A press release from Tenants Together outlines how banks are punishing renters for landlords' ineptitude:

New Report Details the Impact of Foreclosure on California Tenants: At Least One Third of Units in Foreclosure are Rentals

Tenants Together, California's Statewide Organization for Renters' Rights, released a new report today on the impact of foreclosures on California renters. The report, Hidden Impact: California Renters in the Foreclosure Crisis, conservatively estimates that at least one third of residential units in foreclosure in California are rentals. Renters in these properties are innocent and hidden victims of a foreclosure crisis they did nothing to create.

The report provides essential insight into the hardships faced by hundreds of thousands of California renters in foreclosed properties. Renters are facing utility shut-offs, eviction, loss of security deposits, and other related problems when their homes go into foreclosure because their landlords fail to pay the mortgage. Due to loopholes in tenant protection laws and lax enforcement of existing laws, renters are living through nightmare situations - even basic rights like the right to running water cannot be taken for granted by renters in foreclosed properties. Banks routinely evict all renters after foreclosure.

According to Dean Preston, Executive Director of Tenants Together, "Banks are throwing tenants out of their homes so that properties can sit vacant. It's unconscionable. Foreclosure evictions must be stopped."

Hidden Impact provides a roadmap of what needs to be done to protect renters from the hardships described in the report. The report includes a checklist of recommended action at all levels of government. Among the various proposals, the report notes that "just cause for eviction" laws are a particularly effective and cost-free way to stop the unjust displacement of innocent renters after foreclosure.

Tenants Together is in a unique position to report on the human impact of the foreclosure crisis on renters. The organization operates California's only hotline exclusively for tenants in foreclosure situations. California tenants can reach the Tenant Foreclosure Hotline at 415.495.8012.

Data collected from the Tenant Foreclosure Hotline revealed that a shocking 62% of renters surveyed live in properties incorrectly listed as "owner-occupied" in county-based data. The report calls for further study on the issue, asserting that "a study based on actual usage of properties, as opposed to how the properties are described in county records, will reveal a significantly higher percentage of renter-occupied households." The report predicts that "the 'at least one third' estimate that we announce in this report appears to be just the tip of the iceberg."

Richard Risemberg on 03.31.09 @ 03:51 PM PST [link]  

Cincinnati is betting that with the help of some federal stimulus money it can have modern streetcars in operation by 2011. It's not a system for tourists that's being looked at, however. Bradley Thomas, representing the promotional effort Cincystreetcar.com says that most of the benefits of the project will result from economic development rather than transportation. Streetcars, he says, can help bring new life to under-utilized buildings, attract new businesses and members of the creative class to Downtown and Over the Rhine neighborhoods and increase the city's take from the occupation tax. We spoke with Mr. Thomas about the efforts to bring streetcars back. Listen to the full podcast here or download it on itunes. (full podcast may not be available until 4/1/09)

Eric Miller on 03.31.09 @ 06:53 AM PST [link]  

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, which ranked #3 in the U.S. Literature and Fiction category merely a week ago, has now climbed to #1!

According to Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute, “The explosion of interest in Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand’s ideas that we’re seeing right now is remarkable. As the United States’ economy deteriorates and the free market takes the blame for the disastrous consequences of government policies, Americans are increasingly turning to Atlas Shrugged, whose parallels to the current crisis are truly breathtaking.

“Anyone genuinely concerned with the expanding role of government and the accelerating erosion of freedom in this country should pick up a copy of Atlas and read it. In Atlas they will find the deeper philosophical explanation for what is going on today and, more important, they will find the revolutionary philosophy needed to guide us to a brighter future.”

Eric Miller on 03.30.09 @ 05:23 PM PST [link]  

Listen to the full podcast here or on itunes.

Eric Miller on 03.30.09 @ 04:40 PM PST [link]  

The United Nations will observe Earth Hour on Saturday, 28 March at its Headquarters in New York and at other UN facilities around the world including the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) offices in Nairobi, Kenya.

It is part of an effort to mobilize global support for a new UN agreement to address climate change when governments meet in Copenhagen in December.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called Earth Hour "a way for the citizens of the world to send a clear message. They want action on climate change."

"It promises to be the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted. People will be telling their representatives to seal a deal in Copenhagen, a deal at the climate change talks that will protect people and the planet," he said.

