Free Republic

Interstate 10 is now three lanes both ways between Tucson and Casa Grande, but your commute probably won’t get faster. The Arizona Department of Transportation projects I-10 could be bumper-to-bumper all the way to Casa Grande during rush hour by 2035. The route currently carries around 60,000 vehicles daily, and that could quadruple depending on the region’s growth, according to an ADOT spokesperson. John Moffatt, director of economic development for Pima County, said those backups won’t just be bad for commuters. He said they will hurt trade with Mexico. “Trucks are like water. They find the path of least resistance...

It’s summer, and for hundreds of thousands of Americans, that means at least one burger-and-bathroom break in Breezewood, Pennsylvania. This half-mile gauntlet of gas stations, fast-food outlets, and motels, its oversized signs towering above the surrounding countryside, is familiar to anyone who has to drive regularly from the East Coast to the Midwest or vice versa.[snip]Far from being “Every Town, U.S.A.,” Breezewood is a weird, improbable blip of a place. It’s what an architect might call a unique urban condition—a churning mini-city where the population nearly turns over every hour.

Miami-Dade commissioners on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to extending the 836 expressway 14 miles into West Kendall, rejecting warnings about environmental damage and urban sprawl in favor of bringing relief to commuters in the congested suburbs. "We've got to start somewhere," said Commissioner Javier Souto, whose district includes western areas in the county. "Do something. Do something." A final vote awaits later this year, but the 9-2 vote captured what appeared to be broad support for the signature transportation package from Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who cited the toll road's extension as a top priority as he prepares to leave office...

Is fighting sprawl still a goal for those who decide the fate of transportation funding at the federal, state and local levels?Transportation planning is deeply connected to economic development, but there in any agreement about transportation funding among government leaders often ends.Parag Khanna, a senior public policy analyst in Singapore and author of “Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization,” summarized the political divide over transportation planning like this: “America is increasingly divided not between red states and blue states, but between connected hubs and disconnected backwaters.”But division that stymies transportation planning goes further. Government leaders have always been divided...

Weak regional agencies could miss pollution targets if they are unable to persuade local leaders to change A high-profile effort to focus new Bay Area housing into energy-efficient transit villages is seen as unworkable even as it makes its public debut this summer, say urban planners, because regional government lacks the authority to make cities build dense urban neighborhoods.

Ann Arbor officials are considering an expansion of the Greenbelt district boundaries one mile east into Salem Township and one mile west and south into Lodi Township.The Greenbelt Advisory Commission recommended the expansion plan at its Sept. 14 meeting, and GAC Chairman Dan Ezekiel, a local science teacher, appeared before the Ann Arbor City Council Monday night to lobby for its approval by council."The result would be to add seven sections in Lodi and three sections in Salem, and a section is a square mile," Ezekiel told council members.The council voted 9-1 to give initial approval to the expansion, with...

Hear Us Now is pleased to host Randal O’Toole of the CATO Institute on October 11th. His topic will be, “The Best Laid Plans”: […]how government attempts to do long-range, comprehensive planning inevitably do more harm than good by choking American cities with congestion, making housing markets more unaffordable, and sending the cost of government infrastructure skyrocketing.

New development in California needs to be designed from the start to conserve electricity and water, decrease driving time, improve air quality and promote a sustainable lifestyle, according to a landmark study of the state's future growth. Vision California, the state's first major planning document in almost 30 years, was released Wednesday. Growth should focus not on increasing suburban sprawl but instead on creating compact development in already established cities, the report says. Bringing commuters closer to their jobs, its authors argue, can help Californians drive 3.7 trillion fewer miles and save 140 billion gallons of gasoline by 2050. "The...

...Currently, members of the 111th Congress and the new administration, along with leaders at the state and local level, are crafting policies with the potential to directly impact metropolitan development patterns and, by extension, the location of employment. The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will result in billions of dollars of new spending in areas including transportation and infrastructure, housing, energy, and job creation. If used wisely by federal, state, and local leaders, these investments could help spur cohesive planning and policies that connect decisions around affordable housing, transportation, and jobs to foster more compact and...

Looking back three years ago, it is hard to fathom how much has changed from the frenzied pace of development then going forward. Land and housing prices were still rising, ever-larger development projects were being launched, and growth debates were raging across Southern California. That’s all gone now. As key real estate players suddenly find themselves without jobs, as more developers file bankruptcy, and more projects bite the dust, the depth of this “downturn” is sinking in. Many, of course, have “been through this before.” By that they mean, they’ve weathered the cyclical postwar busts that have intermittently interrupted the...

