While they emit less pollution, electric cars don’t solve many urgent issues like sprawl and fine particulate pollution.

A new analysis shows that even worldwide adoption of electric vehicles to replace gas-powered cars would not solve some major problems caused by auto-oriented infrastructure.
Writing in Bloomberg CityLab, Eric Roston explains that researchers surveyed roughly 400 papers to understand how the “substantial, ongoing investment” in physical and economic infrastructure that prioritizes cars harms public health and exacerbates climate change. “A comprehensive review published last month provides a litany of what the authors call ‘car harm,’ in estimated global totals of death, injury, disease and other miseries, over the course of automotive history.”
Meanwhile, electric cars don’t change underlying development patterns or how much space is allocated to cars. “Swapping engines for batteries isn’t changing how much cities pave themselves to accommodate cars, and or how cars kill people, the authors write. Although their tailpipes don’t spew carbon monoxide, they are often heavier than their internal-combustion counterparts, which means more fine-particle pollution from tires on highways.”
FULL STORY: EVs Can’t Fix a Global Epidemic of ‘Car Harm,’ Study Finds

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86
Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

DOT Memo Directs Transportation Funding to Communities With Higher Marriage and Birth Rates, Compliance with Immigration Officials and No Mask Mandates
The memo ties immigration enforcement to federal funding and prohibits mask or vaccine mandates.

Washington State E-Bike Rebate Set to Launch in April
The state program will offer up to $1,200 to fund the purchase of electric bikes.

BLM Approves Controversial Oil and Gas Leases on Navajo Land
The parcels are located near a sensitive archaeological site, but some Indigenous leaders approve of the move, which will bring in millions in revenue.

Hong Kong Cab Hailing App Folds — and Uber Takes Over
HKTaxi launched a year before Uber came to town. Now, it’s shutting down. Lawmakers worry a monopoly looms.

Rural Homelessness Could Be Vastly Underestimated, Study Finds
The annual ‘point in time’ count fails to capture the diverse types of situations experienced by unhoused people in rural communities.
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