January 16 – 22, 2010
The American Dream Communicator
News & commentary about urban policy in America’s cities
Save the Date
June 10-12, 2010 – the 8th Annual Preserving the American Dream Conference, Orlando, Florida
>> Must See TV – Light Rail: A Money Scam?, “Stossel” Fox Business News <<
Mobility & Transportation
The Non-Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation – Sam Staley, Hawaii Reporter
Almost all US stimulus public transit funds granted – Interactive Investor
Are new transit guidelines an improvement? – Greg Cohen, National Journal
LaHood Eliminates Cost-Efficiency Rules – Randal O’Toole, Think Tank West
“Prius perks” ending in December – Autoblog Green
GPS study ranks Capital Beltway third worst for freeway congestion – Washington Post
Virginia governor plans to delay legislative fixes on transportation – Washington Post
Atlanta Forward: Arterial Street System Needed – Wendell Cox, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Only 67 passengers ride new Amtrak train between Seattle and Vancouver – Washington Policy Blog
NY MTA lost millions of riders and dollars last year – ProgressiveRailroading.com
Concrete must be ripped out, repoured on part of light rail – PilotOnline.com, Virginia
Light rail construction vexes Sheppard businesses – CBC News, Toronto
Bellevue council considers new light-rail route – Seattle Times
VTA plan to extend light rail to Los Gatos is back on track – Mercury News
$1.5M agreement in rail death suit – Daily Record, Maryland
Downtown Phoenix emerges as light-rail collision hot spot – Arizona Republic
Light Rail & Car Collide In Linthicum – WJZ.com, Maryland
Parking ahead – Boston Globe
The Road West – New York Times
New Release: 6th Annual International Housing Affordability Survey
Housing & Land Use
The War Against Suburbia – Joel Kotkin, The American
Picture-perfect Portland? – Aaron Renn, OregonLive.com
Suburbs & Cul-de-Sacs: Is The Romance Over? – Rick Harrison, New Geogrpahy
State’s New Green Building Codes Have Some Crying Foul – SolveClimate.com
Montgomery County considers development czars – Washington Examiner
Panel assesses area real estate, sees burdensome “new urbanism” rules – Gainesville Sun, Florida
Tampa Bay remains middle of the pack on Sun Belt economic scorecard – St. Petersburg Times
Our Aussie dream crisis – Adelaide Now, Australia
New Domino: “Authenticity” and Affordable Housing – Next American City
Walkersville officials are at odds with draft plan – Frederick New Post, Maryland
Bill’s transit provision irks local planners – Daily Reporter, Wisconsin
Report: Regulations hurt housing – LancasterOnline.com, Pennsylvania
Wal-Mart no more – Smoky Mountain News, North Carolina
Tax increment financing takes bigger toll on budget – Kansas City Business Journal
County, KC enter ‘civil war’ over TIF funds – Examiner.net, Missouri
Revel may get $300 million in TIF tax break – Press of Atlantic City
Will State Lawmakers Take On TIF This Year? – Progress Illinois
Using blight incentives for ag land questioned – Denver Post
Eminent Domain is Alive and Well – UPI.com
Robin Hood in Reverse – City Journal, New York
Three Cheers!
Attorney general proposes property rights reform – TriCityHerald.com, Washington
The end of the era of EPURA & TIF – Estes Park Trail-Gazette, Colorado
Building light-rail transit systems not feasible: premier – Taiwan News
Freedom & Grassroots
Martin Luther King, Freedom & the Automobile – Truth About Cars
Black groups sue over Central Corridor light-rail line – TwinCities.com
What’s keeping state in sorry shape – Steven Greenhut, Orange County Register
Highlights from the 2010 Detroit Auto Show – MSN.com
Critics & proponents of Honolulu’s proposed elevated rail will clash at State Capitol – iLind.net
Merits of transit tax debated – Tampa Bay Online, Florida
Missing It: E-Yikes! Electric Bikes Terrorize the Streets of China – Wall Street Journal
Getting It: E-Bikes, China and Human Aspirations – Wendell Cox, New Geography
Not So Sustainable
Squeezing transit dollars – Baltimore Sun
Transit agency seeks route cuts, fare hikes – San Francisco Chronicle
Sacramento buses, rail face more budget squeezes – Sacramento Bee
BART debates whether to raise fares, lay off workers to cope with budget deficit – Oakland Tribune
MTA revises doomsday plan – YourNabe.com, New York
DRPA planning makeover for Camden transit hubs – Philly.com
Beaverton Round TOD land ownership, future stuck in limbo – OregonLive.com
High Speed Rail
High-Speed Rail: Toward Least Worst Projections – Wendell Cox, New Geography
Obama Transportation Sec’y Ray LaHood’s HSR rail slush fund – MichelleMalkin.com
After all the promises, will taxpayers be stuck with the monorail’s bills? – Las Vegas Sun
Rail fight heats up – San Mateo Daily Journal, California
California HSR Plans Spark Environmentalist Infighting – Heartland Institute
Trouble down the track – Financial Express, China
Hong Kong passes controversial $8.6 billion plan for HSR link to China – Canadian Press
The European Model
Air France rail plans grounded by government – Travel News
Grasp potential of personal rapid transport, consultant tells Mayor – TransportXtra.com
Across the Tracks
American Suburbia vs. the Planet – Huffington Post
Obama Quietly Gets Federal Agencies Involved in Transport Planning – DC Streetsblog
Advocates hope Obama-Biden visit is to award rail funds – Tampa Bay Online
Trouble ahead (or trouble behind) for Florida rail dreams? – Orlando Sentinel
To Create Jobs, Build Public Transit, Not Highways – Autopia
Exploring Regionalism: Worthy Task Won’t Be Easy – Hartford Courant
Poverty growing faster in suburbs – Baltimore Sun
America at a standstill – Neal Peirce, Denver Post
Smart Growth and its Challenges in Cities – Greenhoof
Everything I Learned about Smart Growth, I Lived in College – Waxing Philosophical
Business leader: High-speed rail vital to region’s competitiveness – Bradenton.com
Edmond planners asked to construct ‘complete streets’ – NewsOK, Oklahoma
Bu$ vs. car? Public transit can save riders an average of $9,200 a year – Autoblog Green
How to finance TransLink – Vancouver Sun
Automobiles dominate Climate Protection Conference Expo – Austin On Two Wheels
Too True To Be Good
Green home award winners flunk walkability test – USA Today
Computers down at all 168 California DMV offices – Associated Press
Quote of the Year Nominees*
“The e-bike is a necessity for my work. The fastest and cheapest traffic vehicle I can afford. It’s the same for most riders here. I can finish my work on the bike. There are no buses in many places and I can’t afford to buy a car. What do you expect me to do?” Yu Dejiang, expressing the common sentiment in China for mobility that has led to explosive growth in electric bicycles.
“Five bucks is ridiculous. You might as well get a car.” Catrina McKneely, on the increased transit fares in San Francisco.
“People are intelligent in the abstract. They just get stupid when they talk about their own back yards.” New Urbanist guru Andres Duany, on the very people he hopes will buy his new book, The Smart Growth Manual.
“I’m not (for) smart growth. I’m (for) no growth.” Town Commissioner Russell Winch, drawing a distinction between two terms that often get confused when matching results.
* Come across a good quote? Send it to me at ed@americandreamcoalition.org. Check for past quotations in our Communicators on our website here.
** Check out Interviews with the Experts for the latest commentary on trends taking place in cities all across America. **
*** This Communicator sponsored by Happy Smart Growth ***
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