, critical lands, water, housing, infrastructure, and community. The framework offers a menu of strategies to locally achieve state goals to achieve growth while maintaining quality of life.
Chicago Bike Plan
Chicago's comprehensive bike plan includes accommodating bike in the streets, bike parking, incorporating bikes into transit trips, education and marketing, and law enforcement in an effort to promote safe biking as a viable transportation alternative.
»
San Diego General Plan Action Plan
Action plan is the comprehensive implementation program for the 2008 San Diego General Plan. The action plan includes community plan updates, climate change initiatives, water supply and conservation efforts, land development code amendments, public facilities financing strategy, economic development strategic plan, parks master plan, and historic preservation incentives.
»
Americans Moving Less, Getting Rooted
In the 1950s, nearly 1/5 of Americans moved each year. That trend is quickly reversing. Americans are now staying put in greater numbers than at any time since World War II, and experts have plenty of opinions on why that is.
New York Times
Portland Learning from Los Angeles
An interdisciplinary team of urban designers, architects, and analysts have proposed a neo-retro-futurist scenario for making downtown Portland nearly car-free by 2050.
Hugeasscity
Report from TRB
Mon, 01/18/2010 - 06:15
Last week I attended the Transportation Research Boards (TRB) 89th annual meeting, which attracted approximately 10,000 transportation professionals from around the globe to Washington DC. More than 2,000 papers were presented at more than 700 sessions, plus several hundred committee meetings took place. Let me share some highlights.
Accessibility Vs. Mobility Redux
Wed, 01/13/2010 - 11:59
I’m going to riff off a recent Interchange Blog post by Michael Lewyn on the relationship between mobility and accessibility. Given the positive comments from the planning community to Michael’s post, a little engagement may be necessary for both clarity as well as fully understanding the implications of reading too much into the accessibility versus mobility debate.
Countering the High Costs of Paratransit
A huge but largely under-noticed portion of public transit money goes to paratransit -- equipment and services to transport disabled people. Now, cheaper alternatives are emerging.
Governing
Americans Moving Less Amid Recession
Fewer Americans moved over the past year than any other year since 1962, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The New York Times
Two bad words
Mon, 02/09/2009 - 11:02
Often, participants in public debates use words to mean things very different from their common-sense meanings, in order to manipulate the public’s emotions. Two examples in the field of urban planning come to mind.
