Transportation posts, articles, and infographics

Big and small questions about food

May 22, 2012 by Marc Gunther
with 85 views

I’ve just returned from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Cooking for Solutions conference feeling optimistic about the potential to change the way we grow food, cook and eat. Maybe it’s the wine, the seafood, and the wonderful fruits and vegetables (fried artichokes!) from nearby California farms, but I don’t think so. More likely it’s... [read more]

Integrating Transportation and Culture in Nice

May 22, 2012 by Mark K Ames
with 234 views

I was recently lucky enough to spend some time in Nice, on the Cote D'Azur in the South of France, and was blown away by the way in which this punchy medium-sized city had come on in leaps and bounds in terms of improving its urban realm. I was last there some 7 years ago when traffic choked the upper half of the city whilst... [read more]

Going Multi-Modal in the “Texas of the North”

May 22, 2012 by Project for Public Spaces
with 56 views

Even in Red Deer's downtown area, pedestrians play second fiddle to automotive traffic / Photo: Gary TothRed Deer, Alberta, is a small city about halfway between Calgary and Edmonton. Once a sleepy agricultural outpost of that provided a convenient stopover for travelers moving between the territory’s two larger cities, Red Deer has... [read more]

New American Frontier: The Braddock Initiative

May 21, 2012 by Atul Sharma
with 82 views

Earlier this week, we published our report on CNU20 that took place in West Palm Beach. In it we deduced that New Urbanism is at a critical pivot point in its evolution. Conceived as an alternative to sprawl, which was the predominant development model for the second half of the 20th century in the United States, New Urbanism has matured... [read more]

‘Decision Trees’ Guide Vacant Land To Renewables

May 20, 2012 by Nino Marchetti
with 107 views

Image via Shutterstock

There’s no telling how much land sits vacant in America. Some of this land is just unused, while other plots, called brownfields, have been contaminated by industrial waste, and deemed unfit for use. There have been no comprehensive studies to tally it all, but there are some clues that it’s a big number. A 2000 study of 70 major... [read more]

The Coming Robocar Apocalypse

May 19, 2012 by Chris Bradford
with 132 views

Photo via Huffington Post

How will driverless cars affect the built environment? A lot of the discussion lately has focused on whether driverless cars will affect the demand for rail. Michael Lind thinks they will make rail obsolete. Alex Block, sensibly noting that a change in technology won't change the relevant geometries, disagrees.Matt Yglesias (... [read more]

Food Truck Fad Takes An All-Electric Turn

May 18, 2012 by Nino Marchetti
with 131 views

A century and a half before becoming one of the hottest foodie trends of the past decade, they were called chuck wagons. The chuck wagon begot the canteen. The canteen begot the roach coach. They roach coach gave birth to the taco truck. The taco truck has evolved into the the food truck, serving hungry patrons “street food” which now... [read more]

New housing forecast mostly good for walkable communities

May 18, 2012 by Kaid Benfield
with 57 views

The housing price recovery has begun, says a new report from The Demand Institute, a think tank recently launched by Nielson and The Conference Board to track consumer demand. Among the findings that are promising for more sustainable development patterns, the strongest segment of the market “comprises populous urban or semi... [read more]

Taming the sound of the city: dealing with noise pollution

May 16, 2012 by Kaid Benfield
with 88 views

About two decades ago, my friend Bob – a mover and shaker of sorts in the art world – took me to an artist’s studio in a (then, at least) scruffy area of lower Manhattan. The artist we were meeting, whose name I have long since forgotten, worked in the medium of environmental sound. His studio was full of wires,... [read more]

Does the Hilliness of San Francisco affect it’s Walkability?

May 16, 2012 by Adam Davies
with 119 views

San Francisco is famous for its steep hills,but they can also be a real pain to walk up! However, walkability isn’t just about hilliness or proximity to shops, its a combination of many different factors. So how walkable is the city really? [read more]

How to Integrate Urbanism + Transit

May 16, 2012 by Erin Chantry
with 229 views

Jarrett Walker, author of Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking About Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives, told us he was at CNU20 to preach a little fire and brimstone: transportation planner to new urbanist. While I wouldn’t call it brimstone, he definitely spoke passionately about real issues that need to be... [read more]

How transportation can contribute to community building

May 16, 2012 by Jessica Soulliere
with 57 views

Project for Public Spaces

Project for Public Spaces Director of Transportation Initiatives Gary Toth recently spoke at the Complete Streets Forumin Toronto, Ontario, about the role of transportation alternatives and complete streets in communities and community building.In his speech, posted below, Toth explains that complete streets are to be welcoming... [read more]