Year: 2009

About two years ago, the Urban Land Institute published Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change, which argued that it will be crucial to build cities in a more compact fashion if the country hopes to avoid substantial growth in vehicle miles traveled and carbon emissions over the next few decades.

We got an e-mail yesterday from network member James Rowen, who writes the Political Environment blog in Milwaukee. Rowen wanted to be sure we hadn't missed his recent posts on last week's ruling by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman (we had -- so thanks for the heads-up).

More headlines over at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

A San Francisco police inspector has "severely warned" two men who allegedly harassed a bicyclist in the bike lane along the Embarcadero last week. The terrifying tale, which we published verbatim on Streetsblog, stirred quite a reaction among new and regular commenters, and served as an important reminder about what to do when bicyclists encounter hostile, threatening motorists.

After a day of twists and turns, the House yesterday approved a three-month extension of the current law that governs spending on the nation's transit, bridges, and roads. Yet the 335-85 vote obscures an ongoing clash between the House and Senate that could extend into a fourth straight month.

"City Arts and Lectures will host David Byrne just in time for the launch of his new book, Bicycle Diaries, which features personal anecdotes from his wide travels and a strong argument for the way a bicycle can change our view of the world and the city in which we live. Joining him on stage will be Leah Shahum, Executive Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and other local guests who will address the intersection between bicycle advocacy, urban planning, civic responsibility, and the singular pleasure of seeing the world from the vantage point of a bicycle.

Throughout San Francisco's history, from the early street grid to the more recent expansion of freeways, slivers of land that don't fit into the master plans of architects and designers have been cast aside, lumped into a category the Department of Public Works (DPW) refers to as "unaccepted streets." These "paper streets" are mapped but not maintained by any agency. As Chris Carlsson so beautifully chronicled in his Ghost Streets tour, many of these alleys and street stubs are cared for by neighbors and transformed into small gardens or pocket parks.  Many more, however, are forgotten urban scars and latent public space.

The SFMTA's plans to install freeway-style traffic information signs on Oak and Fell Streets were not very popular, to say the least, at last week's meeting of the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association.

Today on the Streetsblog Network, some thoughts on women and transportation coming out of the current annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, courtesy of The City Fix. Writing about yesterday's panel discussion on investing in the well-being of women and girls, Erica Schlaikjer says: