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Category Archives: Blog

How Two-Way Streets Can Improve Cities

April 29, 2015

To improve the livability of neighborhoods, cities often turn to methods like building bike and pedestrian infrastructure or adding trees. However, one of the easiest and most affordable ways to improve cities might be to simply get rid of one-way streets. One-way streets became prevalent when cars were being introduced to the American public, as


San Francisco’s New Luxury Bus Service

April 19, 2015

There’s a new private service in San Francisco offering luxury bus rides to downtown from a few select neighborhoods. For $6 each way, Leap buses have free wifi, usb ports, and sell coffee and fresh juice on board during commutes. Leap is just one of a slew of new startups that are providing luxury or


City Building Games Can Help Illuminate Planning Issues

April 9, 2015

For those who are fans of the SimCity games, there’s a new game that’s taken the city building genre by storm. Cities: Skylines, by the Finnish game development company Colossal Order, was released last month, and it’s quickly become one of the top city building games. While there’s nothing in particular that’s is completely new


A List of April Fools’ Articles

April 2, 2015

St. Louis Ballot Initiative Would Break City Into 42 Municipalities, nextSTL Code Free Zones Proposed by FEMA, Restless Urbanist DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Announces New “Funiculator” Initiative, Greater Greater Washington Bridge Reconstruction Just April Fools’ Joke, City Says, Streets.MN US Government Announces Campaign to Save Historically Bad Places, Project for Public Spaces SF Mayor Ed


Egypt’s Plan for a New, Purpose-Built Capital

April 1, 2015

Egypt’s housing minister Mostafa Madbouly has announced a plan to build a completely new capital city, possibly as soon as within seven years. Cairo, which has a population of 20 million residents and is expected to continue growing, is overpopulated and polluted. The new city is expected to help alleviate some of that congestion and


The Cost of Street Parking Spaces

March 24, 2015

Cities are adding bicycle lanes to streets with heavy bike traffic as a means of improving safety, but the process is constantly being hindered by strong opposition from the businesses along the streets where the lanes are proposed. Most small businesses with street parking spots are reluctant to give them up for parking lanes out


How Accurate, Accessible Arrival Info Can Affect Ridership

March 17, 2015

The US continued its trend of increasing transit ridership last year, despite the dramatic drop in gas prices. While numbers varied widely across cities, the total number of transit trips in the country increased by 1% relative to 2013. Some of the increases in ridership were attributed to growths in transit service, while others were


How Self Driving Cars Will Change Our Cities

March 10, 2015

Self-driving cars are getting a lot of publicity–and for good reason. Some think that driverless cars will completely reshape our cityscapes. With fewer traffic accidents due to human error, autonomous vehicles would change the car repair and insurance industries. Ride-hailing companies like Uber and car-share companies like Zipcar could be transformed. One of the biggest


Do Buses Have an Image Problem?

March 4, 2015

More often than not, transit agencies in the US will choose to develop rail service where public transit is needed, even though a bus service would be far more affordable while providing a similar level of service. The reason, according to a 2009 Federal Transit Administration report, is that bus service in the United States


The Problematic Rapid Development of China

February 25, 2015

China has become one of the world’s largest economies in only a couple short decades. While the country’s average growth has slowed–its GDP grew by only 7.4% last year–it has established its place as a global economic superpower and will most likely maintain its ranking with a formidable economy estimated to be at $11.3 trillion


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