Many transportation challenges could be solved by a more informed understanding of price elasticity of demand, according to this article.
Joe Cortright thinks that many transportation planners would flunk Economics 101, based on rampant misconceptions of one critical concept:
The most basic concept in economics is that higher prices lead to less consumption, yet this fact is routinely ignored in transportation planning and policy.
If we got the prices right, many of our most pressing transportation problems would be much easier to tackle[.]
The price of gasoline provides the clearest example of the concept, according to Cortright; i.e., higher fuel prices equate with less driving. The price of gas compared to the number of miles driven by Americans since the late 1990s illustrates Cortright's point.
Cortright explains the nuance of elasticity in more detail before noting that transportation planners often disregard price elasticity when planning future transportation routes. Portland's regional government, Metro, provides an example.
Read the full story: Transportation planners flunk Econ 101: Price elasticity of demand
Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.
How Planning Fails to Solve Congestion
Solutions for congestion are never as simple and easy as armchair planners and engineers would like you to believe—especially those who suggest that congestion can be solved by forever building more roadway capacity.
Planning and the Complicated Causes and Effects of Congestion
What do planners know about congestion, and what can they do about it? Explanations and solutions are less obvious than they seem (part one of a three-part series).
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
LAX SkyLink opening delayed again, contractor won’t commit to new deadline
The project was supposed to open its doors to the public in 2023.
Caltrain may slash over one-third of its stations
If Bay Area voters reject two transit tax measures, Caltrain, BART and AC Transit will see steep service cuts.
A 'dangerous' precedent: North Carolina successfully pressures communities into voting for toll roads
Two mayors resigned from the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization after it voted in favor of the toll roads.
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.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello