• Transformative transit this year

    New rail and bus rapid transit routes are being built in virtually every large metropolitan area in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Almost 800 route-miles of new transit infrastructure–most of it with dedicated lanes–is now under construction, at a total cost of almost $80 billion, to eventually serve...Read more

  • Land use, meet transportation

    About thirty years ago, someone told me that “The best transportation plan for a city is a good land use plan.” Over the years, the more I thought about it, the more sense this idea made to me. I realized that the potential for land use changes to help the average city from a transportation...Read more

  • What is a Smart City?

    When it comes to achieving a "Smart City," the qualities that make up the very lifeblood of urban living take priority over technocratic solutions.
    At a recent conference three words — smart, safe, sustainable — were used to define a "Smart City." However, the follow-up explanation for the words encouraged high-capital investment in technocratic solutions, yet did not mention quality of life, urban form, community, or placemaking — the very...Read more

  • Three cities

    Three kinds of urban places curve toward transit and walkability.
    A city that is walkable is also served by transit. Cities like New York, Philadelphia, and DC, are walkable with extensive and convenient transit. Cities like Portland, Denver, and Los Angeles were built around transit, first the streetcar and now light rail. They are somewhat less dense and a...Read more