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Tuesday, February 19th

High Speed Rail and the Modern City
Let me refer you to an excellent interview with Andy Kunz in TreeHugger, talking about the present state of High Speed Rail and ntegrated rail systems in Europe, and the hope for something similar that alleviates the US's desperate dependence on automobiles, with all the personal, social, and physical harm they cause. A quick quote:

There is no shortage of money for transportation in America, and there never has been. We have always spent big money on state-of-the-art roads and airports in America. The problem is we have been locked into a roads-cars-airports-only investment mode for more than 70 years, and now are stuck with systems that are beginning to fail, and because they are all dependent on oil, have a very bleak future.

In Europe, they spend the majority of their transportation dollars continually expanding and advancing their train systems. While their countries become more sustainable and productive each year as a result of their train investments, our country becomes less sustainable and less productive as a result of our road and aviation investments.

Read the entire article at TreeHugger.com.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 02.19.08 @ 04:57PST

Sunday, February 17th

Commercial Uses in Residential Buildings
On a trip this weekend to Jim Thorpe, PA I was able to add two more photos to my collection of shops in residential buildings. I started this project primarily as a reaction to a "suburb in the city" phenomena that seems to have invaded the psyche in Pittsburgh. Whatever the means, it is good for our communities to be able to have as many commercial uses as we can, expecially if they can fit into a typical residential building lot. See the photos

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.17.08 @ 13:04PST

Wednesday, February 13th

The Lorax
Strangely Even More Relevant Today

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.13.08 @ 18:17PST

Tuesday, February 12th

Bloomberg Quote from Today's UN Conference
"It was said then that city air is freer because cities liberated people from the bonds of feudalism. Cities unlocked human creativity and fired human imaginations. Now cities can help make our air not only freer but also healthier for everyone who inhabits our globe." (See video link at post below).

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.12.08 @ 01:19PST

Bloomberg Announces Plan To Reduce Use of Tropical Hardwoods
During an address today at the United Nations, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a long-term plan to reduce tropical hardwood consumption by City agencies.

In the short-term, the plan will reduce tropical hardwood usage by 20 percent by eliminating these woods for construction and maintenance of park benches, piloting alternative materials for existing boardwalks, and reducing, to the greatest extent possible, the amount used by the Department of Design and Construction, the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Economic Development Corporation, the Mayor's Office of Capital Project Development and other City agencies. The Report also commits the City to avoiding tropical hardwoods for any new waterfront promenades. To further reduce the City's use of tropical hardwoods in the long-term in a safe and cost-effective way, the Report includes a series of studies to evaluate alternative designs and materials for our marine transfer stations, Brooklyn Bridge Promenade, maintenance of existing boardwalks, and Staten Island Ferry docks.

Watch Bloomberg Address the U.N.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.12.08 @ 00:44PST

Sunday, February 10th

Cleveland Going Silver
Cleveland is apparently accomplishing what Pittsburgh has failed to address, a rapid tranist line between downtown and the Universities. The project, known as the Silver Line, is part of the Euclid Corridor project. Despite seemingly continuous setbacks, Cleveland seems to make strides. The Silver Line is part of $4.3 million investment in the corridor that should go a long way to making the "mistake on the lake" a modern, livable city.

I remain to be sold on the high-tech bus system, however. Not only does light rail keep pollution out of the city, it can connect to the other rail systems already in place. While the Euclid corridor system is to some degree fixed in place, it is still a bus system that can continue to encourage suburban development, and that suburban development has seen the Cleveland Metropolitan area double in size even as the population has been cut in half and continues to decline.

I don't want that to overshadow this huge accomplishment, however. Moving people efficiently between downtown and the Universities will also help Cleveland begin to grow again from the center out, even if the suburbs and region remain in decline.

Watch a Video on the Project

Plain Dealer article on Economic Development in the Euclid Corridor

Photos of Cleveland

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Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.10.08 @ 12:31PST
Wednesday, February 6th

New York, Good For Two
Today we know that living in New York is good for your health. It's hard to have a car so you tend to walk, and that's good for your heart. You might also think of New York as a place for swingers. You may be able to get anything you want at anytime, but what do New Yorkers want anyway? Today I learned that New York is also good for your relationship. It looks like Indianapolis has the highest divorce rate in the country, but New York has the lowest. Ah yes, this could be the housing cost factor... if you split up, who gets to move and lose the rent control? Whatever works, works though, right? It looks like the big liberal city is more family, or at least couple, friendly than the heartland after-all.

Check out the article Best Cities for Couples

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 02.06.08 @ 23:52PST

Sunday, February 3rd

London's Car-Free Shopping Day a Hit
Cool Town Studios reports that:

What does $200 million have to do with cars? Absolutely nothing if you were in London's famous West End shopping district on Saturday, December 1st, known as Shop West End VIP (Very Important Pedestrians).

That's because 600 retailers on Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street were open only for pedestrians, billed as the world’s largest area ever to be dedicated to shopping for the day. Not surprisingly, many retailers reported the best sales day of the year.

All three of the West End of London's streets were closed to automotive traffic and given over to humanity. The New West End Company's Jace Tyrrell said, "Today's event shows us all what the West End will be like in 2013 with traffic removed and the streets turned over to the pedestrian."

To read more, go to Cool Town Studios.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 02.03.08 @ 19:14PST