Sprawl
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New Video Series Tells the Story of Sprawl
As livable streets advocates work to make headway in breaking the cycle of American auto dependence, the folks at Planetizen have put together a video narrative that explains how we got here. "The Story of Sprawl," a double DVD set produced by Managing Editor Tim Halbur, is a compilation of historical films dating from 1939 to 1965, documenting the confluence of factors that fostered the quintessential land use motif of the 20th century: far-flung, low-density, driving-intensive residential and commercial development. The discs include commentary from planning notables including Andrés Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, John Norquist, Neal Peirce, James Howard Kunstler and Robert Cervero, featured in the clip above.
April 21, 2009
California Cities Need A Predictable Fund For Transit Operations
When the State Transit Assistance (STA) fund was zeroed out to pass the budget a couple of months ago, the already dire situation for transit operators in California became much worse. In the Bay Area, AC Transit raised fares, the MTA has been considering budget cuts and fare hikes, and BART will likely do the same if its board can get to the discussion at the next meeting.
April 13, 2009
What Effect Will World’s Smallest Car Have on Global Warming?
Environmentally-conscious citizens of India aren't alone in their concern about the rollout of the Tata Nano, the "world's cheapest car." But in an op-ed piece for Forbes, Projjal Dutta, the director of sustainability initiatives for the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority, writes that American critics should look to their own example if they expect developing nations to follow a more sustainable path.
April 8, 2009
San Francisco’s Unbuilt Freeway Network Revisited
Hunter College student and photographer Andrew Lynch recently posted Google Map mashups of the unbuilt freeways that made up many of the master plans in cities around the country in the 1950s and 1960s. San Francisco, New York City, and Boston avoided the worst of automobility, while the map of Los Angeles freeways was pretty well paved.
March 23, 2009
DOT and HUD: Transportation and Land-Use Planning Should Prioritize TOD
It's a good day to talk about the costs of car ownership on individuals and families and the need to integrate transportation and land use planning regionally.
March 18, 2009
State Senator Takes on Parking Requirements
Last week, State Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) introduced
legislation that takes aim at how California's municipalities think
about parking and parking requirements. What SB 518 (PDF) is missing in co-sponsors it makes up for in chutzpah. If enacted, the
legislation would require that every municipality in the state earn at
least "20 points" in parking reforms. These reforms range from
eliminating a city's parking requirement for development, which is
worth 20 points to requiring that employers offer transit passes en
lieu of parking worth only 2 points.
March 3, 2009
A Very Astute Critique of Highways by an Editor of The Weekly Standard
Far be it from us to take political sides on Livable Streets
issues--you don't have to be a donkey or an elephant to appreciate
pedestrian safety, traffic calming, and quality public space--but why
is it that two of the best columns connecting transportation policy
reform, land use, and energy independence have come from conservative
pundits?
March 2, 2009
Paradise LOSt (Part III): California’s Revolutionary Plan to Overhaul Transportation Analysis
Transportation consultants and planners associated with the San Francisco Transportation Authority's (TA) ATG working group sent excited bursts of email to each other earlier this month about a new development coming from the state Office of Planning and Research (OPR), the body responsible for writing and amending the CEQA guidelines related to transportation and traffic. The OPR had adopted much of the spirit of the working group's recommendations and proposed an amendment (PDF) to CEQA guidelines that de-emphasized LOS and indicated that it would be much better to use measures for vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reductions such as ATG.
January 28, 2009
Paradise LOSt (Part I): How Long Will the City Keep Us Stuck in Our Cars?
The idea that the speed and free-flow of cars is the proxy that is being used across the state of California to measure whether a project is [environmentally] impactful is in the long run undermining the very quality of life [we] are working to protect.
January 26, 2009