Uncategorized

What does post-Katrina New Orleans say about cities? About America? (NOLA resilience part 1)

By ·

Crossposted from NRDC Switchboard Staff Blog
Written by Kaid Benfield

You are looking at a photo of Congo Square, in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, adjacent to and just northwest of the French Quarter. Slaves once gathered here on Sunday afternoons to dance and make music, and some say it is the birthplace of jazz. I’m certainly not going to romanticize slavery, but one has to admire the resilience of those forced to endure it, claiming a day and a place for themselves and their culture. More recently, Congo Square was the site of the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, until Jazzfest outgrew the space and moved to the fairgrounds.

I’m headed to New Orleans today to take part in the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects. As a non-architect, I take a certain pride in being invited into their circle. I’m looking forward to being on a panel with my friends David Dixon and Laurie Volk. And I’m also looking forward to returning to New Orleans, for what I think will be the third time since Katrina.

Uncategorized

How are high gas prices affecting you?

By ·

Gas prices are nearing record highs, and all signs indicate this trend is here to stay. With the national average near $4/gallon, filling up a tank routinely costs $50 or more. According to the Energy Information Administration, the average U.S. household will spend more than $4,300 on gas in 2011. Spending that much at the pump is affecting all of us in different ways, and as the price of gas keeps climbing, many people are figuring out tradeoffs so they can afford to keep moving.

How have high gas prices affected your family? What tradeoffs are you making? Click here to tell your story.

People across the country are feeling the pain of paying so much for gas. Some are stranded and cannot get to work or get to a doctor’s visit. Increasing numbers are opting to carpool with colleagues or take the bus. Others are making major changes in their household budget because they have no other choice besides driving their car to get to where they need to go.

Smart Growth America is looking for stories from people everywhere about what kind of tradeoffs have to be made in the face of higher gas prices. Have you changed your commute or how you run errands? Have you found a new way to get around? Click here to tell your story.

No matter how the cost of gas has impacted you or your family, we want to hear your story. We’ll post the most interesting responses to our Facebook page, Twitter feed and our blog. Tell us your story today.

Uncategorized

U.S. mayors say no to new revenue for transportation without reform

By ·

Crossposted from Transportation for America’s blog.

A supermajority of America’s mayors surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors are clamoring for a reorientation in our nation’s transportation policy toward fixing what we have and investing in new options.

Ninety-eight percent of mayors identified affordable, reliable transit as crucial to their city’s recovery and growth, according to a survey of 176 mayors unveiled this week by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (right) on behalf of the Conference.

Commanding majorities favor an increase in the federal gasoline tax, but only if more funding is allocated to transit, biking and walking, and local governments are given greater discretion over project selection. Eighty-percent said new highway projects should be a low priority, preferring to focus on repairing and maintaining what we have. Federal financing tools like Build America Bonds or the TIFIA programs receive the support of 75 percent of mayors.

The mayors also agree with T4 America that finding new revenue sources for a larger transportation bill without changing any policies is a non-starter. Just 7 percent of respondents said they would support a gas tax increase without a shift in priorities.

Uncategorized

Coordinated transportation investments for a stronger economy in Louisiana

By ·

Did you know that in one year congestion in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans regions cost residents $898 million in wasted fuel, time and productivity? Or that in 2009 congestion cost the freight trucking industry $350 million in lost productivity and fuel costs in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas?

Smart Growth America’s coalition member the Center for Planning Excellence, has released a new policy brief about better transportation options for southern Louisiana. Connected and Ready to Compete, draws on data, maps, testimonials and case studies to continue making the case for enhanced transportation options between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. This brief, the second in a series of three, follows the first report by specifically addressing why coordinated transportation investments and planning are economically and financially beneficial for the super region. Analyzing job centers, gas prices, national trends and regional opportunities, this report shows businesses, industries and local governments how better transportation coordination can benefit them.

Click here for more information from the Center for Planning Excellence >>

Uncategorized

Complete Streets Policies Growing Strong

By ·

Crossposted from Complete Streets.

New Analysis, Highlights Strongest Policies, Gives Advocates a New Tool

States and local governments in every quadrant of the nation are adopting strong complete streets policies, according to a new analysis by the National Complete Streets Coalition. The new report, “Complete Streets Policy Analysis 2010,” rates the strength of written policies that are designed to ensure that future transportation infrastructure investments provide safe options for everyone using the roadways. Rather than providing a single model policy, the report provides dozens of examples of strong policy language that is actually in use somewhere in the United States. It will serve as a resource to continue the expansion of the complete streets movement.

The report documents the tremendous growth in adoption of policies across the US. The number of policies came close to doubling in each of the last three years. Twenty-three states (and Puerto Rico and DC) and more than 200 smaller jurisdictions now have complete streets policies to ensure that future transportation investments provide safe options for everyone using our roadways.

“Recent polls show that voters’ top priority for infrastructure investments are safer streets for our communities and children,” notes Barbara McCann, National Complete Streets Coalition Executive Director. “Our report shows that this commitment is not only wide, but deep: community leaders and transportation practitioners are rolling up their sleeves and working together in small towns and big cities, in almost every state in the nation, to pass policies that will ensure that future transportation investments create complete streets.”

Uncategorized

"Regional Planning with Peter Calthorpe" webinar materials now available online

By ·

Is your agency or organization looking to start or advance a regional plan? In this latest webinar from the Sustainable Communities Network, award-winning planner Peter Calthorpe shares advice on how to begin, implement and successfully navigate the regional planning process, and ideas about how to leverage regions’ unique qualities to meet fiscal goals, land use challenges and transportation needs.

Listen in: Click here to view the archived webinar

Peter Calthorpe has over 30 years of experience in the field and is known for such successful projects as Envision Utah. His most recent book, Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change, documents new work and analysis relating patterns of development to energy and carbon consumption, along with other environmental, social and economic impacts.

Want to know about webinars like this one before they happen? Join the Sustainable Communities Network, an online community of state and local government officials, business leaders and non-profit professionals interested in the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The Network provides opportunities to ask questions, learn best practices and share ideas with others from around the country. The Network also shares updates about federal initiatives, upcoming events, webinars and conferences to support vibrant, sustainable communities. Click here to subscribe.

Uncategorized

Transportation for innovation in Minneapolis-St. Paul

By ·

Minneapolis and Saint Paul, MN, have formed an innovative partnership aimed at taking the Twin Cities region to a new level of prosperity. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Business Plan, created as a part of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, is a long-term strategy for sustainable economic growth in which the cities will pool their assets rather than competing against each other. Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to a number of universities and colleges, Fortune 500 companies and medical research facilities, and the region’s business plan will help reduce transaction costs between businesses, inventors, suppliers, workers and consumers through better infrastructure and networking programs.

Economic activity thrives where transaction costs are lowest, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul plan aims to reduce these costs whenever possible. One of the ways the plan will do this is by constructing a light-rail line linking universities, medical and research institutions, central business districts and population centers throughout the region. Doing so will increase interaction between businesses and connect the area’s patent-holders with the economic actors that have capital to invest, hopefully increasing the percentage of inventions from the region that make it into the global marketplace. In addition to connecting existing assets like universities and medical centers, the cities will also encourage new development along the light-rail line to maximize the return on their investment.

Uncategorized
  • …
  • …