Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Sprawl

The Last Thing This Nation Needs

By Aaron Naparstek | Jan 21, 2009 | 21 Comments

I hate to nitpick at an outstanding and historic speech but it’s January 21 and time to start talking about the stimulus bill, so, well, I’ll let James Howard Kunstler do the nitpicking… “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars…” — Barack Obama’s inaugural address.“The last thing […]

Sprawlsville Steps Back From the Edge

By Ben Fried | Dec 12, 2008 | 7 Comments

A section of Tysons Corner slated for infill development. Image: Fairfax County/PB PlaceMaking [PDF] Last week the Federal Transit Administration finally approved the Silver Line, a long-awaited addition to the capital region’s transit system that will extend to suburbs in northern Virginia. There are still a few hoops to jump through to secure the necessary […]

The Original Sin of Environmental Review

By Ben Fried | Dec 8, 2008 | 10 Comments

No EIS necessary. Photo: tlindenbaum/Flickr In the past few months we’ve reported on opponents of bike lanes, car-free parks, and congestion pricing using the pretext of environmental review to stymie initiatives that would reduce vehicle emissions. Norman Oder at the Atlantic Yards Report points us to another unintended consequence of the National Environmental Protection Act, […]

Texas Governor Rick Perry Celebrates 18 Lanes of “Freedom”

By Brad Aaron | Oct 30, 2008 | 20 Comments

Texas officials this week marked the opening of new lanes on the Katy Freeway, a stretch of Interstate 10 that runs 40 miles west from downtown Houston. The state has added 20 miles of interior lanes, including 12 miles of HOV lanes, which officials say will eventually be converted to variable-rate HOT use. The rebuilt […]

PBS Exposes the Joys of Transit

By Ben Fried | Oct 10, 2008 | 12 Comments

NOW host David Brancaccio does an interview on the LA Metro. Click through for the full video. The latest episode of NOW is surely the most effective takedown of car-dependent planning ever broadcast in news magazine format. Adhering to the familiar contours of pocketbook journalism, "Driven to Despair" starts with a sympathetic portrayal of the […]

Streetfilms: Interview With the Transportation Engineer

By Ben Fried | Sep 26, 2008 | 5 Comments

In his storied career at New Jersey DOT, Gary Toth played an indispensable role changing the culture of the agency, promoting a place-based ethic instead of the auto-centric transportation planning dogma. Today Toth heads transportation initiatives at Project for Public Spaces, where he has written "A Citizen’s Guide to Better Streets." The book, which will […]

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