If drivers and airline passengers look for other modes of transportation, what choices do they have? I thought I'd take a look at Megabus and Amtrak on some random routes and see what I come up with. For both I chose a trip from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia on January 5. Amtrak had two trains available, one leaving at 7:20 a.m. and arriving at 2:50 p.m.- seven and a half hours. The second, leaving at 4:50 a.m., changing in Washington, and arriving at 4:57 p.m. has a required endurance of nearly ten hours. The 7:20 train has wireless, and the second leg of the 4:50 a.m. train has wireless. The cost is $52-$64 each way.

As for Megabus, there are three departures, 6:20 a.m., 11:05 a.m. and 4:35 p.m., each lasting six hours and 35 minutes. All have wireless and cost $43 each way.

Given everything is equal, I would prefer a train over a bus. The schedules, pricing and amenities rarely seem to be equal, however. Only in the case where you need overnight accommodations does it seem to make sense to choose the train.

Eric Miller on 12.27.11 @ 01:21 PM PST [link]  

Just spotted an article in Yahoo News about airlines retrenching. In the article, Michael Boyd, Boyd Group International, says simply "The cost of flying airplanes across the sky has eclipsed the ability to support it at many communities." Ok, but then what? The article makes the leap to train travel, which may be nice, but hardly readily available and in many cases not at all reliable. A more-likely alternative in the short term is Megabus and the like. A recent article in Bloomberg suggested drivers are giving up the wheel for a bus trip where they can surf the web. I do believe Amtrak has yet to provide free wireless, and I don't think it's poised to pick up the slack from airlines or drivers. It's the unfortunate reality.

Eric Miller on 12.27.11 @ 07:11 AM PST [link]  

The Olson Company, the leading developer of in-town urban living, announces plans for two new residential communities in the Los Angeles area. Closing on two plots in the areas of Westchester and El Segundo for the planned communities of Gateway Walk and Pacific Walk Olson plans to complete construction by 2012.

Olson Homes plans to create a 14 unit single family detached residential community in Westchester, with homes between 1,800 and 1,821 sq. ft., featuring 3 bedrooms with additional loft space, 2.5 baths, and 2 car garages. The new El Segundo community will consist of 12 attached townhomes, ranging in size from 1,597 to 1,622 sq. ft., with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and 2 car side-by-side or tandem garages.

Expected to be completed in 2012, both new home communities will offer desirable commutes to the nearby employment centers in the South Bay - including Los Angeles, Hawthorne, Manhattan Beach, and Marina Del Rey, as well as close proximity to the nearby beaches, and many retail, dining and entertainment options. With simultaneous construction, potential home owners interested in the South Bay will have the choice of townhome or single family detached living.

Eric Miller on 12.22.11 @ 03:56 PM PST [link]  

Eric Miller on 12.22.11 @ 09:24 AM PST [link]  

Today presented the first evidence of something I have suspected was occurring. People linked to technology don't want to drive because time in the car is time (properly) spent disconnected. Today a Bloomberg report revealed Megabus.com and BoltBus led U.S. curbside bus companies that boosted trips by 32 percent this year. Travelers, the report says, would rather search than drive. The Inter-City Bus is returning. Joseph Schwieterman, director of DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development in Chicago, which has done several reports on the return of the Inter-City bus says in the article that U.S., bus travel is now attracting more affluent riders, students and women traveling alone. A visit to the Megabus Web site will reveal just how much the routes and cities service has expanded.

Eric Miller on 12.21.11 @ 07:18 AM PST [link]  

From Pittsburgh

If you believe the results of a resent survey on retirement havens, seniors have traded sun for snow. Minneapolis is the best city in the United States for senior living, with Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Denver rounding out the top five, according to a new survey conducted for the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center For a Secure Retirement.

Criteria in the areas of senior issues and gerontology identified the qualities for optimal senior living. Major categories were: healthcare, economy, health and longevity, social, environment, spiritual life, housing, transportation and crime. Each category was statistically weighted to reflect the needs of the senior population.

"Most surprising is that the survey results contain many cities we don't often associate with senior living," says Scott Perry, president of Bankers Life and Casualty Company, the national life and health insurer. "We weren’t interested in another study on where to enjoy your retirement, but instead wanted to find cities that did the best job in providing the services and support that seniors need. The top ranked cities aren't what come to mind when you think about where to spend your golden years, but they scored high in the criteria most important to the 65 and up bracket."

The Categories

The Healthcare category includes physicians per capita, gerontologist to senior ratio, hospitals per capita, hospitals with special care, nursing homes per capita, nursing home beds per capita, continuing care retirement communities per capita and average nursing home rating.

Economy includes consumer price index, sales tax rate, the unemployment rate and the stability index.

Health and Longevity includes life expectancy, age 85 expectancy, depression rate, heart mortality and cancer mortality.

Social includes percentage of seniors, social and emotional support, satisfaction with life rating, art and museums, education level, recreation, four-year colleges and libraries.

Environment includes number of sunny days, clean air levels, clean water measurement, natural disaster risk index, ocean coastline miles, river and lake square mileage, and local/state park number and size.

Spiritual Life includes percent of population belonging to organized religions and the number of religious congregations.

Housing includes cost of living index, housing price, property taxes and apartment rentals.

Transportation includes public transportation, special access and mass transit percentage.

Crime includes violent crime rate and property crime rate.

