By Bruce Sterling, Published February 12th, 2018 Digital stardust won’t magically make future cities more affordable or resilient. The term “smart city” is interesting yet not important, because nobody defines it. “Smart” is a snazzy political label used by a modern alliance of leftist urbanites and tech industrialists. To deem yourself “smart” is to make the…
By Susan Crawford In partnering with local governments to create infrastructure, Alphabet says it is only trying to help. Local governments shouldn’t believe it. A DECADE AGO, Chicago handed over control of its parking meters to a cadre of private investors. Officials pitched the deal as an innovative win-win. In exchange for a 75-year lease, the…
By Joe Cortright , Published on 30/11/2017 Congestion pricing is a win-win strategy and the only way to truly reduce traffic congestion The urban transportation problem is a hardy perennial: no matter how many lanes we add to urban freeways, traffic congestion is just as bad, if not worse than ever. In the face of “free” road…
BY MIKE MACIAG | DECEMBER 5, 2017 Less than 10 percent of U.S. households are car-free. For years, many cities have pushed their residents to adopt car-free lifestyles. Doing so can help limit further traffic congestion and pollution, while also saving people money and improving their physical fitness. By and large, though, the vast majority of Americans…
Jacksonville’s enforcement of pedestrian violations raises concerns that it’s another example of racial profiling. A Times-Union/ProPublica Investigation By Benjamin Conarck (Florida Times-Union)Topher Sanders and Kate Rabinowitz (ProPublica.org) The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office issues hundreds of pedestrian citations a year, drawing on an array of 28 separate statutes governing how people get around on foot in Florida’s most populous…
Published 28 October, 2017, by Rodrigo Alonso Translated by Amanda Pimenta This interview was initially published in Spanish by City Manager as “Jan Gehl, ciudades para la gente.” Jah Gehl is recognized as a follower of Jane Jacobs, the “grandmother” of urbanism and humanist planning. He has been a professor at the Danish Real Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and visiting professor in Canada, the United…
Published on August 16, 2017 by Ashley Carruthers Any public conversation about on-road cycling in Australia seems to have only one metaphor for the relationship between drivers and cyclists: equal reciprocity. An utterance like “Drivers must respect cyclists’ space on the road” must inevitably be followed by something like “For their part, cyclists must ride…
By Sarah Jo Peterson It’s over. The boom in car-free and car-lite living that led urbanists and the media to speculate that Americans were letting go of automobiles is over. The boom isn’t just over: all traces of it have been erased. The United States is arguably more car-oriented today than it was in 2006. We…
Published October 11th, 2017 by Regina R. Clewlow | @ReginaClewlow Useable data of the effects of ride-hailing service on travel behavior is sorely lacking, but a new study sheds light on critical questions about what companies like Uber and Lyft mean for transit, active transportation, and congestion. A new report on the adoption and use of ride-hailing finds that services…
By Mike Maciag, Published August 1st, 2017 The technology could signal the beginning of the end of parking tickets and other revenue sources. Some cities’ budgets could take a big hit. Like a growing number of cities, Austin, Texas, is getting ready for the arrival of autonomous vehicles. On any given afternoon, self-driving test models can be…
A post-automobile world? 