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The American Conservative and the 50th anniversary of The Death and Life of Great American Cities
This year is the 50th anniversary of Jane Jacobs’ masterpiece The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Influential conservative magazine The American Conservative (a conservative political organ which hasn’t been given over to Tea Party reactionaryism) has an interesting article commemorating the occasion. Of particular interest to Portlanders, even if you disagree with every…
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The Electric Trolleybus: a Sustainable Choice for Portland
One thing I noticed my years living in Seattle was how much that city loves to copy Portland’s innovations. Government officials were constantly taking tours of Portland and bringing back ideas, many of which have borne fruit. Seattle now has a streetcar line, for example, and has just recently decided to start working on Neighborhood…
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New York’s Dollar Vans: Could they work here?
On the off chance the prior post ruffles too many libertarian feathers, here’s an interesting article on New York City’s dollar vans–small vans (14 passengers) which essentially provide bus service on routes that the MTA doesn’t serve. The vans in NY are quite popular (as are the similar “public light busses” in Hong Kong, some…
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Responding to Cascade Policy Institute on the role of transit (and other issues)
Last week, John Charles of the Cascade Policy Institute penned his latest missive against Milwaukie MAX. While I share concerns about the cost of the project, I view a comprehensive rapid transit network throughout the metro region as something which is vitally important–and which will become moreso as gas prices and environmental pressures in the…