Eric Miller on 12.20.11 @ 11:22 AM PST [link]  

Amazon has a new price check application that has retailers screaming. Amazon's app scans items to find online discounts. The response has been nothing short of "Occupy Amazon" to try to stop it. Sure, it could hurt some mom and pop stores, but for the most part, the progressive crowd has stepped up to defend big box and chain retailers from the Internet giant.

I am not joining them. Here's why.

First, Amazon's app relies on the retail stores for the consumers to locate the products. Unless Amazon plans to open its own stores, the strategy could be short-lived. Sure, Border's may have bit the dust thanks to consumers shopping in store and then ordering online, but then again we've seen a bit of a resurgence in local independent bookstores since then.

The bulk of the stores which stand to be hurt by Amazon are big box retailers like Target, Wal-Mart and Home Depot. And you know what, we've been blaming them for years about putting the nail in the coffin for Main Street America.

I for one am tired of being trapped by the large size, minimal selection these stores offer. I went into Lowes yesterday and they had two choices for lamp wire, black or white. If I walked into Cliff's Hardware in San Francisco, I'd bet they'd have half a dozen varieties in a store that's a fraction of the size of a Home Depot. Internet sites offer an even greater variety.

The end point, if there ever is an end point in retailing, may be a return of the smaller downtown or neighborhood store which conveniently supplements our online buying activities.

If the Amazon app means the end of big box retailers, we'll be all the better for it.

Eric Miller on 12.19.11 @ 09:55 AM PST [link]  

Check it out on our Newslinks page. Also see a streetcar enter the new turntable for the first time in Dallas!

Eric Miller on 12.16.11 @ 01:40 PM PST [link]  

We've assembled this Urban Life video feed from youtube. If there's something you think we should add, email it to newcolonist@newcolonist.com

Eric Miller on 12.15.11 @ 12:44 PM PST [link]  

December 13, 2011

David A. Rubin, OLIN partner and recent Rome Prize recipient, has designed Lenfest Plaza for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts. The plaza was created by closing a 220' length of Cherry Street, from Broad to Carlisle, close to the Philadelphia City Hall. In doing so, a true campus was made for the Academy, linking the newly refurbished Hamilton Building with the historic Furness-Hewitt Building.

In creating an institutional plaza for public enjoyment, performance and exhibition within the dense historic and cultural district of Center City Philadelphia, Rubin has designed an environment that many people can now experience: the administration, faculty and students of the Academy; guests of the new restaurant to be situated within the plaza; museum goers and art lovers; Philadelphians, and visitors to the City. In order to accommodate all of these potential visitors within a former narrow streetscape a design that allowed for social gathering but is also reflective of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' prominence within our nation's art history and the cultural corridor of Museum Mile was required.

Rubin's design includes a carpet of pavers comprised of a random pattern of precast concrete with colors inspired by the Furness-Hewitt Building's handsome Cherry Street façade running the length of the plaza. In addition, a long curvilinear bench comprised of three parts is built from sustainably harvested black locust. This bench, oversized and curvaceous in profile, invites patrons to sit on either side, socializing and enjoying the plaza from various perspectives. The re-curving form is like a three-dimensional brush stroke running the length of the plaza, connecting Paint Torch, a 51-foot tall sculpture by Claes Oldenburg, to an elliptically shaped temporary sculpture platform. With LED lighting under the front edge of the bench, a path of light sweeps through the plaza at nighttime.

The passive SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) Broad Street subway line vents that run under Cherry Street were capped with a stage made of sustainably-harvested black locust to allow for bands to perform, for people to speak from or to sit upon. The resolution of this infrastructural challenge was founded on OLIN's fundamental belief that a great public space serves everyone equally, in this case, a variety of seating options, opportunities to see and be seen, and flexible program space are key to the success and population of a great civic space.

The curvilinear bench, the temporary sculpture platform, a new café on the façade of the Hamilton Building, located opposite the stage are all part of the plaza's composition. Precast concrete steps arc in a manner which reflects the long bench, here, tables and chairs will spill out from the restaurant onto the plaza, enlivening the environment of the new civic space. A destination in and of itself, the café will become a part of daily street life for the institution and its city.

As an entire composition, Lenfest Plaza at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts unifies art and people in a civic environment that allows both to thrive. It acts as a gesture that unites a campus and links significant institutions as an urban whole, offering people from a variety of life experiences to engage in a manner that promotes positive social interaction. As an institution with works by leading American artists that has always been a leader in the education of fine arts, Rubin's design for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' Lenfest Plaza firmly establishes its institution as a center and a threshold, all while strengthening the culture and social sustainability of the City of Philadelphia.

Eric Miller on 12.13.11 @ 09:06 AM PST [link]  

Here's a new video from J. H. Crawford of Carfree.com exploring the relationship of car culture to quality of life as well as one-percenter exploitation (as in the hidden sudsidies that keep you enslaved to your car):

Occupy All Streets: The Role of Carfree Cities in a More Sustainable World from J.H. Crawford on Vimeo.

The Vimeo link above will let you see it in HD resolution. And of course Crawford's website, Carfree.com, contains a wealth of information on carfree city concepts, actual carfree cities and districts worldwide, and the steps to take towards occupying ALL streets for humanity.

Richard Risemberg on 12.02.11 @ 06:06 AM PST [link]