Moving Minds: Conservatives and Public Transportation

Reconnecting America is co-publishing the book Moving Minds: Conservatives and Transit, “a collection of studies by renown conservative transit advocates Paul Weyrich and William Lind.” The studies have, “helped conservatives understand why transit should be an essential part of the conservative agenda: because it enhances national security, promotes economic development, helps maintain conservative values including a sense of community, and provides welfare recipients with access to jobs.”

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2008 at the Ballot Box: Continuing the Trend

The results of November’s Presidential election may have represented a change of direction for our country, but at least one trend at the ballot box remained unchanged from the past few elections: Taxpayers across the country again approved a bevy of ballot measures to conserve land, protect farmland, promote smart growth; and expand public transportation, … Continued

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Realizing the Potential: One Year Later: Housing Opportunities for Transit in a Changing Market Place

The Center for Transit-Oriented Development, “has updated its Realizing the Potential: Expanding Housing Opportunities Near Transit study for the FTA and HUD, which assessed strategies to promote mixed-income housing along five transit corridors in Boston, Charlotte, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver and Portland. The new study, Realizing the Potential: One Year Later, finds the downturn in the housing market is playing out very differently in the five regions, and that it hasn’t increased home ownership opportunities for working families.”

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David Goldberg in Mother Jones Magazine

Smart Growth America / Transportation For America Communications Director David Goldberg was interviewed for the current issue of Mother Jones Magazine. In the wide-ranging interview, he discusses some of the history of SGA — but also discusses the prevalent economic and market forces that are reshaping consumer preference and affecting our growth patterns. Read the … Continued

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Less Auto-Dependent Development Is Key to Mitigating Climate Change, Research Team Concludes

New book documents how key changes in land development patterns could help reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions

UPDATE: Projected 2030 VMT, 2030 vehicle emissions, and potential CO2 savings updated below in bold to match the published version of the book.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Meeting the growing demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods could significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles Americans drive, shrinking the nation’s carbon footprint while giving people more housing choices, according to a team of leading urban planning researchers.

In a comprehensive review of dozens of studies, published by the Urban Land Institute, the researchers conclude that urban development is both a key contributor to climate change and an essential factor in combating it.

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