Earth Hour, launched two years ago in Australia by the WWF, the global conservation organization, calls for people, communities and cities to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. local time. The symbolic effort will be observed by more than 1,000 cities and close to a billion people this year.

The UN will be joining many other landmarks around the world in turning off its lights at its New York Headquarters and at other locations.

Secretary-General Ban said the deal that emerges from Copenhagen must be ambitious, fair and effective, and based on sound science.

"We are on a dangerous path," he said. "Our planet is warming. We must change our ways. We need green growth that benefits all communities. We need sustainable energy for a more climate-friendly, prosperous world. This is the path of the future. We must walk it together."

Earth Hour occurs the day before the first round of crucial UN negotiations this year on the new climate change agreement is set to begin in Bonn, Germany. The negotiations, which will take place from 29 March to 8 April, will be the first of three sessions leading up to the Copenhagen Climate Change summit in December.

The Earth Hour event will take place one week after the vernal equinox-when night and day are the same duration in both hemispheres-which ensures that it will be nighttime for all people, wherever they are at 8:30 in the evening.

Eric Miller on 03.27.09 @ 04:01 AM PST [link]  

The New Colonist now has podcasts available, comprising interviews with people involved in urban living and sustainability, as well as an ongoing series of conversations between editors Eric Miller and Rick Risemberg.

To listen to our podcasts, go to our Podcasts page.

If you have iTunes installed on your computer, you may subscribe to the podcast series for free; simply click here.

The iTunes link will work only if you have iTunes already installed on your machine; to download it (free), go to Apple's iTunes page.

Richard Risemberg on 03.25.09 @ 03:57 PM PST [link]  

To us, it may be a simple educational tool, or a ceremonial attempt to bring sustainability to the White House. To many in the Chinese community particularly, a round of applause went out to Michelle Obama and her White House vegetable garden. After all, to those who have had their tomato plants legislated from the front yard, it was a victory for what seems perfectly sensible-- to replace a useless lawn with a productive and life-sustaining vegetable garden.

Eric Miller on 03.24.09 @ 06:01 AM PST [link]  

The full audio podcast is available here

Eric Miller on 03.23.09 @ 03:35 PM PST [link]  

When the Clean Air Partnership raised the question of installing bike lanes on Toronto's Bloor Street, the city's best cycling route across town, there was the usual trepidation that the business community would reflexively oppose the idea of giving up car parking for cyclists. But a comprehensive survey of shoppers, merchants, and parking patterns made the surprising discovery that pedestrians and cyclists not only comprised the majority of visitors to the Annex neighborhood's local merchants, but spent more money per month and per visit than did drivers or transit users.

To read the entire (very long) report in PDF form, see Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking, and Business at the Clean Air Partnership's website.

A quote:

The general finding from this study is that pedestrians, cyclists and transit users account for the bulk of retail spending on Bloor Street West in the Annex neighbourhood. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that efforts to attract more pedestrians and cyclists will have a more positive economic impact on businesses than maintaining the existing parking on the street. On this section of Bloor Street, the existing parking demand can be accommodated by a reduced number of on‐street parking spaces combined with the existing off‐street parking spaces. It is clear that many merchants in the study area do not view on‐street parking as key to their business.

While the same results might not obtain everywhere, it underscores the importance of not making unwarranted assumptions about the perceived "necessity" to accommodate motoring at all costs for what may turn out, upon inspection, to be spurious economic rationales.

Richard Risemberg on 03.21.09 @ 01:44 PM PST [link]  

Eric Miller on 03.20.09 @ 11:08 AM PST [link]  

Last Tuesday, my father, who lives in the San Fernando Valley (and loves it), needed to get his pacemaker replaced. He refused to let his good friend and neighbor help and drove himself to the hospital, but since they don't let you drive right after anesthesia, he needed someone to drive him back.

The hospital is one mile from his house, so he could've taken a taxi or even a bus there, but he didn't, being, though a great guy, a thoroughly Americanized one. So now he needed someone to pick up not only himself but his car. So, no taxi, no bus, no neighbor (the neighbor, after a lifetime of driving, is unable not only to walk that mile, but even to conceive of walking that mile, and wouldn't in fact be able to walk to the bus stop two blocks away...lose it or use it is how it is with our physical capacities).

So after bicycling to meetings in South Pasadena and downtown, I grabbed the Metro Red Line over the hill and rode from the North Hollywood terminal to the old man's house five or six miles off, got the key from the aforementioned neighbor, and locked my bike up in Dad's house.

