• Twenty thousand C-notes for the 'civic commons'

    Major foundations are investing $20 million into four cities, matched by local funds, to revitalize underutilized assets and improve the public realm at the neighborhood scale.
    The breaking news today is good for Akron, Detroit, Chicago, and Memphis—four post-industrial cities—that will be getting $20 million from the Knight, Kresge, Rockefeller, and JPG foundations, matched by local funding sources, to connect civic assets and improve public spaces. These cities join...Read more

  • Autonomous vehicles: Hype and potential

    Autonomous rapid transit Is the best use of autonomous technology. Combined wtih high-capacity metro transit systems, this will avoid the degradation of autonomous vehicle performance from mixed-traffic flow and attract riders from private cars.
    Every new transportation technology impacts the geography of our communities and the structure of our lives. Autonomous vehicles (AV) are one such technology. Just as our freeway system or the streetcar network shaped our cities and lifestyles, AV will remake the metropolis once again. The question...Read more

  • Rebuilding a block at the heart of the city

    Saving historic facades and modernizing buildings were key to revitalizing an important downtown square.
    Pittsburgh’s Market Square was historically a bustling hub of locals and street merchants at the heart of downtown. Heavy cast iron buildings and fire-brick masonry gave the neighborhood a unique architectural charm. But by 2000, most stores that front the square had closed. Crumbling facades added...Read more

  • The morbid and mortal toll of sprawl

    The ‘elephant in the living room' of rising and preventable US traffic deaths and injuries is government-funded roads in drive-only places.
    A federal report this week revealed that traffic deaths have risen 9 percent over the last year and have totaled 19,100 in the first six months of 2016. More than 2.2 million people have been seriously injured in that time. The economic cost of those accidents is estimated annually at $410 billion...Read more