Talking Headways Podcast: Poor Door Von Spreckelsen
In this week's podcast, Jeff and I take on the infamous New York City "poor door," designed to keep tenants of affordable units segregated from the wealthy residents that occupy the rest of the high-rise at 40 Riverside. In the process, we take on the assumptions and methods that cities use to provide housing, and by the time we're done, we've blown a hole in the whole capitalist system.
August 4, 2014
Congress Hits the Snooze Button on Transpo Funding Until May
Someone had to cave and last night, it was the Senate.
August 1, 2014
“Safe Routes” Goes Global With the Model School Zone Project
This post is part of a series featuring stories and research that will be presented at the Pro-Walk/Pro-Bike/Pro-Place conference September 8-11 in Pittsburgh.
July 31, 2014
Time’s Up: 6 Things to Know About Today’s Transpo Showdown
UPDATE 2:40 p.m.: The House has rejected the Senate amendment, as expected.
July 31, 2014
How One-Day Plazas and Bike Lanes Can Change a City Forever
This post is part of a series featuring stories and research that will be presented at the Pro-Walk/Pro-Bike/Pro-Place conference September 8-11 in Pittsburgh.
July 29, 2014
FHWA to Engineers: Go Ahead and Use City-Friendly Street Designs
The heavyweights of American transportation engineering continue to warm up to design guides that prioritize walking, biking, and transit on city streets. On Friday, the Federal Highway Administration made clear that it endorses the National Association of City Transportation Officials' Urban Street Design Guide, which features street treatments like protected bike lanes that you won't find in the old engineering "bibles."
July 28, 2014
Talking Headways Podcast: Square Footage
Welcome to Episode 29 of the Talking Headways podcast. In it, we evaluate the potential of Boston's attempt to "gentrification-proof" the Fairmount Line, building affordable housing to keep transit from displacing people with low incomes. Too often, the allure of transit raises rents, bringing in a new demographic of people who can pay them -- and who, ironically, usually have cars.
July 23, 2014
Answers to Your Top 6 Questions About Obama’s New Infrastructure Initiative
Last week, President Obama announced that amid Congressional dysfunction around transportation funding, he was taking action to foster infrastructure investment and economic growth. The Build America Investment Initiative will provide technical assistance to communities looking for guidance on how to leverage private dollars to build public works. But the initiative doesn’t actually provide any dollars itself.
July 21, 2014
Dems Grudgingly Approve House Transpo Extension’s Disastrous Timeline
Yesterday, during the one-hour debate period over the House proposal to extend transportation funding through May 31, lawmaker after lawmaker stood up to condemn the bill. America needs a long-term transportation bill, they said. A short-term stopgap only creates more uncertainty.
July 16, 2014
Talking Headways Podcast: Good Riddance, “Level of Service”
All the buzz right now is about Arlington, Virginia -- the DC suburb has seen its population rise and its car traffic drop since the 1980s. How did they do it? It could be a lesson for Palo Alto, California, which is considering various growth proposals, including one that would invite greater density as long as it comes with no additional driving, carbon emissions, or water use.
July 15, 2014