I then walked the remaining mile to the hospital.

The Valley, my friends, is pathetic. The dreariness of the wide, noisy street, the empty sidewalks, the abhorrent stucco-box architecture now faded and worn after fifty years, the endless pale-gray arrays of streets, parking lots, garages, turnarounds, and car-cages, the almost willfully shabby shops and apartments, devoid of any hint that the lives they serve should or even could be stimulating or in any way pleasant...pathetic.

Though I had only my cell-phone camera, I took a few photos and assembled them into the triptych above. Click on it to see a sampling of One Mile on Woodman. And know that this was not the worst of it.

The trash, the dusty neglected corners of walls, the dumpsters, the weedy patches of forlorn bare ground, dusty leaves of misbegotten ornamental plants, the deadness of spaces and of light itself...cars shaped this broken corner of LA, and cars serve to shield its denizens from the horror cars have made of it. No wonder they drive everywhere.

Few hours of my life have done more to confirm that the car is not a convenience but a cancer.

We can't keep doing this to ourselves!

Richard Risemberg on 03.19.09 @ 11:17 AM PST [link]  

The US Department of Traffic and the department of Housing and Urban Development announced a joint effort to promote and facilitate the development of affordable, sustainable housing and transportation modes, including Transit-Oriented Development and more. Said USDOT secretary LaHood in a recent press conference: "One of my highest priorities is to help promote more livable communities through sustainable surface transportation programs."

To those who doubt that the Feds can bring about clean communities, we say: bear in mind that the Interstate Highway System and urban freeway systems and their resultant sprawl were made possible by heavy Federal subsidies. These included not just direct highway spending but the mortgage deduction and (just after WWII) aspects of the GI Bill that sent billions upon billions of tax dollars to support suburbs and driving. The same hammer that built the one can build the other, and save us from the mess our forefathers created for us in their obsession with the delusion of power cars give one.

To read more from the DOT, see HUD and DOT Partnership: Sustainable Communities.

Richard Risemberg on 03.19.09 @ 05:55 AM PST [link]  

A group of Democratic and Republican senators and representatives has just introduced the "CLEAN TEA" act--the "Clean Low-Emissions Affordable New Transportation Equity Act"--to restructure transportation funding. Press release:

Washington, DC – Yesterday, Sens. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), Steven La Tourette (R-Ohio), Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced The Clean Low-Emissions Affordable New Transportation Equity Act or CLEAN TEA.  The bill is predicated upon passage of a comprehensive climate change bill, such as the one considered by the Senate earlier this year, which would generate revenue for the Federal government. Under CLEAN TEA, ten percent of the revenue would be used to create a more efficient transportation system and lower greenhouse gas emissions through strategies including funding new or expanded transit or passenger rail; supporting development around transit stops; and making neighborhoods safer for bikes and pedestrians.
Transportation is responsible for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions; passenger automobiles and light trucks alone contribute 21 percent.  This legislation recognizes that the United States cannot meet its climate change goals without addressing emissions from the transportation sector. Statements from the bill's co-sponsors are below.

Sen. Tom Carper said: "Today, we fund our transportation system through a gas tax, meaning we pay for roads and transit by burning gasoline. When people drive less, our transportation budgets dry up. This means states and localities that reduce oil use, lower greenhouse emissions and save their constituents money end up getting their budgets cut. But CLEAN TEA reverses this negative funding policy by sending money to states and localities based on how much they reduce emissions. Now, we in the Congress have the great opportunity to address many national problems at once – finding additional funding for transportation infrastructure, building money-saving transportation alternatives and lowering greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector."

"Reducing emissions from the transportation sector will not only help us achieve our global warming goals, but will provide additional benefits to the environment, public health, the economy, and quality of life," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer.  This legislation will help finance our shift to a low-carbon transportation system that provides transportation choices, creates safe and healthy communities, and saves consumers money. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that any climate legislation we advance in the House recognizes the opportunities provided by the transportation sector."

"This bill represents an important step in lowering our nation's greenhouse gas emissions, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and promoting transportation mobility," Sen. Arlen Specter said.  "Since transportation accounts for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, it stands to reason that revenue generated from a cap-and-trade system should be devoted to creating a more sustainable transportation future."

"Transportation accounts for 30 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions.  CLEAN TEA addresses the difficulty of reducing these emissions by investing in strategies that make our transportation system more efficient and in transportation alternatives, such as mass transit," said Rep. Melissa Bean.  "This bill is a great example of how pro-growth and environmentally conscious policy can come together."

