The American Dream Communicator
The most comprehensive digest of 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
Panel Discussion: Gridlock: Why We’re Stuck in Traffic & What to Do About It BookTV.org (Video)
Mobility & Transportation
U.S. driving decline is in reverse – USA Today
America’s Most Congested Highways – ABCNews.go.com
The Siren Song of Light Rail – Neil Williamson, Free Enterprise Forum
Only hope for I-95 may be tollbooths – NewsObserver.com, North Carolina
Good news for the economy? Portland gridlock got worse in 2009 – OregonLive.com
Transportation chief says bikes, buses are way to go in D.C. – Washington Post
Public transit is an inefficient way to cut greenhouse gases – Montreal Gazette
Dallas street theatre: A Streetcar Named Disaster – Examiner.com
Light rail’s new promised price tag: $338.3 million – HamptonRoads.com, Virginia
Metro service slips, from trains to escalators – Washington Examiner
Expert: What Metro really needs is some competition – Washington Examiner
DART ridership and revenue fall; complaints rise – Dallas Morning News
Safety, Budget Woes Threaten DC Metro – Sweetness & Light
Muni: Bus blunders or plain bad luck? – San Francisco Examiner
Sound Transit light rail steel fabricator dodges bigger fine – Puget Sound Business Journal
51-year-old woman killed by LA light rail train – Silicon Valley Mercury News
Double shooting near light rail station – 6abc.com, New Jersey
3 injured when car collides with SF light rail – Associated Press, San Francisco
Pedestrian killed by light rail train – 9News.com, Denver
No injuries after Beechview light-rail transit accident – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Housing & Land Use
Blame Urban Planning – Randal O’Toole, Cato@Liberty
Obama Throws Life-Line to Smart Growth Areas – Wendell Cox, New Geography
Eminent Domain as Central Planning – Nicole Gelinas, City Journal
Debating smart growth: Is urban or suburban living better? – SmartPlanet.com
Indianapolis area tops housing affordability index – ActiveRain.com
Metro designates 28,000 acres for future urban growth – TigardTimes.com, Oregon
County commissioners naysay city’s comp plan – Siuslaw News, Oregon
Detroit begins crafting plan to downsize – DetNews.com
Developers say costs are prohibitive – Post Independent, Colorado
Court stays suspension of affordable-housing laws – Philly.com
City Converting Hotels Into Affordable Housing – 10News.com, San Diego
Decaying apartments symptom of housing crisis – San Francisco Chronicle
To some, urban sprawl is a stretch – Montreal Gazette, Canada
How ‘eminent domain’ makes blight – New York Post
6 property owners face eminent domain for city’s “Transitway” – Stamford Advocate, Connecticut
Holdouts fold in fight against RTD & eminent domain – Denver Post
Canada beats the U.S. (in protection of property rights, not hockey) – Western Standard, Canada
Freedom & Grassroots
Welcome To Ecotopia – Joel Kotkin, Forbes.com
Paved with Good Intentions: Fiscal Politics, Freeways & the American City – Urban Transport
Commissioners spar over including ‘rail’ on transit tax ballot – Tampa Tribune
They’re homing in on our houses, but social meddling adds costs – Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun
Not So Sustainable
Despite Bad News, Subway Chief Hopes to Hold Line on Fare – New York Times
Roads v. transit? Transit dollars pulling ahead – Seattle Times
NYC transit agency to cut more than 1,000 jobs – Bloomberg Business Week
Layoffs and cuts hammer transit – Sacramento Bee
High Speed Rail
High-speed rail is taking Californians for a ride – Contra Costa Times
California’s high speed rail dream – CNN Money
High-speed rail meeting gets heated – iStockAnalyst.com
Despite Governor’s opposition, business leaders want HSR – Nola.com, Louisiana
Monorail Accused of Shady Dealings in Court – Las Vegas Now
High-speed rail would drain passengers from Bay Area airports – Silicon Valley Mercury News
The not-so-fast track for high-speed rail – Stateline.org
Growth Management Globally
Families priced out of housing market – Swindon Advertiser, UK
Home, sweet home: a nice place if you can get it – Sydney Morning Herald
Home truths dash hopes of first-timers – The Age
Australian houses ‘world’s least affordable’ – Aussie Blog
Across the Tracks
The tragedy of suburbia – James Howard Kunstler, Hostoke.com
Obama’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities puts feds’ weight behind smart growth – Grist.org
Politics aside, denser growth really is smart – Redding.com, California
Transportation Victory for Social Equity – Planetizen
More traffic equals smarter growth – Morgan Hill Times, California
U.S. car fever waning after a century of growth – GreenRightNow.com
Critics of Hillsborough transit plan have nothing to offer – St. Petersburg Times, Florida
Rail is a sensible stretch – TBO.com, Florida
Critics of Hillsborough transit plan have nothing to offer – TampaBay.com
What criteria should we use to define smart growth locations? – Sustainable Cities Collective
Portland livability: mixing our heritage with sustainability – OregonLive.com
Raise My Taxes, Please! Financing Public Transit Saves Me Money – Planetizen
Vibrant Urbanism
The Epic Beard Man video: violence, race & public transit – ChicagoNow.com
Security guards now trained to stop fights in downtown transit tunnel – Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Man shot near south Seattle light rail station – Seattle Times
What women want: Public transit stops that feel safe – Green LA Girl
Too True To Be Good
Via train jumps tracks, smashes into Quebec home – TheStar.com, Canada
Message to Mike: Run the City, Not the World’s Biggest Charrette – PubliCola, Seattle
Notable Quotables
“There’s an overly antagonistic attitude toward motorists right now.” Lon Anderson of AAA, on Washington, D.C.’s approach to transportation planning.
“What it does is it prompts developers to sell more expensive homes, not less. And, as we’ve seen in Aspen, it drives a huge gulch between the rich and the poor. There’s a danger of crushing the middle sector.” Robert Macgregor, on the impact of inclusionary zoning mandates.
“It was never about FasTracks. It was about our property rights.” A tearful Kim Snyder, who is losing her business to eminent domain to make way for a parking lot for light rail commuters.
“But what has really struck me lately has been the extent and the frequency of these problems. It seems like every single day, there is a major screw-up on Muni.” Greg Dewar, on the increasing number of accidents by San Francisco’s transit agency.
* 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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