If trying to reorganize society in more compact arrangements were ever a good idea, now is not the time to do it.
American commuting patterns have been on something of a roller coaster ride over several decades, driven predominantly by the baby boom on the demographic side and by a successful economy and government pressures against the single-occupant vehicle (SOV) on the public policy side. Following are some of the trends that have sharply affected commuting patterns in the past: a boom in workers as the baby boomers came of working age; a surge of women joining the labor force; a boom in automobile ownership based on the affordability, low operating costs, and durability of automobiles; a shift outward in homes, and then jobs, as the circumferential commute came to dominate the geographic patterns of commuting.
Thanks to Urban Land Magazine
Read the full story: Commuting in Context
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‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
LA to transform part of water treatment facility into new park
By rebuilding some of the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant’s infrastructure, the city will free up 18,000 square feet to create a new green space for the public.
San Antonio approves $1.1 billion transit agenda
The agency has also begun construction of its Via Rapid Green line, which will service passengers from the San Antonio International Airport.
Guerilla urbanists’ DIY benches joined by sanctioned seats in Chicago
The group behind the original homemade benches said they will continue installing them across bench-less bus stops in Chicago.
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.
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