"CLEAN TEA can't come soon enough for our mass transit infrastructure," Rep Mark Kirk said. "By investing in energy-saving projects like commuter rail, we'll save money at the gas pump, decrease congestion and reduce greenhouse gases. Most importantly, we'll create thousands of jobs throughout the country."

 "CLEAN TEA is a good benchmark to start the debate on climate change legislation. We cannot effectively address climate change without reducing the transportation sector's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions," Rep. Ellen Tauscher said. "This bill follows in the wake of historic legislation in California to address climate change by linking it to land use and transportation policy."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE               
March 12, 2009
Media Contacts:
Sahar Wali (Blumenauer) 202-225-4813                               
Bette Phelan (Carper) 202-228-6304
Kate Kelly (Specter) 202-224-9020
Jonathan Kaplan (Tauscher) 202-225-1880
Jonathan Lipman (Bean) 202-225-3711
Aaron Winters (Kirk)  847-940-0202

Richard Risemberg on 03.17.09 @ 04:20 AM PST [link]  

Hear the full-length versions of all our podcasts on our new Podcasts page!

Eric Miller on 03.16.09 @ 02:45 PM PST [link]  

FROM THE WIRES--Despite falling gas prices and an economic recession, increasing numbers of Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation in 2008, the highest level of ridership in 52 years and a modern ridership record, according to a report released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). This represents a 4.0 percent increase over the number of trips taken in 2007 on public transportation, while at the same time, vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) on our nation's roads declined by 3.6 percent in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

"Even as gas prices fell for the second half of the year and hundreds of thousands of people lost jobs, more and more people chose to ride public transportation throughout the country," said APTA president William W. Millar. "Given our current economic condition, people are looking for ways to save money and taking public transportation offers a substantial savings of more than $8,000 a year. That's quite a savings."

This ridership record continues a long term trend of ridership growth. Public transportation use is up 38% percent since 1995, a figure that is almost triple the growth rate of the population (14 percent) and up substantially over the growth rate for the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on our nation's highways (21%) for that same period.

Millar announced the ridership increase before more than 600 public transit leaders at an APTA conference in Washington, D.C. He noted that the record ridership shows the clear demand for public transit and compelling need for increased investment at the federal, state, and local levels.

Millar also announced the launch of a new advocacy campaign, Public Transportation Takes Us There, which is aimed at building congressional support for the authorization of the federal surface transportation legislation, which expires Sept. 30, 2009.

"Now, more than ever, the value of public transportation is evident and the public has clearly demonstrated that they want and need more public transit services," said Millar. "Public transportation is good for the economy, good for the environment and good for energy independence and now is the time for the federal government to increase its investment in public transportation."

Beyond the need for greater public transit investment in a new federal surface transportation bill (the current one legislation expires September 30, 2009), and the 2010 appropriations bill, APTA is advocating for the inclusion of public transportation investment in any energy or climate change bill.

"Every year, public transportation saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline and reduces our nation's carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons," said Millar. "Clearly, public transportation is part of the solution for our country's national goals of energy independence and carbon emissions reduction."

Millar also called on local and state governments to increase their investment in public transportation. Currently, transit systems are facing fare increases, service reductions, and layoffs--at a time of record ridership--because of declining state and local revenues.

2008 Ridership Breakdown
For the second year in a row, ridership on all modes of public transportation increased in every quarter. Light rail (modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys) had the highest percentage of annual ridership increase among all modes, with an 8.3 percent increase in 2008. The light rail system that started in November 2007 in Charlotte, NC showed the highest percentage of increase with an annual 862 percent increase. The New Orleans, LA light rail system, which is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, had an annual increase of 218 percent. Light rail systems with double digit ridership in 2008 were located in the following areas: Buffalo (23.9%); Philadelphia (23.3 %); Sacramento (14.4%); Baltimore (13.7%); Minneapolis (12.3%); Salt Lake City (12.3%); the state of New Jersey (10.9%); Denver (10.5%); and Dallas (10.2%).

Commuter rail increased in 2008 by 4.7 percent. The commuter rail systems with the double digit ridership growth rate in 2008 were located in the following areas: Albuquerque (35.1%); Portland, ME (26.5%); Seattle (23.8%); Pompano Beach, FL (22.9%); Harrisburg-Philadelphia (17.7%); New Haven (17.5%); Oakland (16.1%); Stockton, CA (14.7%); Dallas-Fort Worth (14.1%); San Carlos, CA (12.5%).

