Sprawl
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Meet the Rick Perry Donor Who Runs Texas DOT
Last week Streetsblog looked into the suburban real estate moguls who used their public offices to advance the country's largest sprawl project -- Houston's third outerbelt, also known as the Grand Parkway. But even with all the cronyism and self-deal propelling this project forward, just a few months ago it looked like the Grand Parkway had been stopped in its tracks. The money had run out. The public was balking [PDF].
November 11, 2011
Texas Sprawl Builders Funneled Taxpayer $ to Highway That Enriched Them
If the U.S. had a national transportation policy, this story of corruption and waste never would have happened.
November 2, 2011
The Incredible Shrinking Megastore: Retailers Think Outside the Big Box
They lord over empty parking lots in Hazard, Kentucky; Twinsburg, Ohio; and Lewiston, Washington like the ruins of a lost civilization. Vacant Walmart stores are slowly decomposing in more and more American towns these days. More than 100 of them have been memorialized as part of the group Flickr pool known smugly as “They Sold for Less.”
September 15, 2011
From Sprawling New Jersey, a New Way Forward for State DOTs
Despite the rather obvious link between transportation investments and development patterns, land use planning is simply not a consideration at your average state DOT.
August 3, 2011
Meet the Obscure Unelected Agencies Strangling Many U.S. Cities
Do you know the name of your local Metropolitan Planning Organization or Council of Government? Most Americans don't. In fact, most people probably have no idea these agencies even exist, let alone what they do. Yet they are surprisingly powerful and play a substantial role in shaping the places where we live and work.
July 21, 2011
How Seniors Get Stuck at Home With No Transit Options
According to AARP, 88 percent of seniors want to stay in their own homes as long as they can. But where are those homes? In auto-dependent suburbs. That’s where most Baby Boomers grew up, in the postwar era, and that’s where most of them have stayed – even as the largest (and longest-living) generation ever enters its golden years.
June 14, 2011
Missouri, Welcome to the Era of the Broke State DOT
Word went out in a press release early last month: The Missouri Department of Transportation would be eliminating 1,200 jobs, closing 135 facilities and selling 740 pieces of equipment.
June 7, 2011
Do 12 American Regions Have Better Transit Access Than NYC? Doubtful.
Does the New York City region really rank only 13th in the nation in providing transit access to jobs? Has it truly been bested by a top five of Honolulu, San Jose, Salt Lake City, Tucson and Fresno? That's what a new report from the Brookings Institution claims, but don't worry New Yorkers, there are very good reasons to second-guess that conclusion.
May 13, 2011
Third Houston Outerbelt Would Turn Prairies Into Texas Toast
There’s a place just outside Houston where the vinyl siding and attached garages thin out and recede into grasslands.
April 28, 2011
Paradigm Shift in Charleston: County Leaders Reject Highway Expansion
Chalk this up as a major victory in the livable streets movement: Thanks to a heroic effort by advocates for smart growth and rural preservation, officials in Charleston, South Carolina have unanimously rejected a plan for a half-billion-dollar highway expansion.
April 18, 2011