Planners and environmentalists have applauded the seven-year decline in America's auto ownership levels with understandable enthusiasm. But around the world, automobile production has never been higher.
"Two weeks ago, transportation researcher Michael Sivak brought us the news that there are fewer cars per person in the U.S. now than there were a few years ago – and that the number isn’t expected to rise again," writes Tanya Snyder. "But globally, the trend is in the opposite direction, and it’s alarming. The world is producing more cars than ever."
"The troubling new reality," she explains, "is that while the United States and other developed countries are beginning to lay off the gas, other countries are accelerating wildly. Though the U.S. still has by far the largest fleet of passenger cars, auto sales in China overtook the U.S. in 2011. In 2010, the number of cars in the world hit one billion."
"The number of cars per person in the U.S. has been declining since 2006. But in other countries, the trend is ever upward."
FULL STORY: Car Ownership May Be Down in the U.S., But It’s Soaring Globally

What the US Intercity Rail System Could Look Like
An FRA study shows how new Amtrak lines could connect tens of millions more Americans to rail travel.

Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record
The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

Half of Altadena’s Black Homes Lost or Damaged in Eaton Fire
The community has higher Black homeownership rates than most of Los Angeles, but now faces an uncertain future as residents struggle to rebuild.

Making Autonomous Vehicles Safer for Blind Pedestrians
A team of researchers is developing a dataset to fill a critical gap in self-driving cars’ learning models.

Federal EV Charging Program Suspended
The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program planned to fund the construction of hundreds of EV charging stations across the country.
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