America's so-called “love affair” with the automobile, although cliché, provides a vivid description of how attached we really are to driving. Public policy, and the historically overwhelming effect of auto industry lobbying, is only partly to blame for the endemic traffic jams and smog of the twentieth century. Bruce Schaller, a transportation consultant hired by New York City advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, recently demonstrated that urbanites with multiple transportation options still choose to commute by car for rational reasons of privacy, convenience, and speed. A chart of his, shown below, demonstrates how perplexing this choice is. Overcoming these reasons is a ser
Transportation
Megaregions and Megaproblems
As America's metropolitan areas meld into "megaregions", officials and policymakers will need to figure out how to deal with their shared and growing infrastructure problems. Consider the ball rolling.
Joining Up Transportation, Housing, and Environmental Policy
Robert Puentes argues that a new federal interagency partnership, debuted before the Senate this week, could provide the federal leadership necessary for a unified vision of transportation, housing, and environmental policy designed to tackle our interrelated economic, energy, and climate challenges.
Masterplanning the Architecture of the Near Future
As the population rises, underused and empty spaces are going to fill in. How well the transition works depends on shifts in demographics and infrastructure, as well as architecture. A studio of UCLA architecture students were asked to plot that transition. But before they could be architects, they had to be planners.
Make Your Own Bike Lane
A new device called LightLane attaches to the back of your bike and projects a virtual bike lane behind you.
H2OVisions
Comparing Subway Fares From Around the World
This post from Treehugger compares subway fares from around the world.
Treehugger
Turning Dead Meters Into Bike Racks
With cities switching to new pay kiosks, parking meters are going the way of the dodo- unfortunately for bikers, who use the posts for bike racks. A handful of cities are seeing the possibility in old posts.
Streetsblog
Majority of Stimulus Spent on Roads
States are spending the vast majority of federal stimulus money on building or repairing roads and highways, according to a new study.
Reuters
Bikes Overtaking Pedestrians in Vancouver
In this video from the City of Vancouver, planners give a tour of the city's system of bike lanes. Bicycling is the fastest growing means of transportation in the city, and cars have actually declined.
GVTV
6,000 Parking Spots, 20,000 Cars
That's the ratio on summer weekends downtown in Newport, Rhode Island. A coalition of local businesses, advocates and city officials are brainstorming solutions.
Associated Press
Bike Activist Becomes The Man
What happens when a city hires a former bike activist to become it's mobility coordinator? No surprises, the city becomes more bike friendly.
The District
Ways to Retrofit the City
You don't have to tear a city down to make it green, according to this piece from the Boston Globe, which offers some emerging ideas.
The Boston Globe
The Wall Street Tax Shelter That Crashed Your Local Transit Agency
How might an obscure tax shelter called a SILO contributed to the D.C. Metro Red Line crash that killed nine this week?
Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Breaking Out of Silos and Across Borders
With interdepartmental cooperation blossoming within the Obama administration, Neal Peirce wonders how things will shake down when policies hit metropolitan regions -- and the municipal borders that can impede and confuse policy.
Citiwire
D.C. Bus Gets Real-Time Locator Application
A new web-based application that tracks the location of Washington D.C.'s Circulator bus has been released.DCist reports.
DCist
Ownership of Bus Arrival Data Disputed
The story of how an iPhone application charting public transit arrival times led to as-yet-unanswered questions about who owns this public data -- or whether it can be owned at all.
SF Appeal
BART Looking at Vendors to Boost Revenues
The San Francisco Bay Area's BART regional transit system is considering a plan to expand the amount of retailers and vendors it allows within its stations as a way to boost revenue.
San Francisco Examiner
- Census Conspiracy Theories?
- Make Your Own Bike Lane
- St. Louis Opens New Art Park
- Supreme Court Nominee's Eminent Domain Experience
- Ten Fastest-Growing Cities in U.S.
- Will a "New Direction" in Housing Policy Mean a "Return to Feudalism"?
- Tiny Submarines Run Real Cable
- Big and Getting Bigger
- Investing In and Revising Mexico City's Center Square
- Comparing Subway Fares From Around the World
London's Big Stadium Gamble -- Nate Berg
Part Time Lover - Is The Car Just An Affair? -- Ian Sacs
Finding Planners with Shared Interests: The Post-Graduation Experience -- Ann Forsyth
Making the Car Free Choice -- Robert Goodspeed
Memo From Future Self: Hope For The Best But Prepare For the Worst -- Todd Litman
Financial Resourcefulness in a Recession – How can you Revitalize your Community?
International Economic Development Council
Jul 01, 2009
The American of Institute of Architects RFP
The American Insitute of Architects
Jul 01, 2009
RFP--Transit Implementation Plan Update
City of Manhattan
Jun 29, 2009
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