Heavy rail (subways) ridership increased by 3.5% in 2008. The heavy rail systems with the highest increases in ridership for 2008 were in the following cities: San Juan (13.3%); Lindenwold, NJ (9.9%); Atlanta (8.6%); Miami (8.2%), Boston (7.9%), and Los Angeles (7.7%).

Bus service saw an increase of 3.9 percent, but in communities with a population of less than 100,000, bus services saw an increase of 9.3 percent in 2008. Major increases by large bus agencies occurred in the following cities: Phoenix (11.5%); San Antonio (10.2%); San Diego (10.0%); St. Louis (8.9%); Baltimore (8.7%); and Denver (8.6%).

Demand response (paratransit) increased in 2008 by 5.9 percent.

Eric Miller on 03.12.09 @ 11:04 AM PST [link]  

Eric Miller on 03.11.09 @ 03:56 PM PST [link]  

Eric Miller on 03.10.09 @ 04:34 PM PST [link]  

Eric Miller on 03.09.09 @ 12:31 PM PST [link]  

Anna Dove at the New York City Bird Club (yea I know, makes you wonder, like Ann Greathouse, real estate agent) wrote to remind us June 13th has been unofficially declared National Pigeon Day by the New York Bird Club. They're also asking New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make it official.

June 13th is the day that Cher Ami, meaning "Dear Friend" in French departed the Earth. Pigeons have a noble history. As you will recall, Cher Ami (a pigeon) served several months on the front lines during the Fall of 1918. He flew 12 important missions to deliver messages. Perhaps the most important was the message he carried on October 4, 1918.

Cher Ami, against all odds, helped rescue a lost battalion of soldiers and left an unforgettable mark on American history. And in fact, Cher Ami was one of six hundred carrier pigeons used by the American Army during World War I.

Pigeons get a bad rap. They've got to be THE official city bird, just ahead of those Canadian Geese. They are attractive, quiet, unobtrusive, have a calming, gentle voice, (I do a decent immitation) and are loyal, hardworking and devoted birds. And certainly worthy of our respect and admiration. They also serve the community well by cleaning our garbage away.

You can write to the Mayor at this address: mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov. For more information, visit nationalpigeonday.com.

For more about pigeons, visit Pigeons and other city birds

Eric Miller on 03.08.09 @ 01:42 PM PST [link]  

The Greenbelt Alliance says there's bad news in the state budget for Bay Area transit.

The California legislature passed a budget deal on February 19 to close the state's historic budget deficit. While a signed budget is good news for important programs, including many Coastal Conservancy projects whose funding had been frozen during the crisis, the outlook is dire for public transit.

The budget eliminates the main state source of funding for building and running train and bus lines for up to five years. Bay Area residents will see fewer buses and trains and pay more for fares at a time when demand for affordable, convenient public transportation is reaching a peak.

The Greenbelt Alliance (and The new Colonist) urges you to call or write your state legislators. Read More

Eric Miller on 03.03.09 @ 07:06 AM PST [link]  

New figures released last month by the U.S. Census should help increase the numbers living an urban lifestyle.

"As we see in the census figures, we are living longer and spending that extra time without children," says Eric Miller, Editor of the New Colonist, a web magazine about urban life. "While many still choose a lifestyle removed from the complexities of urban life, when the kids are gone, many see those complexities as attractive."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of families with their own child living at home decreased to 46 percent in 2008, from 52 percent in 1950.

In addition, increases in longevity--the average numbers of years of life remaining at age 30--increased about three years.

"This is time that's well spent in a city," Miller says.

According to the Census, as adults live longer, a larger proportion of married couple households will be those who are older and either childless, or whose adult children live elsewhere. The percentage of women age 40 to 44 who were childless also increased, from 10 percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2006.

"That's not to suggest the suburbs are a better place to raise children than the city," Miller says, pointing to the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn known for its stroller-pushing moms. "Likewise since 2000, the number of children under age 5 living in Manhattan has grown by more than 32% and it may be that the number living with children in cities may continue to increase."

Eric Miller on 03.03.09 @ 06:46 AM PST [link]  

Eric Miller on 03.03.09 @ 02:56 AM PST [link]