Reflecting on the significance and impact of Superstorm Sandy, Bill McKibben and Lawrence J. Hanley propose a 3-step process focused on mass transit that America should pursue to promote community development, public health and the environment.
For McKibben and Hanley, Hurricane Sandy has made it clear that politicians can no longer push climate change under the rug. Climate change contributes to rising sea levels and record heat waves, and the implications of these phenomenon are more apparent that ever before. For one significant place to tackle carbon emissions, they point to the transportation sector, and its role in contributing to 27 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. That's not the only way in which our auto-reliant lifestyles are harming the country. "The transport sector," they say, "contributes 80 percent of the harmful air pollutants that cause 1.3 million premature deaths each year. Road fatalities claim 33,000 lives per year on average, making traffic accidents the number one killer of people under 34 in the U.S. And traffic congestion is known to elevate stress levels and reduce quality of life for millions."
On the other hand, explain McKibben and Hanley, data from a recent poll conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council suggests that Americans are ready and willing to use public transportation and that they want to be less car dependent. However, they are often confronted with obstacles including what many believe are "outdated, unreliable and inefficient" public transportation systems across the country. The 3-steps they propose to address these matters includes: (1) stopping the budget cuts on public transit, (2) redirecting federal investments to expand and improve transit systems, and (3) making transit free or less costly by reallocating fossil fuel subsidies.
In conclusion, they warn that Hurricane Sandy was a “harbinger of what the future will bring” with continued global warming, and articulately state that “[w]hen Sandy flooded New York's subways, it brought the city to a halt. Re-opening the system was a challenge -- but the real challenge is bringing mass transit to a nation that very much wants it.”
FULL STORY: Think About the Transportation Sector

Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.

Minneapolis Housing Plan a Success—Not for the Reason You Think
Housing advocates praise the city’s move to eliminate single-family zoning by legalizing triplexes on single-family lots, but that isn’t why housing construction is growing.

New White House Housing Initiative Includes Zoning Reform Incentives
The Biden administration this morning released a new program of actions intended to spur housing construction around the United States.

Proposed Transit Line Would Connect Downtown Tucson to Airport
Based on community input for a 15-mile transit line, residents want to see a focus on affordable housing development and anti-displacement measures.

Strip Malls as a Housing Solution
The American strip mall may be a dying breed of commercial development, but could the buildings serve a new use as sustainable housing?

Study: Most of Vancouver Is a ‘15-Minute City’
A large majority of Vancouver residents can access a grocery store in 15 minutes or less by bicycle or on foot.
Urban Planning Partners
Sandy City
Ada County Highway District
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Redwood City
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
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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.
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