First, let me begin by introducing myself. I am Parris Glendening, and I serve as the president of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C., which is part of Smart Growth America. From 1995-2003, I was Governor of Maryland, and for more than 20 years before that I served at various levels of local and county government. I am excited about being part of the network of contributors here at Planetizen and participating in the discussion.---In 1956 Pres. Dwight Eisenhower shepherded the Interstate Highway into existence, fulfilling a decades-long aspiration to link the nation with highways that could move both people and materiel as efficiently as those he had seen in Germany. Later, he would warn us against the military-industrial complex, but with a bit more foresight he might have warned against the asphalt-industrial complex, as well.
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In 1956 Pres. Dwight Eisenhower shepherded the Interstate Highway into existence, fulfilling a decades-long aspiration to link the nation with highways that could move both people and materiel as efficiently as those he had seen in Germany. Later, he would warn us against the military-industrial complex, but with a bit more foresight he might have warned against the asphalt-industrial complex, as well.
Tysons Corner is a suburb of Washington, D.C., just outside the Beltway. The once-sleepy crossroads is now one of the main employment centers of the region, home to the equivalent of one-third of the office space in D.C. proper. Several years ago, the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority and Virginia officials began planning a Metrorail extension through Tysons Corner and Fairfax County to Dulles Airport. But while the service was welcome, the plan to run it on an elevated track provoked a groundswell of opposition among business owners, citizens, and local leaders.
The core of the problem is a fundamental flaw in the system of funding at the FTA, which elevates short-term number-crunching over community impacts and long-term benefits.
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Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
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