National Links: Homeowners of Both Parties More NIMBY

Each week we write a piece with the most interesting articles of the week for Greater Greater Washington and syndicate it to Urban Milwaukee and Streets.mn.  We take the most clicked posts of the week from The Overhead Wire daily and write about the most interesting ones.  Follow beyond the crease to read up on some of this week’s most interesting pieces.

NIMBYs tend to be homeowners — of all political stripes: Studies show that homeowners of both parties prefer restrictions to development, and those who purchase homes are more likely to vote, especially on local zoning matters. This fact alone begins to explain why places that started out as exclusive have stayed that way over time. (Emily Badger | New York Times)

The future of memory care is a special city: Nord Architects out of Copenhagen is building a series of centers for patients with dementia and alzheimer’s disease. The design of these centers supports a kinder type of care with villages that have everything a person would need from their neighborhood, rather than rooms in a hospital. (Katharine Schwab | Fast Company)

Autonomous grocery delivery is the future: Kroger will be trying out autonomous vehicles for delivering groceries in Mesa, Arizona in the fall. They’ll eventually be using pod cars designed for ferrying goods, but to start they’ll use an autonomous Prius. (Andrew Krok | CNET Roadshow)

SimCity 2000 with a planner: UC Berkeley PhD candidate Dave Amos recorded a video himself playing SimCity 2000, the legendary game that got many planners into cities by believing they could build the perfect one even in real life. His commentary is interesting, not only because he gives away the key to more taxable land value: the four-by-four grid. (Mark Wilson | Fast Company)

A transportation guide for landscape architects: The American Society of Landscape Architects has released a transportation guide that looks at the subject from different geographies. It has also developed aspirational goals for sustainable transportation projects. (ASLA)

Quote of the Week

“According to the GAO, FTA officials said they “did not have immediate plans to address the outstanding statutory provisions” in part because the Trump White House wants to phase out federal transit capital grants entirely. But the president’s wishes are not law.”

Angie Schmitt at Streetsblog USA discussing the FTA’s refusal to follow the wishes of congress.