http://goodspeedupdate.com Rob Goodspeed's blog Fri, 09 May 2008 04:05:48 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en There's a reason I told Planning magazine I'm excited about "more accessible and interactive approaches to the massive amounts of GIS data that planners have." After all, it's a type of data that has not yet been adapted to truly seamless social platform. I sketched out how such a system ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2209 All the major presidential candidate websites are generally similar in their structure. All three feature an "issues" tab, with pages on a variety of issues. These sometime link to other materials, such as lengthier plans in PDF format or other materials, but I thought the choice of issues and length ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2208 The gas tax for example, that seems like a good one to get rid of. It's not doing much for us as it is. What's that about a Minnesota bridge and global warming? I can't hear you over the roar of this SUV engine. Also, see the NY Times story "As ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2207 WMATA recently released the 2008 Metrorail Station Access & Capacity Study (PDF) which analyzes how the system can accommodate future growth in detail. David has a good summary of the report's major recommendations for improvement and expansion. A table in the report caught my eye that showed the estimated number ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2205 Record high crude oil prices has put the federal gas tax in center stage, as McCain and Clinton have proposed a summer holiday of the 18.4 cent federal gas tax. Thomas Friedman blasted the short-sighted proposal, as well as our leader's failure to create a coherent energy policy. Calling it a ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2204 Ever wanted to rent a bike in downtown D.C. to run a quick errand or see the town? Starting next month the city's SmartBike rental program kicks off with 120 bikes at 10 locations, where the racks have already been installed. Membership will cost $40 annually and work something like ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2203 This Tuesday I attended the "Earth Day Rollout" of a new book detailing the relationship between urban development and climate change. Intuitively, it would seem logical to conclude that compact cities release less greenhouse gasses on a per capita basis than low density ones. We might hypothesize compact cities shorten distances ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2202 "The principle of organic economy was too essential to the functioning of the society not to affect ethics and aesthetics profoundly." -- Ursula K. Le Guin, from the novel The Dispossessed Architectural sustainability, or the green building movement, is dominated by concern with buildings energy efficiency and use of sustainable materials. Left ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2201 In a previous post on parking I reviewed some of the region's bloated parking requirements. Today I was re-visiting the Montgomery County Zoning Code's parking requirements and decided to post a more detailed list. Although these requirements can be adjusted somewhat for uses near Metro stations or in parking districts ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2200 Last Saturday I competed in second annual Real Estate Case Competition hosted by George Washington University's Real Estate Investment & Development Organization. Sixteen universities created interdisciplinary teams to create detailed redevelopment proposals for a site in Rosslyn, Virginia slated for redevelopment. The property owners, Vornado/Charles E. Smith, participated in the ... http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2199