Far too often, the insanity of minimum parking requirements drive development decisions, to the detriment of just about everyone — a theme best developed by UCLA’s Don Shoup in his terrific book, The High Cost of Free Parking. Another story, as both data point and lesson: Our favorite local micro-brewery gives tours; we went last Friday evening, where we heard a version of this story.
Today in Louisville, Kentucky, hundreds are taking part in the opening day of the second Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. The conference is a ray of hope in the midst of our housing and economic crises — and an incubator for the ideas and solutions that can bring prosperity back to the cities, communities and neighborhoods … Continued
The Transportation for America campaign, of which Smart Growth America is a co-chair, debuted a new site today to help frustrated commuters and travelers to share their awful commuting stories — and learn about the connection that transportation policy and Congress have to the state of our transportation system. Check out the site, share your story, and tell your friends.
If you’ve been around the conversation on growth and development for any amount of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard someone bring up Arlington, Virginia. Arlington is the bit of Virginia just across the Potomac River from the monumental core of Washington, DC that leveraged the arrival of two Metro rail lines in the 60’s and 70’s to renew and revitalize their county into a prosperous, enjoyable and livable community that is a sought-after destination for employers, businesses, residents and visitors.
This Environmental Defense Fund report looks at potential transit funding mechanisms with a specific focus on California. For a variety of mechanisms, information is provided on how they could be implemented in California and how they are currently being used elsewhere.
Investing first in repair and maintenance can prevent another disaster like Minnesota’s I-35W bridge collapse. Tell your Governor to invest in the future with smart, proven, ready-to-go transportation spending. Creative Commons Flickr photo by Poppyseed Bandits. Earlier this week, we highlighted a new Smart Growth America report that details 20 proven and ready-to-go ways for … Continued
Click to learn more about the report Governors and state departments of transportation around the country are burning the midnight oil to prepare lists of transportation projects that could be funded under President Obama’s economic stimulus package, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As they develop these lists of transportation projects to be funded under … Continued
This paper by Victor Dover, “discusses how features that make smart growth neighborhoods smart also make them desirable and command a premium from homebuyers.”
This study by Reconnecting America‘s Center for TOD explores how, “as TOD planning processes proliferate there is a broader understanding that mixed-income housing supports many TOD goals including stable transit ridership, better public health, broadened access to opportunities, and deeper affordability. This Mixed-Income TOD Action Guide was developed for the nonprofit Great Communities Collaborative (GCC), which is working in the San Francisco Bay Area to ensure TOD planning processes result in neighborhoods that include households of all income levels. The guide walks users through a three-step analysis to determine the most effective strategies and tools.”
This report, published by U.S. PIRG, explains why finding stable sources of transit funding should be a priority in the U.S. and provides descriptions of some potential funding sources.