Not everyone likes the idea of slowing down, but sometimes advocacy for increased speed limits can come from surprising sources, like the editorial director of a UK journal for architects.
Architect’s Journal Editorial Director Paul Finch is concerned with the downward trend in speed limits in the UK, most recently as a result of EU regulations for air quality, which would reduce the speed limit in parts of the UK to 60 mph.
UK regulators and environmentalists, says Finch, consider the punishment of motorists a “favourite pastime”: “What characterises these people is a wilful refusal to acknowledge the world as it is. They will not accept that the vast majority of journeys carried out in the UK are in cars, not on trains; they pretend that there is some sort of transport equivalence, and that if we poured millions more into the railway system everyone would stop using naughty cars and naughty petrol, thereby saving the planet.” Finch also cites “fuel duties, so-called congestions charges (which in reality are just another tax) and deranged parking policies” as additional evidence of misguided, anti-automobile policy.
Finch also raises concerns about the capabilities of planners and engineers to walk the talk: “At the same time as they plan to introduce 60 mph limits, the bureaucrats are also opening up hard shoulders on busy motorway stretches – so traffic can move more quickly!”
FULL STORY: The UK has a problem with planning for cars
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Town of Zionsville
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.