As planners, one of our roles is to help stretch the scope of what is considered possible. For example, between 1950 and 2000 most development was highly automobile-dependent, based on the assumption that almost all travel would be by personal automobile and other modes were relatively unimportant. This pattern is so well established that many people have difficulty imagining anything different. It is useful to help people understand the full range of options available, from automobile dependency to carfree communities.
Transportation
Where Will We All Park? A Slightly Premature Case Study of Hoboken, New Jersey
Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives
New High-Speed Rail in China
The State of Happiness
Transportation On Parade
DOT, HUD and EPA All Trumpet Smart Growth
NYC's "Bus of the Future" Debuts On Bronx BRT Route

New Books Depict Car Culture at a Turning Point
Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster
By Paul Ingrassia
Random House, 306 pages, $32
Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile and its Effect on Our Lives
By Catherine Lutz and Anne Lutz Fernandez
Palgrave, 272 pages, $34
Automobiles dominate our economies, our cities and our popular culture. As these new titles make abundantly apparent, they also tend to imbue their makers and owners with either delusions or arrogance that can lead to dangerously misguided decision-making, both behind the wheel and in corporate boardrooms.
Saving Money By Converting Asphalt to Gravel

Why not rail?
When faced with the costs and logistics of rail, planners and city officials increasingly seem to favor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a trend likely to continue through the current recession. But even with the many persuasive arguments for BRT, the nagging question remains: why not rail?






