Holder Calls U.S. 'Nation of Cowards' on Race Matters my reply to his comments : Projection. He watched the Superbowl with his black family and black buddies ...and so he thinks there is no integration ...come on out to the "white" suburbs/country ...white folks ...countless of them, are adopting black kids and Chinese kids and pulling them into the fold ...I haven't been to an "all white" function in a long time. you want the truth ...do something to control the crime stats of the black male age, 7 to 27 ...then maybe we'll feel safe enough to go back...

The Greater Toronto Area needs a gazillion dollars to fund Metrolinx, a mega mega transportation system of light rail, commuter trains, subways, highways, roads, and bicycle paths designed to reach every ward in an 8,000 square kilometre operating region approaching six million people. It will cost more than governments can afford, say its government backers. The answer, the backers say, is a toll road system that extends across the GTA and finances the transit megaproject. I have a better idea. Install the GTA-wide toll road system and scrap Metrolinx. Once roads are tolled, the population growth that is now projected...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — For decades, California cities and counties knew one way to grow — by sprawling outward. That approach, which has led to ever longer commutes, jammed freeways and worsening air quality, is being challenged under a bill that was approved Saturday in the state Legislature. If signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not yet indicated whether he would do so, the bill would require local governments to plan their growth so that homes, businesses and public transit systems are clustered together. The goal is to help California meet the emission mandates spelled out in a wide-ranging...

Ancient petroglyphs lie amidst suburban sprawl By BRANDON LOOMIS Salt Lake Tribune 2007-12-24 00:00:00 ST. GEORGE, Utah -- An ancient 40-ton jungle gym of sorts, the massive burnt umber boulder anchors a neighborhood park and beckons suburban kids to clamber over its mysterious Anasazi etchings. And climb aboard they do, sometimes even attempting to scratch their own marks before the adults run them off, neighbors say. Archaeologists typically warn against even smudging natural skin oils on the chiseled drawings or the rock's natural mineral glaze so they won't slowly melt away. "I've climbed on it," acknowledged Melissa Cornwall, whose in-laws...

Drought Hysteria from The Pasadena Stirred News From Pasadena Star News Today: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/opinions/ci_5623625 Excerpt: Southern California finds itself in the midst of a drought, one that extends to the east and west slopes of the Sierra and into the Colorado River basin. And whether the cause is global warming or cyclical weather patterns, it's time for action, not words. Consider: The water content in the Sierra snowpack is at its lowest level in two decades, meaning that water supplies to cities and farms could be affected if conditions persist. The Colorado River system is in the midst of one of...

Scranton’s recent decision to ban smoking in almost all public places — coming on the heels of a similar bans in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh — represents one of the biggest culture changes of our times. Such a ban would have been unthinkable 50 years ago, when cigarette commercials dominated the airwaves and glamorous movie stars lit up regularly on the silver screen. In recent years, 17 states and more than 500 local municipalities have enacted smoking bans. Cigarette sales have dropped 20 percent since 1998, when tobacco companies agreed to pay $248 billion to the states to help cover the...

Sorry, city sophisticates, but the metropolis of the future may prove far less intensely urban than you hope. For all the focus on trendy downtowns and skyscrapers, the real growth in jobs and population is likely to take place on the periphery. The new urbanism, built around downtown revival and beloved by the celebrated starchitects, will cede pride of place to the "new suburbanism." And not only in the land of free-ranging suburbs, America. In contrast to the powers who fight "sprawl," advocates of the new suburbanism focus on ways to make the periphery work better. It's about bringing business...

Census: Americans Are Fleeing Big Cities By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 20, 12:15 AM ET WASHINGTON - Americans are leaving the nation's big cities in search of cheaper homes and open spaces farther out. Nearly every large metropolitan area had more people move out than move in from 2000 to 2004, with a few exceptions in the South and Southwest, according to a report being released Thursday by the Census Bureau. Northeasterners are moving South and West. West Coast residents are moving inland. Midwesterners are chasing better job markets. And just about everywhere, people are escaping to...

Americans ought to regard the word "growth" with trepidation. When invoked by presidents and economists, it is meant to imply ideas like "more" or "better." It's a habit of thinking left over from the exuberant phase of the industrial age, when there was always more of everything to get. Nowadays, though, as we enter terminal years of cheap energy, the word "growth" invokes a new set ideas. For instance, "impossible." With the price of oil edging toward $70-a-barrel now, and likely to flirt with $100 by the end of the year, the effect will be higher costs for virtually all...

In-town living. Live-work-play. Mixed income. The buzzwords of soft-core urbanism are everywhere these days in this eternally optimistic city, used in real estate advertisements and mayoral boasts to lure money from the suburbs and to keep young people from leaving. Loft apartments roll onto the market every week, the public housing authority is a nationally recognized pioneer in redevelopment and the newest shopping plaza has one Target and three Starbucks outlets. But although gentrification has expanded the city's tax base and weeded out blight, it has had an unintended effect on Atlanta, long a lure to African-Americans and a symbol...