CNU Salons
Some Cities Have More Children Than Their Suburbs
Submitted by MLewyn on Fri, 02/07/2014 - 4:51pmToday, I read a blog post by Joel Kotkin asserting, for the umpteeth time, that famlies with children prefer suburbs. But at the bottom of the post is a chart comparing the child population (as a percentage of total population) for dozens of cities and their suburbs.
Looking at another Republican Governor's Transit Record
Submitted by MLewyn on Thu, 02/06/2014 - 11:14amA few weeks ago I posted an entry on transit ridership under several Republican governors who might be running for President; since most governors are judged based on one or two high-profile decisions (e.g.
Toronto Gets Another Chance To Remove the Gardiner
Submitted by Alex McKeag on Wed, 02/05/2014 - 1:55pmTorontonians have been calling for the removal of the Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway for more than a decade. The effort, led by WATERFRONToronto, proposes tearing down the eastern portion of the expressway and building an eight-lane urban boulevard in its place. The effort has faced resistance from controversial Mayor Rob Ford and a handful of city council members, and the debate is destined to heat up again with the release of the environmental assessment (expected later today, and to be presented to the public tomorrow).
Review of Emily Talen's book online
Submitted by MLewyn on Sat, 02/01/2014 - 9:17pmMy review of Emily Talen's book City Rules is now online. To briefly summarize the book: in addition to explaining how land use and street design regulations promote sprawl, Talen shows how those regulations have become stricter over time. In addition to addressing oft-discussed issues like single-use zoning, Talen discusses issues like curb radii (the measurement of the edge of a block).
Vision Zero in America's Most Walkable City
Submitted by jmassengale on Sat, 01/25/2014 - 10:14pmSTREETS FOR PEOPLE ARE THE WAY TO CUT FATALITIES TO ZERO—BUT NYPD COMMISSIONER BRATTON DOESN'T AGREE
Originally posted on the Street Design Blog
STREETS FOR PEOPLE ARE THE WAY TO CUT FATALITIES TO ZERO—BUT NYPD COMMISSIONER BRATTON DOESN'T AGREE
Urbanism and the Oscars
Submitted by MLewyn on Wed, 01/22/2014 - 12:20pmI just finished watching all nine Best Picture nominees, and thought I would discuss what the front-runners should be from an urbanist perspective. Which films occur in an urban or walkable environment? Which films present such environments favorably (or at least not unfavorably)?
Mini-Book Review: Regional Planning can be Pro-Sprawl Too
Submitted by MLewyn on Fri, 01/17/2014 - 2:28pmI have written about how local comprehensive plans sometimes favor sprawl over urbanism. But a recent book by planning scholar Carlton Basmajian, Atlanta Unbound, shows that regional planning can suffer from similar defects.
Comparing Christie With Other Governors: Public Transit
Submitted by MLewyn on Sun, 01/12/2014 - 8:18pmIn view of the recent scandal involving the politically-motivated closing of some bridge lanes in New Jersey, I thought I would start to take a look at how New Jersey Gov Christie's record compares with those of some other governors who might be running for President. But rather than going program-by-program, I thought I would look at actual transit ridership. (Statistics here).
More Evidence That There Are Still Poor People In Cities (Or, I Told You So)
Submitted by MLewyn on Tue, 01/07/2014 - 12:31pmIn numerous blog posts (most extensively here) I have pointed out that despite the enormous amount of writing about suburban poverty and urban gentrification, cities still have a disproportionate share of regional poverty.