Over the past 50 years, the U.S. has been transformed thanks to massive investment in the interstate highway system. Funded in large part by the federal gas tax, the federal government has set policies and allocated funds to states to construct the national network under a series of bills starting with the 1956 National Interstate […]
Are Expensive Parking Meters Fair?
Urban neighborhoods across America have a “parking problem.” Free curb spaces are hard to come by during busy times, especially in commercial areas. Because curb spaces are so much cheaper than garages, drivers continue to cruise for spaces. That’s the reason one of the major recommendations of parking reformers like Donald Shoup is raise the […]
O Street Market Zoning Hearing March 6th
The weekly newsletter circulated by my representative on the D.C. Council, Jack Evans, contains this personal plea for community members to attend an upcoming zoning hearing regarding a mixed-use redevelopment of the O Street Market: O Street Market needs support from residents The DC Zoning Commission will hold a Public Hearing on the O Street […]
The Urbanists’ Panacea: Parking Reform
For decades, zoning codes in American cities have required new buildings to provide a minimum number of parking spaces. The Washington, D.C. region is no exception, and our zoning codes contain a hodgepodge of requirements resulting in legally mandated parking spaces from Clarksburg to Springfield. A new book causing waves in the urban planning profession has put these requirements in the spotlight, arguing they have resulted in nothing less than a total “planning disaster” for American cities.
Read more to find out why Professor Shoup thinks our parking policies have “debased” our cities, what he thinks we should do about it, and how D.C. officials are re-thinking their parking policies.
Bill Clinton’s Four Questions and Barack Obama
I attended Campus Progress’s National Student Conference in 2005, where I heard Bill Clinton give a keynote address on the topic of how progressives can win again. Whatever you think of Clinton, you must concede his knack for electoral victory. The conference took place at a depressing time for many Democrats – Senator John Kerry […]
Web 2.0 for Urban Development
I’ve written before about potential applications of Web 2.0 to the field of urban development. On Planetizen, I described some of the ways the new tools could be used to inform and engage the public in urban planning issues. On this blog last August, I described how a well-designed interactive website could help the city […]
The D.C. Urban Blogosphere Revisited
Since my original post on the topic way back in 2006, the D.C. urban and real estate blogosphere has evolved somewhat. However, only recently were there enough changes to convince me the topic deserved to be revisited.