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For most of the 20th Century, US vehicle miles traveled (VMT) rose relentlessly. At the turn of the new millennium, the pattern changed substantially, but the view of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), did not.
Over the last six decades, the propensity toward ‘big’ has infiltrated every aspect of human life. People are bigger (or fatter), cars, homes, food production, retail, hospitals, business, industry, government, and cities all have burgeoned in size...
US traffic deaths are way beyond peer nations and the gap is widening, according to a report released this week from the Centers for Disease Control. Traffic deaths in the US have dropped since 2000, due to safer vehicles and declining miles driven...
Since the last recession, providing “infrastructure” has been synonymous with providing foundational facilities upon which communities can growAnchor and prosper.
Walkability leads to higher social equity, even in cities that have higher housing costs, according to research in the new report Foot Traffic Ahead. The graph above shows that cities with more office, retail, and multifamily development in walkable...
How many gables does this house have? I lost count at 11. The fake dormers and complicated roof line are meant to make up for the lack of variety in this Maryland exurb. Every house nearby has a similarly expansive lawn that is rarely used. Need to...
AASHTO, FHWA, NACTO and other credible organizations recognize that 10’ general purpose lanes on streets in cities are fine. According to the best research by Eric Dumbaugh and others, 10’ lanes provide equal or superior results for safety compared...
Note: New York State announced support for, or progress on, two urban freeway teardowns in Buffalo, New York. Like most US cities, Buffalo suffered greatly from ill-considered 20th Century highways that demolished and divided neighborhoods.
The inspiration for this iconic drawing was a walk from the beach over the dunes and into the scrub woodlands in the early days of Seaside, Florida. Douglas Duany, landscape architect, explained the natural transect to architect Andres Duany, who...
Heinrich Kley was a German illustrator active in the early 20th Century who was noted for darkly humorous pen-and-ink drawings. He sometimes focused on the conflicts of new technologies—such as motor vehicles competing for space on city streets with...
After spending two weeks driving in France, I was impressed by the quality of the roads. The asphalt surface seemed far superior to US roads, as I did not experience the rhythmic bumps that I am used to when driving in America. By US standards the...
A recent study in the Journal of the American Planning Association estimates there are 18.6 million parking spots in Los Angeles County, which would cover an area 16 miles in diameter if combined in a single 200-square-mile parking lot. Even spread...