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Sunday, April 30th

Rail Networks Grow in Asia
While the US burns oil like it was going out of style, the rest of the world isn't just fiddling around. The Trans-Asia Rail Network, originally proposed a couple of decades ago, is finally starting to move towards realization. It will, if built out to concept, eventually comprise some 81,000 kms. of rail interconnecting countries from South Korea to Singapore to western Russia to Turkey, and eventually Europe.

Meanwhile, the US continues to load most of its cargo onto trucks, which run at 1/4 the fuel efficiency of trains at best, cannot be effectively electrified, and invoke far higher labor costs and tax expenditures.

For a good overview, see Australia's The Age.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 04.30.06 @ 18:57PST

Wednesday, April 26th

Control of the Cost of Gas Is in Your Hands...or Feet
A Los Angeles Times article today notes:

"Every president who has problems with energy learns that there is not a lot you can do in the short term," said Yergin, author of "The Prize," a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the oil industry. "The system is overstressed … and the truth is most of the [solutions] are medium-term or long-term."

What counts in the short term is demand, he said, noting that prices retreated when consumption dropped amid the price surge that followed last year's hurricanes. For immediate effects, Yergin said, "it's really not what the administration does — what really matters is what consumers do."

And what can consumers do about it?

Drive less, of course. Walk, ride your bike, buy locally. The price of the gasoline you do use will go down. And the price of the gasoline you don't use will be zero, eh? Then who cares if the banana costs 5¢ more than at the BloatMart ten miles away, eh?

You might even rediscover your neighborhood, your body, your own life. Try it. It's a lot nicer than staring at the bumper of the car ahead of you for an hour just to pretend to save money.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 04.26.06 @ 07:40PST

Tuesday, April 25th

Jacobs Dies at 89
Sadly, author and activist Jane Jacobs has died in Toronto. She was 89. CNC Story

Here are some quotes...

"Many evils conventionally blamed upon progress are, rather, evils of stagnation."

"A country's basic wealth is its productive capacity, created by the practical opportunities people have had to add new work to older work."

"... city areas with flourishing diversity sprout strange and unpredictable uses and peculiar scenes. But this is not a drawback of diversity. This is the point ... of it."

"Sentimentality about nature denatures everything it touches."

"... a family I know ... bought an acre in the country on which to build a house. For many years, while they lacked the money to build, they visited the site regularly and picnicked on a knoll, the site's most attractive feature. They liked so much to visualize themselves as always there, that when they finally built they put the house on the knoll. But then the knoll was gone. Somehow they had not realized they would destroy it and lose it by supplanting it with themselves."

"What if we fail to stop the erosion of cities by automobiles?... In that case America will hardly need to ponder a mystery that has troubled men for millennia: What is the purpose of life? For us, the answer will be clear, established and for all practical purposes indisputable: The purpose of life is to produce and consume automobiles."

"Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.... for really new ideas of any kind—no matter how ultimately profitable or otherwise successful some of them might prove to be—there is no leeway for such chancy trial, error and experimentation in the high-overhead economy of new construction. Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings."

"To approach a city ... as if it were [an] ... architectural problem ... is to make the mistake of attempting to substitute art for life.... The results ... are neither life nor art. They are taxidermy."

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.25.06 @ 12:13PST

Well, What Is Consumer Spending Anyway?
A Seattle Times article today notes that:

As pump prices rise, they threaten to crimp consumer spending.

"High energy prices — including prices at the pump — act like a tax on the American economy," Treasury Secretary John Snow said Friday.

Which leads me to wonder: isn't buying gasoline consumer spending? Aren't we consuming the gasoline?

Maybe Wal*Mart is just jealous that Exxon is getting some of "their" money. But wait a second: isn't it your money?

Maybe if Wal*Mart (and thousands of others) hadn't built a business model dependent on folks driving to the store on subsidized roads in cars burning subsidized fuel, we wouldn't be in this global pickle we're now in.

Want to save your own money and still buy good stuff? Shop locally, by foot or bicycle. No gas prices to worry about, no parking fees, maybe you can even get rid of one (or all) of your cars and save on depreciation, maintenance, and insurance too....

Imagine that: pay more for a better-quality shirt or lettuce and still save money overall! And if we don't have to build and maintain so many wide expensive roads, taxes might go down as well.

Your driving costs: a hidden subsidy to corporate welfare queens.

Figure it out, America.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 04.25.06 @ 07:43PST

Monday, April 24th

How High Can It Go?
US Gas Price Map

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.24.06 @ 19:27PST

Saturday, April 22nd

The Conundrum
A recent headline caught more than a few urban advocates off guard. “American’s Fleeing Big Cities.” According to a new census report nearly every large metropolitan area had more people move out than move in from 2000 to 2004.

The conundrum is that traditionally it has been places that people are fleeing to that experience the high real estate prices. Today it’s the places being emptied. About 60,000 people left San Francisco between 2000 and 2004, Chicago experienced similar numbers. New York City lost some 210,000. Los Angeles had losses topping 110,000.

MORE

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.22.06 @ 12:25PST

Friday, April 21st

Where have all the steelyards gone?
The changing face of Cleveland is shown again as a portion of the steelyards just south of downtown will be converted into retail space. Some Residents are happy to see it happen, as there are next to no major shopping chains in the city limits. Northern Ohio grocery stores have stayed away from the downtown area.

This is all changing with the coming of Steelyard Commons. The site has excellent detail, including renderings, of the shopping plaza to come.

I personally wonder where they will be getting the steel to build the buildings. I do believe that a downtown presence of national retail will be a good thing for the city. Press releases from the site show the groundbreaking to have been September of 2005. The deal with Wal-Mart has already been worked out.

David Johnson (davidj@davidj.org), on 04.21.06 @ 09:37PST

Thursday, April 20th

Census: Americans leave big cities
That was the USA Today headline anyway. See the report The reason? Less expensive homes and open space.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.20.06 @ 12:56PST

Monday, April 17th

Condos In Boston
Disregard my earlier comment about condo development in Boston. I found it, and it's downtown on the waterfront. Also, I picked up an article about young people moving to the suburbs to find affordable housing. Downtown's could be the retirement communities of the future.

Rising home prices push young adults out of metro Boston

Also of interest:
Bigger car seats, doors, even caskets for overweight Americans

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.17.06 @ 10:53PST

Impressions of Boston
It’s perhaps the first city where I’ve noticed more Dunkin' Donuts than Starbucks, although the two seem to exist side-by-side the way local coffee shops and Starbuck’s co-exist in other cities.

My first impressions where really not as such as I had been to Boston briefly as a teenager. As those memories are vague, for practical purposes I am on my first trip to Boston.

Arriving at the airport, I rented a car and drove North through the outskirts to York, Maine. The buildings I saw reminded me of Philadelphia, not surprisingly with Boston being one of the four early European cities on the East Coast (New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston. Only three really exist today, as much of Colonial New York has been removed.

Boston is a very active, living city. It may be just the crowd here for the marathon, but the pedestrian infrastructure seemed no match for the hoards of people using the sidewalks, parks and public transit. The sidewalks are not as wide as they are in New York or even Philadelphia and the streets are laid out in a very erratic pattern, undoubtedly the result of early competing city designs (it was pointed out to me that Pittsburgh and Boston had in common the lack of a grid. Well, perhaps, the difference is Boston could have one. Pittsburgh’s topography prevents it.)

Boston didn’t have the opportunity to make the best first impression on me, but as the time was spent, impressions improved.

Visits to the Back Bay and Beacon Hill sections can’t help but impress with their large inventory of housing stock from Colonial-Victorian times. It would seem today the majority of these have been converted into condominiums or apartments (lending to the crowded sidewalks) but none-the-less in some cities it’s remarkable an early house survives, here old neighborhoods survive.

What a city saves is one measure that can be used to judge it, a second is what it builds.

Like many other cities, there seemed to be a bit of new condo development in Boston, although not as much as I suspected given the apparent great demand for housing in the center-city. A walk toward the convention center/world trade center showed a great number of Chicago-style industrial office buildings within a short walk and with a view of downtown. If these were located in Cleveland or Pittsburgh I suspect they would already have been converted to housing. I’m not sure what prevents this in Boston.

The World Trade Center sat beside what appeared to be several new condo buildings and a new T stop provides service (via electric bus with overhead wires) to both South Station (and this anywhere between Boston and Washington, DC) and the airport.

I’m suspect I am expected to comment on the underground highways. I did have a chance to go inside and see the tunnels from a taxi. I’m not sure how much traffic these removed from the streets, but the tunnels seem to work quite well. I have heard they already are exceeding capacity, however with prospects for expansion expensive and difficult if even possible.

If the situation is as dire as James Howard Kunstler’s The Long Emergency would suggest, within a couple dozen years both the streets and the tunnels will have much less traffic and Boston will be in a great position to convert them for use by high-speed trains (which will also make the air in there a lot cleaner.)

The price of housing here is astronomical. This is going to be the real challenge in the coming years. While city living is again desirable, it’s becoming anything but affordable. I suspect the answers will come in rebuilding near suburbs in a more dense manner and continually improving fixed transit systems as improving travel times within a city will allow more of it to be accessible within accepted commute times, bringing down the cost.

This will take a major paradigm change, however as we’ll need to move a major portion of highway funding to mass transit. I suspect gas prices will rise and boomers will retire faster than that need will be realized, creating chaotic and straining periods for our cities and especially low-wage workers.

In short, Boston is a great, pedestrian-oriented city, but you pretty much had to buy-in a long time ago.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.17.06 @ 06:36PST

Sunday, April 16th

Multi-Cultural Cleveland - Indian Classical Music
I am continually amazed at the high level and high celebration of Multi-Cultural events in Cleveland. Sometimes I am lucky to have heard the events were happening. Other times, I am walking the streets of Cleveland and fall upon them.

I hopped the RTA from East 40th and Superior straight into Public Square. My intention was to walk back on Prospect, but I had to swing by Star Plaza at 14th and Euclid to hit the ATM. My curiousity got the best of me concerning the continued existence of the 24 hour Best Steak And Gyros. They are still open, even under the same management, but they have changed their name to the Best Gyro and Pizza House. Apparently they are letting Mortons, Hyde Park or the Chop House handle the steak.

I had to walk fast to get back to work. I noticed three Indian girls dressed beautifully walking towards me. I looked across the street and there was an Indian woman and a man. My heart skipped a beat when I thought that there must be a really good Indian restaurant in the area. Curry!

I kept walking and looking and then realized that of the twenty to thirty so people in the area, I was the only caucasian and everyone else was Indian. On the north side of Euclid there was a group of about 40 people standing outside of one of the halls.

It turns out that the largest North American Indian Classical Music festival was just getting kicked off! I talked to a few people at some of the tables in the hall and they said the event would run all week and almost all of it was free. I heard two people sit and sing while I was there. The Cleveland St. Thyagaraja Aradhana website has more information. Authentic, and I do mean authentic, Indian food was being made in a cafeteria section downstairs.

The people were incredibly welcoming and accepting of me. I plan on spending more time the coming week seeing more people sing.

David Johnson (davidj@davidj.org), on 04.16.06 @ 04:48PST

Friday, April 14th

City of Cyclists
Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, already boasts one of the most bicycle-happy populations in the Western world, with over 30% of commuting trips taking place by pedal power. With its extensive network of bicycle lanes and parking facilities, Copenhagen has ensured that everyday bicycling by non-enthusiasts remains popular even through the dismal winters, and their continuing efforts to improver traffic integration have resulted in a 50% reduction in bicycle injuries in the last six years.

The city's government is more ambitious yet for its bicycling culture, and hopes to encourage an increase in bicycle use to 40% of commuting trips, reducing pollution and traffic and transit expenses while improving personal and public health and increasing civility.

Read a summary of Copenhagen's plans for urban bicycling, and view a charming and comprehensive video (including interviews with a full range of Copenhagen's citizen-bicyclists) at City of Cyclists.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 04.14.06 @ 08:23PST

Wednesday, April 5th

Survey Finds Planners an Untapped Resource for Addressing Energy Problems
A survey conducted by the American Planning Association (APA), in collaboration with the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), indicates urban and regional planners are highly interested in energy issues but often have difficulty implementing energy solutions due to a lack of information, training, tools, and technical support.

The survey assessed planners' knowledge, capacity, and educational needs on energy issues. Most respondents believe energy is very connected to their jobs as planners, primarily through transportation, sustainable development, smart growth, environmental protection, economic development, and community quality of life. The respondents indicated that high utility bills are the primary motivating factor for energy concerns for their communities. Air pollution ranked as the second most pressing concern, and one-quarter of the respondents indicated that climate change concerns are motivating their communities to address energy issues.

However, the survey findings revealed mixed results about implementing energy efficiency policies and regulations. According to the survey, planners address energy indirectly, in conjunction with other livability or smart growth goals, such as the adoption of more energy efficient transportation options. Nearly 90 percent of respondents indicated their jurisdiction promotes pedestrian pathways as a transportation alternative; more than 75 percent encourage bicycle commuting; and more than one-fourth have regulations that encourage transit-oriented development.

A smaller percentage of planners directly encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy technologies in the built environment. Forty-five percent said they provide builders or developers with information on how to improve energy efficiency in new construction; one-third indicated their community requires public buildings to be energy efficient; and more than 50 percent said that alternative energy technologies to some degree (largely solar) are being used in their communities.

The survey illustrates that several opportunities exist for planners to enhance energy efficiency. Many communities are not yet using standard planning and regulatory tools to increase energy efficiency or the use of renewable energy. Energy is rarely addressed as a required element in comprehensive plans. Zoning ordinances, subdivision ordinances, energy audits, capital improvement programs, siting standards for power generation facilities, density bonuses, and solar orientation requirements are among the implementation options that planners have yet to fully employ to maximize the use of renewable energy resources and encourage energy efficiency improvements, the survey revealed. In a few cases, planners indicated that private covenants or deed restrictions actually prevented their communities from implementing renewable energy.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.05.06 @ 12:33PST

Second Home Sales Hit Another Record in 2005; Market Share Rises
Vacation- and investment-home sales both set records in 2005, with the combined total of second home sales accounting for four out of 10 residential transactions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The annual report, based on two surveys, shows that 27.7 percent of all homes purchased in 2005 were for investment and another 12.2 percent were vacation homes. All together, there were 3.34 million second-home sales in 2005, up 16.0 percent from an upwardly revised total of 2.88 million in 2004. The market share of second homes rose from 36.0 percent of transactions in 2004 to 39.9 percent in 2005.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said all the factors at play in the second home market were favorable in 2005. “To begin with, the baby boom generation is driving second home sales – they’re at the optimum point in life when people become interested in second homes, they’re at the peak of their earnings, interest rates remain historically low and boomers want to diversify investments,” Lereah said.

Lereah said there are significant motivational differences between vacation-home buyers and investment buyers. “Vacation-home buyers are making lifestyle choices and purchasing primarily for their own enjoyment,” he said. “Investment-home buyers are seeking rental income and portfolio diversification, although vacation-home buyers also mentioned diversification.”

In listing the reasons for purchase, 41 percent of vacation-home buyers said to use for vacations, 31 percent to use as a family retreat and 28 percent to diversify investments. For investment-home buyers, 55 percent said rental income was the primary factor for buying, and 35 percent wanted to diversify investments.

The median price of a vacation home in 2005 was $204,100, up 7.4 percent from $190,000 in 2004. The typical investment property cost $183,500 last year, up 24.0 percent from $148,000 in 2004.

Typical vacation-home buyers in 2005 were 52 years old, earned $82,800, and purchased a property that was a median of 197 miles from their primary residence; however, 47 percent of vacation homes were less than 100 miles and 43 percent were 500 miles or more. Investment-home buyers last year had a median age of 49, an income of $81,400, and bought a home that was close by – a median of 15 miles from their primary residence.

More than three-fourths of vacation-home buyers have no interest in renting their property, and 21 percent said it would become a primary residence on retirement compared with only 2 percent of investment buyers. Fourteen percent of investment buyers and 6 percent of vacation-home buyers purchased a property that their son or daughter can occupy while in school.

In describing characteristics that vacation home buyers value about their property, 40 percent said close to an ocean, river or lake; 34 percent close to family members; 27 percent close to preferred recreational activities; 27 percent close to their primary residence; 26 percent close to mountains; 24 percent close to a preferred vacation area; and 17 percent close to a job or school.

Activities of interest that affected the decision to buy a particular vacation home include beach, lake or water sports, cited by 37 percent of buyers; golf, 29 percent; theme parks, 18 percent; winter recreation, 16 percent; hunting or fishing, 12 percent; and boating, 9 percent. Smaller categories included gambling; biking, hiking or horseback riding; and tennis.

The largest concentration of vacation home buyers are in the Midwest, accounting for 33 percent of vacation home sales, although the property may be located in another region. Buyers in the South accounted for 30 percent of vacation home transactions, the West, 20 percent, and the Northeast, 17 percent.

Most investment home buyers are in the South – 38 percent of the total. Buyers in the Midwest and Western regions each purchased 24 percent of investment property, and the Northeast, 15 percent.

One-third of vacation-home buyers and 36 percent of investment-home buyers said it was very likely that they would purchase another home, in addition to properties currently owned, within the next two years.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.05.06 @ 12:29PST

Americans Ready to Fight Global Warming
Aside from the ones actually in charge, though. According to a recent poll by the Civil Society Institute:

77 percent of Americans think that "developing alternative or renewable energy sources and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil should be President Bush's top priority for the balance of his term in office."

Eighty-three percent of Americans – including 72 percent of conservatives and 85 percent of independents – would like to see more attention paid to global warming during the 2006 Congressional elections and the 2008 Presidential elections.

Better late than never. To read the entire article, go to the Environment News Service.

To learn what you can do right now, without waiting for the government, go to:

The Top Ten Things You Can Do to Live Sustainably, in this magazine.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 04.05.06 @ 07:45PST

Saturday, April 1st

Are All The Expensive Condo's Good?
Eric,

Don't you think that building all these "luxury" condos is a bit of a mistake, though? I was talking to the guys at Burt Hill, an arch firm that is in Pittsburgh (they were at some career fair thing here), and they were talking about how they're rallying to meet with the mayor and the planning dept etc to try to make a move to get these units to be more affordable. I mean, as a native I know where the cheap and cool neighborhoods in the city are, and would know exactly where to move to if I were to move back, but most of my fellow friends wouldn't, and the first thing they would ask is about downtown because it's in the center and close to everything. So shouldn't there be some kind of housing that those of us who are low on the totem pole salary wise should be able to afford? This is a problem Philadelphia is experiencing, too, and if I come back to Pittsburgh and find it's been condo-fied the way Philly has I'm going to be angry. One of the great things about Pittsburgh is that it hasn't jumped on that bandwagon, until now. But at least they're building housing downtown finally. Ack, prisoner's dilemma.

Amanda

Amanda-

The way I see it there wasn't any housing downtown before the luxury condo's came. Housing in general downtown will bring retail and make downtown better. That will make living in the areas around downtown without a car more practical and attractive. So, while a mix may be better, the condos themselves are good in my opinion.

In the short-term, however, a lot of people think all these new rental units are hurting the small landlords. That's likely temporary too. It could play out that the rental units are sold to homeowners who want to live near downtown. That would be good for the neighborhoods.

The downside? Well, in the last 50 years lower income people had to travel to the suburbs for jobs. In the future they may have to travel to the city. However, because the entire thing can't be developed at once, there will always be more of an economic mix and wide price range in the city.

An energetic, expensive city is better than an empty, cheap one. Is there a balance? I hope.

Eric

This exchange took place at the East Allegheny Yahoo Group

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 04.01.06 @ 10:38PST