The battle over privacy data will move to court, as Uber and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has been able to work out their differences regarding the use of the city's mobility data specification.
Laura Bliss reports:
The great scooter data wars of Los Angeles have officially begun. After months of skirmishing with the L.A. Department of Transportation over its collection of real-time trip data from dockless scooters and bikes, Uber filed a lawsuit and temporary restraining order against the city agency on Monday.
Bliss provides background on the developments that landed the city and the company at this moment in the history, not the least of which was the city's launch of a mobility data specification (MDS) in November of 2018. Both the California State Legislature, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) got involved over the past year. Bliss notes that despite Uber's history of privacy breaches, in this case people were concerned about the city's intentions with the data it would collect with the MDS.
As reported by Katie Pyzyk, LADOT notified Uber on Tuesday of this week that the city would suspend the company's operations as a result of the company's failure to comply with the MDS. The controversy and ensuing legal fallout also made the pages of the Wall Street Journal.
FULL STORY: Uber’s Beef With L.A. Is Bigger Than Data
Lyft Pulls Micromobility From Los Angeles Area
The company will no longer provide shared bikes and scooters in the L.A. region, citing a ‘lack of longterm commitment’ from cities.
The Fall of JUMP Bikes
An exposé of the dramatic rise and fall of JUMP bikes under the ownership of Uber, in partnership with cities all over the United States.
Mobility-as-a-Service Providers Disappear Along With Public Transit During Protests
Mobility-as-a-service companies have disappeared when essential workers needed them most, falling short of their promoted role as gap fillers.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association