Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley has outgrown it's reputation as 'America's Suburb' and become a high-density community -- now complete with its own dedicated busway, modeled after the system in Curitiba, Brazil.
The Orange Line marks a compromise from an actual Valley rail line that transit planners long dreamed about but nearby residents opposed for almost two decades. Officials switched to the busway approach seven years ago after concluding that it would cost 75% less than a rail system. They traveled to Curitiba, Brazil, to see its system of busways that crisscross the region.
...But the Orange Line 'doesn't go anywhere you would want it to go,' said Joel Kotkin, a Valley Village resident and Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. 'It's a tour of the industrial bowels of the Valley. And there's no place to stop to get a cup of coffee.' "
FULL STORY: Is a Busway the Valley Way?

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

Berkeley Approves ‘Middle Housing’ Ordinance
The city that invented single-family zoning is finally reckoning with its history of exclusion.

SEPTA Budget Slashes Service by 45 Percent
The Philadelphia-area transit agency is legally tasked with maintaining a balanced budget. Officials hope the state will come to the rescue with additional funding.

Connecticut Governor Vetoes Housing Bill
Gov. Lamont reversed his view on a controversial affordable housing bill that would have required municipalities to zone for set amounts of affordable housing to receive state funding.
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