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
Mobility & Transportation
Thinking Through the Right Transportation, the Right Place & the Right Time – Sam Staley, Planetizen
Moving past the traffic congestion debate – Barbara Hollingsworth, Washington Examiner
National vehicle history database goes live – Breitbart.com
Study: Driver cell phone bans don’t reduce crashes – Washington Examiner
How the Apple iPad changes the commuting equation – Tory Gattis, Houston Strategies
Stretch of H-1 is nation’s 2nd-worst – Honolulu Advertiser
Don’t judge rail report by its partisan cover – Tampa Tribune
Tentative deal reached for I-90 light rail – Bellingham Herald, Washington
Amtrak threatens to stop Central Florida service – Palm Beach Post, Florida
New METRO rail line affects schools, businesses – KTRK-TV, Houston
Light rail brings changes in Metro bus routes – Highline Times, Washington
Light Rail Construction On East Line Not Going Smoothly For Businesses – Houston Press
How Much Has New Rail Transit Cost? – Randal O’Toole, The Antiplanner
Delays increase up-front cost of light-rail line in St. Paul, Minneapolis – TwinCities.com
Bellevue urges new route for light rail – Seattle Times
BART funds withheld for possible violations of Civil Rights Act – Free Speech Radio News
Threat to San Francisco’s Bart Expansion – New York Times
Metro service back to normal after double fatality – WTOP.com, Washington
Light-rail train and car collide in Rainier Beach – Seattle Times
Pedestrian Struck By Muni Light Rail On Ocean View Line – KTVU.com, San Francisco
Man Hit by Light Rail Train in Warehouse District – MyFoxTwinCities.com, Minnesota
Light-rail train strikes car in Phoenix – AZCentral.com, Arizona
Neighbors Say Traffic Calming Devices Anything But Calm – 10TV.com, Ohio
Housing & Land Use
Obama’s War on Sprawl – Sam Staley, Reason Foundation
Housing Unaffordability as Public Policy – Wendell Cox, New Geography
Phoenix, put aside dreams of Gotham – Joel Kotkin, Arizona Republic
One problem with New Urbanism is its lack of flexibility – Randy Bright, Tulsa Beacon
Texas Leads U.S. in High-Growth Cities – Yahoo Real Estate
Vancouver named most unaffordable housing market – British Columbia News
Chairman Frank says House panel to suggest abolishing Fannie, Freddie – Washington Post
Sprawling Urban Definitions – Urban Omnibus
Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010 – Next-Generation Projects – Real Concepts
Wide Fallout in Failed Deal for Stuyvesant Town – New York Times
Suburban retrofit, a solution to sprawl – WFAE.org, North Carolina
New idea throws out sprawl; opts for walkable communities – RRStar.com, Illinois
New Urbanist development could cost taxpayers $895 million – Washington Examiner
Small businesses struggle on new faux Main Streets – Charlotte Observer, North Carolina
Report shows how Montgomery, Fairfax measure up – Washington Post
Owners irked by historic designation for their properties – Gazette.net, Maryland
Church-state battle brews over shuttered churches – NewsOK.com, Oklahoma
City shells out another $31 million to help developer buy land – NY Daily News
Air impact fees clear last state legal hurdle – Hanford Sentinel, California
$3 million light-rail assessment on businesses OK’d, but deferred – StarTribune.com, Minnesota
Jackson County sues Kansas City over TIF commission – KansasCity.com
SeaTac venture is not a public use – Seattle Times
Cathedral City moves forward with its eminent domain plans – MyDesert.com, California
Condemnation of couple’s Roanoke property to proceed – Roanoke.com, Virginia
Three Cheers!
