From Atlanta to Kansas City to Los Angeles, cities across the country are welcoming a return of streetcars to their downtowns in the hopes of boosting economic growth and improving circulation. Some see the cars as just the latest urban planning fad.
Spurred by opportunities for federal financing, and the desire by cities to enliven their downtowns for a new generation of city-dwellers, streetcars are making a return to America's cities en masse, reports Caroline Porter.
Portland, Oregon's streetcar, which is credited with spurring the construction of more than 10,000 new housing
units and 5.4 million square feet of office, institutional, retail and
hotel construction since its first leg opened in 2001, is the gold standard for demonstrating what such projects can provide. Examples of less successful streetcar projects, however, can be found in Tampa and Little Rock.
Streetcar critic Randal O'Toole, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute, argues that Portland's success was driven more by city business incentives than the return of a vintage means of transport. "Putting 125-year-old technology into modern cities is going to create
more congestion, dangerous situations for pedestrians and divert
taxpayers' money from transit that people really need to transit that is
silly," Mr. O'Toole said.
FULL STORY: Streetcar Plans Plow Ahead
Rail Transit: You Get What You Pay For
Seattle Transit blog compares rail investments from five cities around the country.
Atlanta’s Transit Past, Present, and Future
The city once had an extensive streetcar system. Can it revive public transit once again?
Atlanta Streetcar Expansion Still Moving Forward
MARTA has drastically reduced its plans to construct new rail transit, but one project still has political support from the top at City Hall.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.
10 States Follow Through on Promise to Put 3.3 Million EVs on the Road
Rebate programs are at the heart of collaborative success.
Surf’s Upcycling: Hawai‘i’s Latest Green Building Material is Recycled Surf Boards
“Surf Blocks” are fire-resistant, termite-proof, and close the loop on mountains of waste from the state’s beloved sport.
Building Age-Friendly Homes
Designing for the unique needs of elderly people can help them maintain social connections and mental acuity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Florida Atlantic University
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service