Aaron Donovan
Before he began blogging about land use and transportation, Aaron Donovan wrote The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's annual fundraising appeal for three years and earned a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia. Since then, he has worked for nonprofit organizations devoted to New York City economic development. He lives and works in the Financial District, and sees New York's pre-automobile built form as an asset that makes New York unique in the United States, and as a strategic advantage that should be capitalized upon.
Recent Posts
Presentation: Brooklyn Bridge Park Transportation and Access Study
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The traffic engineers conducting the Brooklyn Bridge Park Transportation and Access Study will present their preliminary findings at this public meeting. The study, which included important public input, reviewed transit options to-and-from the park such as bicycle/pedestrian improvements, bus route modifications and vertical connections. The Downtown Brooklyn Waterfront LDC is a community-based local development corporation created […]
Talk: Taxi Technology
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The American Planning Association New York Metro Chapter‘s Transportation Committee presents … Taxi Technology A talk by Gary Roth of the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission By the end of the year, all of NYC’s 13,000 yellow cabs must accept credit cards and also contain a GPS unit. In order to ensure that […]
Seminar: Personal Mobilities, Contemporary Cities, and Urban Life
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CUNY Institute for Urban Systems presents … Personal Mobilities, Contemporary Cities, and Urban Life A visiting scholar seminar by Dr. Aharon Kellerman, Professor Emeritus of Geography, University of Haifa; President-Designate of the new Academic College for Israel In his most recent book, Aharon Kellerman studies contemporary cities and their residents from the perspective of the […]
Hyper Motorization in China: Is There No Way Back?
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NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management and CUNY Institute for Urban Systems present … Hyper Motorization in China: Is There No Way Back? A talk by Dr. Lee Schipper, Director of Research, EMBARQ – The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport. By any definition, China’s urban transport is becoming less sustainable. […]
NYMTC Brown Bag Seminar: Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from Europe
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The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council presents … Promoting Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from Europe Remarks by Dr. John Pucher, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University Prof. Pucher will examine a range of public health impacts of our urban transport systems. He argues that the current car-dependence of […]
The Weekly Carnage
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Fatal Crashes (21 Killed This Week; 149 Killed This Year) Tuxedo, N.Y.: 2 Truckers Killed in Thruway Crash (Journal News) Manhattan: Woman, 72, Struck by Car, Killed (AM NY) Brooklyn: Man, 68, Struck by Car, Killed, 2 Injured (Newsday) Neptune, N.J.: 3 Killed in 2-Car Crash (Star-Ledger) Related: Racing Deaths Spur Warnings to Young Drivers (Star-Ledger) […]
Charles Komanoff: Getting the Price Right: The Case for Carbon Taxation
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Charging American businesses and individuals a price to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) is essential to reduce U.S. emissions quickly enough to prevent atmospheric concentrations of CO2 from reaching an irreversible tipping point. It’s a bedrock economic principle that prices of goods and services should reflect ("internalize" as the economists say) all of the societal costs […]
Majora Carter: Communities as Assets, Not Omelets
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Robert Moses said, "You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs." So, who ordered the omelet? Big projects promise big returns, but may disproportionately benefit the well-connected. Are the economic fibers that connect communities undermined as a result? In a provocative lecture, Majora Carter, Executive Director of Sustainable South Bronx, will discuss the implications of […]
Why Is Saudi Arabia’s Oil Production Down?
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We still have three years and nine and a half months to learn who will win the bet between energy investment banker Matthew R. Simmons and New York Times columnist John Tierney over whether oil prices would be above or below $200 a barrel in 2010. Tierney bet "below" because he believes that over the long term, the prices […]
City Council Hearing on Bike Safety Legislation
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The City Council Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on: Proposed Int 24-A – A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to bicycles used for commercial purposes (requiring helmets). Proposed Int 58-A – A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, […]
Regional Plan Association Regional Assembly: A Bright, Green Future: Climate Change, Energy and Growth in the Tri-State Metropolitan Region
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Speakers and panelists include: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg The Hon. Jon S. Corzine, Governor of New Jersey The Hon. James J. Florio, former Governor of New Jersey Majora Carter, founder and Executive Director of Sustainable South Bronx Brian Lehrer of WNYC Paul Roberts, author of The End of Oil Rohit Aggarwala, Director of PlaNYC 2030 And many […]
Transit Movies Presentation – New York Subway, Queens Route
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A movie screening for a film about the New York subway, Queens route, sponsored by the Electric Railroaders Association, New York Division.