With traffic congestion already growing intolerable in many cities, how will Americans be able to get to work when there are 400 million of us, asks Neal Peirce.
"Vision No. 1 is "stay the course." Keep driving as we have. In 1980, 64.4 percent of us drove to work alone; in 2000 it was 75.7 percent, according to the Transportation Research Board's recent "Commuting in America" survey by Alan Pisarski.
A car-wheeled world is what Americans choose. Argument over, say some.
Vision No. 2. We privatize. We invite the private sector to take over roads -- and then charge us.
This is the hottest new trend, discussed intensely by governors, state transportation officials and state legislators. Multibillion-dollar roadway investments by private financing firms are increasing fast. We've reached what transportation expert C. Kenneth Orski calls a critical "tipping point."
Vision No. 3? [Public Transit]. the vote of many Americans earlier this month to support new and expanded public transit. Transit proposals with cumulative value of $40 billion were approved from Rhode Island to Minnesota, Missouri to Utah to California."
Read the full story: The transportation tipping point
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A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Data reveals that NYC’s bet on congestion pricing has paid off
After almost two years of the program, reports show positive impacts on traffic and air quality and no disruptions to parking.
HUD modernizes 50-year-old manufactured housing framework
The Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan establishes new energy-efficiency standards for manufactured homes, and new guidelines for anchoring them.
New Mexico spent millions drafting climate goals. Data centers are unraveling them
Three data centers in New Mexico and El Paso will release more emissions yearly than 2 million cars in the same timeframe.
This Ohio town is using AI to speed up transit analysis
The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority’s new AI tool correctly determined riders’ preferred ways to reach key commuter routes.
Yet again, Seattle’s density zoning update is hit with delays
The city must now examine the ‘maximum possible development’ under a future zoning scenario, rather than the ‘maximum likely development.’
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority