Thursday, September 27th

The Warhol Economy, by Elizabeth Currid
At the time he turned forty the painter Martin Johnson Heade had yet to produce a distinguished painting. In 1859 he rented a studio in New York 's Tenth Street Studio building and changed his fate. His contact with other members of the Hudson River School radically improved his work. Unfortunately Heade later moved to Florida and was all but forgotten.

New York wasn't the center of the art world in the 1850s it is today, but Heade's story shows that New York was well on its way to being a place where people make things happen. In turn, the city makes people happen.

Leaving Pittsburgh, Andy Warhol also went to New York. Unlike Heade, Warhol never left New York and is never to be forgotten.

Read More

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.27.07 @ 16:32PST

Thursday, September 20th

Less Auto-Dependent Development Is Key to Mitigating Climate
Meeting the growing demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods could significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles Americans drive, shrinking the nation’s carbon footprint while giving people more housing choices, according to a team of leading urban planning researchers.

In a comprehensive review of dozens of studies, published by the Urban Land Institute, the researchers conclude that urban development is both a key contributor to climate change and an essential factor in combating it.

They warn that if sprawling development continues to fuel growth in driving, the projected 59 percent increase in the total miles driven between 2005 and 2030 will overwhelm expected gains from vehicle efficiency and low-carbon fuels. Even if the most stringent fuel-efficiency proposals under consideration are enacted, notes co-author Steve Winkelman, “vehicle emissions still would be 40 percent above 1990 levels in 2030 – entirely off-track from reductions of 60-80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 required for climate protection.”

“Curbing emissions from cars depends on a three-legged stool: improved vehicle efficiency, cleaner fuels, and a reduction in driving,” said lead author Reid Ewing, Research Professor at the National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland. “The research shows that one of the best ways to reduce vehicle travel is to build places where people can accomplish more with less driving.”

Depending on several factors, from mix of land uses to pedestrian-friendly design, compact development reduces driving from 20 to 40 percent, and more in some instances, according to the forthcoming book, Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change. Typically, Americans living in compact urban neighborhoods where cars are not the only transportation option drive a third fewer miles than those in automobile-oriented suburbs, the researchers found.

At the same time, the book documents market research showing a majority of future housing demand lies in smaller homes and lots, townhouses, and condominiums in neighborhoods where jobs and activities are close at hand. The researchers note that demographic changes, shrinking households, rising gas prices, lengthening commutes and cultural shifts all play a role in that demand.

The report cites real estate projections showing that two-thirds of development expected to be on the ground in 2050 is not yet built, meaning that the potential for change is profound. The authors calculate that shifting 60 percent of new growth to compact patterns would save 85 million metric tons of CO2 annually by 2030. The savings over that period equate to a 28 percent increase in federal vehicle efficiency standards by 2020 (to 32 mpg), comparable to proposals now being debated in Congress.
“
Clearly, the development industry has a key role in the search for solutions to offset the impact of climate change,” said ULI Senior Resident Fellow William H. Hudnut, III, former mayor of Indianapolis. “Whether close-in or in suburbs, wellplanned communities give residents the option to walk, bike or take transit to nearby shopping, retail and entertainment. Being able to spend less time behind the wheel will benefit our health, our pocketbooks and the environment.”

Implementing the policies recommended in the report would reverse a decadeslong trend. Since 1980, the number of miles Americans drive has grown three times faster than population, and almost twice as fast as vehicle registrations.

Spread-out development is the key factor in that rate of growth, the research team found.

The findings show that people who move into compact, “green neighborhoods” are making as big a contribution to fighting global warming as those who buy the most efficient hybrid vehicles, but remain in car-dependent areas. While demand for such smart-growth development is growing, government
regulations, government spending, and transportation policies still favor sprawling, automobile-dependent development. The book recommends changes in all three areas to make green neighborhoods more available and more affordable. It also calls for including smart-growth strategies as a fundamental tenet in upcoming climate change legislation.

The study represents a collaboration among leading urban planning researchers, including Ewing, Steve Winkelman of the Center for Clean Air Policy, Keith Bartholomew of the University of Utah, and Jerry Walters of Fehr & Peers Associates. Smart Growth America coordinated the multi-disciplinary team that
developed the recommended policy actions and is leading a broad coalition to develop those strategies further. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Hewlett Foundation provided funding for the underlying research.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.20.07 @ 09:59PST

Wednesday, September 19th

Taking Issue With Fed Rate Cut Opinion
I have to take issue with my co-editor Richard Risemberg on his opinion that the Fed rate cut is bad for homeowners and the environment. On the contrary it’s good for homeowners who need to refinance in order to keep their homes. It’s good for cities who need to keep people in homes to collect the taxes on them.

Per square foot, urban houses can be far more expensive than suburban ones, and while some may be enticed by low rates to move out and “up” into bigger houses that they don’t need others joined the condo craze and moved in to where they don’t need to drive. Foreclosure may send them back to suburbia.

I agree that low rates and interest-only mortgages encouraged people to buy homes they couldn’t afford and now stand to lose. The low rates in recent years have also inflated home prices and encouraged consumption paid for with equity, equity that’s now eroding. The rate cut at this point only serves to ease the pain for many regular people with homes caught up in powers beyond their control.

More, a tightening noose on the availability of mortgages is pushing up rental prices. Without a rate cut rents can only go even higher.

Yes, some may have bought a home they couldn’t afford and yes, they may have spent equity on consumer goods that’s now eroded. If lowering rates will help slow the bleeding and maintain economic health, why not?

Also, homes foreclosed on in most cities are not going to become abandoned, they will be resold with the banks in most cases taking a loss. Looking for bankruptcy and foreclosure to protect former homeowners from spending too much is not a very good way to go about protecting the environment.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.19.07 @ 13:18PST

Fed Rate Cut Hurts Environment, Homeowners
One editor's opnion:

This morning's NYT headline read, "Global Markets Rise Sharply After Rate Cut," which may be bad news for the environment, and for homeowners.

Doesn't make sense? Think of why they cut the rate: to spur consumption, and in response to the mortgage meltdown.

Consumption in the modern sense depends on externalities: neither sellers nor buyers generally pay much for the effects of pollution spewed by delivery trucks, planes, ships, and rail carriers, nor for accommodating the trash composed of packaging debris and items discarded after being replaced by newer, similar ones that are more "fashionable." Nor for the effects of dirty (in both the physical and social senses) manufacture in exploited countries. Nor for the effects on the earth and our cultures of ever more obsessive roadbuilding to accommodate all those new cars they hope to sell, taking land out of the ecosystem as well as end its tax-revenue generation.

As for homeowners? The mortgage meltdown made it harder to sell or refinance overpriced houses, so people were unable to buy bigger and less efficient domiciles than they need, and were unable to plunge themselves neck-deep in debt to buy more junk. With the rate cut, US residents will be able to continue it immure themselves in permanent debt, which cannot really be permanent, because when they can't pay they will be foreclosed, and neighborhoods will begin again to fill with abandoned houses. And of course permanent debt makes homestewards (not "homeowners"; after all, the bank really owns the place, not you) docile slaves to their corporate masters, who also own the debt that owns the house.

Not a good thing. We're being encouraged to live beyond our means, with a downfall simply delayed a bit, so profit-takers can grab some short-term gains at the expense of our freedom, our tranquillity, our social networks, and the planet itself.

Nothing much to do about it right now, except not take the bait ourselves.

Richard Risemberg (rrisemberg@newcolonist.com), on 09.19.07 @ 04:40PST

Tuesday, September 18th

Transcendental Travels
Today we are confronted with several realities that are sure to shape our future to one degree or another. One of these is global warming, which has already returned many of us back to an age when nature was a conquerer more often than something conquered.

The short days of heavy industry in Pittsburgh are certain to grow shorter as our history grows longer. The physical Pittsburgh in the 2030s may more closely resemble the Pittsburgh of the 1830s than the smoky Pittsburgh of the 1950s.

A need to reduce greenhouse gasses and the arrival of peak oil may bring our city with a declining population to live closer to the geographical boundaries of previous centuries. The rivers, once a depository for waste, are again becoming the center of our life and image. The beauty of the landscape will continue to return. As oil becomes scarce, local farming, and even basic product manufacturing may again become practical, profitable and necessary.

Read the entire article

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.18.07 @ 14:15PST

Annual Study Shows Traffic Congestion Worsening
Traffic congestion continues to worsen in American cities of all sizes, creating a $78 billion annual drain on the U.S. economy in the form of 4.2 billion lost hours and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel—that's 105 million weeks of vacation and 58 fully-loaded supertankers.

These are among the key findings of the Texas Transportation Institute's 2007 Urban Mobility Report. Improvements to the methodology used to measure congestion nationwide have produced the most detailed picture yet of a problem that is growing worse in all 437 of the nation's urban areas. The current report is based on 2005 figures, the most recent year for which complete data was available.

The 2007 mobility report notes that congestion causes the average peak period traveler to spend an extra 38 hours of travel time and consume an additional 26 gallons of fuel, amounting to a cost of $710 per traveler. Along with expanding the estimates of the effect of congestion to all 437 U.S. urban areas, the study provides detailed information for 85 specific urban areas. The report also focuses on the problems presented by "irregular events"—crashes, stalled vehicles, work zones, weather problems and special events—that cause unreliable travel times and contribute significantly to the overall congestion problem. Worsening congestion, the study notes, is reflected in several ways:

Trips take longer
Congestion affects more of the day
Congestion affects weekend travel and rural areas
Congestion affects more personal trips and freight shipments
Trip travel times increasingly are unreliable
Researchers spent two years revising the methodology using additional sources of traffic information, providing more—and higher quality—data on which to base the current study.

The report identifies multiple solutions to the congestion problem that, researchers say, must be used together to be effective. These include:

Get as much service as possible from existing infrastructure
Add road and transit system capacity in critical corridors
Relieve chokepoints
Change usage patterns
Provide choices
Diversify the development patterns
Keep expectations realistic

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.18.07 @ 11:17PST

Sunday, September 16th

Definition: Locavore
What is a locavore? I'm a long way from being one but made an extra step this season when I added mint to my array of garden vegetables (in addition to tomatoes). If you're as unfamiliar and curious as I am, a locavore is someone who likes to food grown eat locally. This is of course easier to do in places with a year-round growing season. It's sure to be a growing trend, however. Aside from being fun, not shipping food and vegetables over great distances means using less oil. I don't look for a return back to the days when we kept cows in the city. It's not that Mrs. O'Learey's cow might start one heck of a fire, rather lets just say boots in Victorian times where high for a reason. Still, while I'm not ready to raise chickens, growing things nearer to home (in the yard, on rooftops or in the countryside) isn't a bad idea. Its actually a much better idea than letting suburbia sprawl on and on. Here's a recent New Yorker article on the "Fruits of the Five Boroughs"

Buy Locavore Merchandise

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.16.07 @ 13:09PST

A Visit to Shaker Heights
Just East of downtown Cleveland is Shaker Heights, a transit-oriented community that has been a popular place to live for a wide demographic since its creation. From the retail stores in Shaker Square which include drug stores, coffee shops and galleries, Shaker Heights expands to include large apartment buildings and then eventually very large 1920s suburban houses all facing a streetcar line.

Some Photos

Short Movie

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.16.07 @ 10:22PST

Wednesday, September 12th

Most of Us Still Drive to Work – Alone
Despite rising fuel costs, commuters continued to drive their cars in 2005, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau analysis of data from the American Community Survey. The survey, gathered over the course of the year, found that driving to work was the favored means of commute of nearly nine out of 10 workers (87.7 percent), with most people (77 percent) driving alone.

In contrast, 4.7 percent of commuters used public transportation to travel to work in 2005, an increase of about 0.1 percent over 2000 levels.

About half of the nation’s public transportation commuters can be found in 10 of the nation’s 50 cities with the most workers age 16 or over: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. These cities account for 2.9 million of the nation’s 6.2 million users of public transportation (see detailed tables).

Beyond the total number of public transportation users, these cities also had relatively high rates of public transportation use. However, Los Angeles and Houston, with rates of 10.3 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, had lower rates than many other smaller cities, including Minneapolis (12.5 percent); Oakland, Calif. (16.5 percent); Portland, Ore. (13.3 percent) and Seattle (17 percent).

The public transportation data are among the many topics that can be localized from the American Community Survey. Some other commuter facts of interest include:

Approximately one in 10 of us (10.7 percent) car pool to work. About three-fourths of car poolers (77.3 percent) ride with just one other person. Large cities with some of the highest rates of car pooling include Fresno, Calif. (15.1 percent); Honolulu (15.6 percent); Mesa, Ariz. (16.7 percent); Phoenix (16.2 percent); and Sacramento, Calif., (15.7 percent).

Portland, Ore., has the distinction among large cities as having the highest percentage of bicycle commuters. Approximately 3.5 percent of Portland’s workers pedal to work, about eight times the national average of 0.4 percent.

The third most popular option was no commute at all. Approximately 3.6 percent of us worked from home in 2005. Large cities with high rates of home-based workers included Austin, Texas (5 percent); Colorado Springs, Colo. (4.9 percent); Portland, Ore. (5.3 percent); San Francisco (6.3 percent); and Seattle (5.1 percent).

Boston had the highest percentage among large cities of employees who walk to work (13 percent). Nationally, 2.5 percent of us walked to work, the fourth most popular mode of transportation behind driving and using public transportation.

As part of the Census Bureau’s reengineered 2010 Census, the data collected by the ACS helps federal officials determine where to distribute more than $300 million to state and local governments each year. Responses to the survey are strictly confidential and protected by law.

The 2005 ACS estimates are based on an annual, nationwide household sample of about 250,000 addresses per month. Geographic areas for which data are available are based on total populations of 65,000 or more. The ACS estimates released are for the household population and do not include populations residing in group quarters.

As is the case with all surveys, statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. Estimates for states (or counties, cities, regions, etc.) in the same paragraph in this news release may not be significantly different from one another. Please consult the data tables for specific margins of error. For more information go to http://www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/index.htm.

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.12.07 @ 02:54PST

Sunday, September 9th

Pittsburgh Critical Mass Video

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.09.07 @ 14:27PST

Tuesday, September 4th

Its All Down Hill
Bicyclists don't want to live on the hills. Young homebuyers are often without autos--foot and bike primarily and if necessary transit. They want to live where they can get around town easily on a bike. No matter what the price, homes on a hill are out of the question.

Tonight at a meeting of the Pittsburgh Climate Change Initiative I heard of an innovation I was not aware of... a pully system to get bikes up hills. "They have them in Europe," I was told.

This would completely open up new worlds for Pittsburgh's bicyclists and bring more affordable housing within their reach.

If you have a climate change suggestion, there are several meetings coming up. Visit the Pittsburgh Cliumate Change Initiative on the web

Eric Miller (editor@newcolonist.com), on 09.04.07 @ 14:28PST