Economics
Can New Mobility Tech Disrupt Car Dependence?
A new organization want to help cities use mobility tech to break cars' stranglehold on cities.
January 15, 2019
What Comes After the Auto Bubble?
Vehicle travel in the United States has experienced a resurgence in the last two-and-a-half years, following an unprecedented decade-long per-capita decline in driving. Low gas prices are likely a big reason why; recent increases in incomes and employment as well. But an additional factor has been relatively unexplored: the effect of changes in credit markets on vehicle purchasing and ownership.
May 1, 2017
Amazon Could Kill Car-Dependent Big Box Retail. Will It Also Kill Main Street?
Amazon is chipping away at the dominance of big box stores, which might warm the hearts of people who watched Walmart and other retailers ruthlessly suck the life out of walkable downtowns for years on end. But is it really a good thing?
April 26, 2017
The Importance of Driving to the U.S. Economy Started Waning in the 70s
Earlier this year, following a slight uptick in U.S. traffic volumes, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a press release, "More people driving means our economy is picking up speed." He's not the only person to equate traffic with economic growth. Even former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg once said, "We like traffic, it means economic activity," before his administration embraced ideas like congestion pricing, bus lanes, and protected bikeways.
December 18, 2014
How Much Would It Cost to Minneapolize the Country?
What would it cost to retrofit the entire United States to be reasonably bikeable?
May 29, 2014
Our Cities Can’t Afford So Many Rooftop Spas
First, let me be clear: Tomorrow is April Fools, not today. This is real.
March 31, 2014
HUD and U.S. DOT Embrace Housing + Transportation Metric for Affordability
A few years ago, the Center for Neighborhood Technology gave a wonderful gift to urbanists and planners: the Housing + Transportation Index. This simple calculation clarified and popularized a key concept: that transportation costs must be taken into account in any measurement of “affordability.”
November 12, 2013
Apartment Blockers
Alan Durning is the executive director and founder of Sightline Institute, a think tank on sustainability issues in the Pacific Northwest. This article, originally posted on Sightline's blog, is #9 in their series, "Parking? Lots!"
September 16, 2013
The Defense Department’s Embrace of Livability Will Save Money — and Lives
On Tuesday, we wrote about the Defense Department’s new rules for the design of their bases and installations. These rules make smart growth the law of the land on hundreds of vast military installations in the U.S. and abroad. There’s more to the story: In this post we examine how a smart growth development model will bring wide-ranging benefits to the defense complex.
June 20, 2013