Eminent domain off the table in Beachfront South – APP.com
SeaTac City Council rescinds eminent domain claim against Park-N-Fly – B-Townblog.com
Not So Sustainable
L.A. County transit agency projects historic budget shortfall – L.A. Times
Muni looks at some of deepest service cuts ever – San Francisco Chronicle
The 2008 Farebox Numbers – Cap’n Transit Rides Again
Gas tax best way to fund light rail, planner says – National Post
Poll: Voters for $2.1 billion from property taxes for light rail – Slog News & Arts, Seattle
Mayor Daley: Can’t stop CTA service cuts – Chicago Sun-Times
Regional Transit faces $16M budget gap – Sacramento Business Journal
High Speed Rail
High Speed Rail Grants Issued – HighSpeed-Rail.org
HSR grants announced; CA, FL, and IL are lucky recipients – The Transport Politic
Can High-Speed Rail Succeed in America? – Time.com
Fast Track to the Future: A High-Speed Rail Agenda for America – Progressive Fix
California high-speed rail project’s flaws publicized – Sacramento Bee
Many HSR jobs to go to foreign companies with fast-train experience – CanadianBusiness.com
Is High-Speed Rail on the Horizon? – IndustryWeek.com
Obama revs up Tampa with $1.25 billion in rail money – St. Petersburg Times
Congressman says start high speed rail in Orlando – WBDO.com, Orlando
Nevada not included on list for high-speed rail projects – Las Vegas Sun
Oklahoma High-Speed Rail Grant Rejected – NewsOn6.com, Oklahoma
High-speed rail plan to move at slower pace – Chicago Breaking News
Small towns concerned about high-speed rail – State Journal-Register, Illinois
Take that, NIMBYs: Pro high-speed train movement picks up steam – Oakland Tribune
After all the promises, will taxpayers be stuck with the monorail’s bills? – Las Vegas Sun
Taiwan High Speed Rail says no to private sector lenders – infrAsia.com
Growth Management Globally
A Trip to Vancouver Brings Density to Mind – OregonLive.com
Vancouver Retains Top Spot For Most Expensive Housing – Unambiguously Ambidextrous
Information technology could play key role in travel – Sustainable Development Commission, UK
Next Steps After Copenhagen: Transportation – World Resources Institute
Australian Home Building Won’t Meet Demand – Bloomberg Business Week
Sydney housing world’s ‘second least affordable’ – Architecture & Design
China Property Rights May Be Increased – Huffington Post
European groups against the High Speed Train join forces in Hendaia – Leherensuge
Across the Tracks
Has Sprawl Recovered Enough for the National Economy? – The New Republic
Senate Weighs $14B for Roads, $7.5B for Transit in Jobs Bill – Streetsblog.org
‘Smart Growth’ drives rail plan – Taunton Daily Gazette, Massachusetts
Ken Greenberg on the Future of Urban Planning – MetropolisMag.com
Review of outdated policies takes aim at urban sprawl – Centretown News, Canada
Refuting Critics of Smart Growth (Again) – Planetizen
Building a sustainable future – Vernon Morning Star
Our love affair with the car: On the rocks, or a rough patch? – Philadelphia Inquirer
Public Transportation Creates More Jobs – DailyKos.com
Getting light rail back on track – Memphis Commercial Appeal
Welcome to Utah – Just don’t breathe – Standard.net
How “green” is public transport? – Auckland Transport Blog
Portland: another challenging chart – HumanTransit.org
Take Control Away >From Drivers to ‘Combat Climate Change’ – UNETS Detroit
Nothing’s New Urbanism
Milton residents offer transportation fixes – NorthFulton.com, Georgia
Detroit’s revival hinges on efficient mass transit: PBS documentary – Detroit Free Press
New restrictions placed on Market Street traffic – Silicon Valley Mercury News
Budget, light rail, sustainability discussed at Mercer Island planning session – MI-Reporter.com, Washington
Now You Know
Can Slime Molds Solve Traffic Jams? – Fox News
First date etiquette: How to handle public transportation – ChicagoNow.com
Woman sues Metra over exploding toilet – Chicago Bar-Tender
When New Urbanists Attack!
Burning bagel empties Portland City Hall – Breitbart.com
Injured man tried to karate chop moving train – CourierMail.com.au, Australia
Celebrity cat killed in hit and run – The Herald, UK
Quote of the Week
“I see St. Louis and larger cities benefiting from high-speed rail much more than Carlinville. I see more negative in the high-speed rail than positive, especially for smaller communities.” Carlinville Mayor Bob Schwab, on the safety and traffic concerns for those left out of the HSR sweepstakes.
“For us, if it calls for selling or shutting down the property and losing this particular spot, we’ll be forced to look for another location for Our Network School.” Kathy Carter, on having to make room for ‘progress,’ also known as light rail.
“It’s the poster child for the entire housing bubble. There’ll be some other spectacular blowups, but this will be at the top of the pecking order.” Daniel Alpert, managing partner of Westwood Capital on the collapse of the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village project.
* 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. **
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