Propaganda

In all of our discussions, we have been pushed to consider "problem framing" because it shapes the solution set and to remember that "words matter." For example, consider Prof Coughlin's last post with the quote

I'm not an activist, an alarmist, a Democrat, environmentalist or anything like that.

Not an activist??! What is wrong with being an activist! Ms Gant is deliberately invoking contemporary propaganda in order to distance herself from popular caricatures that she fears some may use against her to discredit her claim. BoingBoing linked to this site: http://propagandacritic.com/, which provides a fascinating history and summary of propaganda, and, perhaps most importantly, tips to help citizens think critically about issues rather than fall victim to the propaganda.

Growth, Sprawl, and Urban Form

Following our Friday discussion on cities vs. suburbs (good vs. evil), the new urbanism, greenbelts and models of urban growth, some may find this article interesting. It looks at 'linear planning' as a strategy proposed over the last 100+ years as an optimal way to organize urban space and accommodate the "inevitable" growth of urban populations. Those interested in the topic might just want to browse over pictures and plans.

[Article from 11.330 lecture on Theory of City Form]

Public Health, NIMBY & Powering the Dreams of the Electric Car

"I'm not an activist, an alarmist, a Democrat, environmentalist or anything like that. I'm just a person who isn't able to manage the health of my family because of all this drilling."

Kelly Gant, whose says her children have had severe asthma attacks and headaches since a gas well was set up near her house in Bartonville, Tex.

This is not  directly a transportation example of conflict between infrastructure placement and environmental values. However, it is the most passionate and reasoned comment that can be understood by everyone, from the media, policymakers to business leaders. Gas rig drilling is one strategy that will power the dreams and engines of the electric car. Often in public policy seeming 'solutions' to one problem only displace costs and create new problems. This is worth the read.

Read the rest of the story in the original New York Times article here.

BMW Documentaries Presents: "How We'll Learn To Stop Worrying and Love the Future"

BMW Documentaries Presents: "How We'll Learn To Stop Worrying and Love the Future
Visions (albeit vague, being strong on principle yet weak on practice) of the future of transport according to prominent individuals in the transport sector, including Robin Chase of ZipCar and George Whitesides of Virgin Galactic

Featured in The Infrastructurist 24 February
The Morning Dig: BMW Takes On the Future of Transportation

James Howard Kunstler; Barry Schwartz

Not one, but two TED lectures relevant to topics in today's lecture:

The themes from the Fast Company video on transit-oriented development receive a more acerbic but very funny treatment by James Howard Kunstler. It starts, "The immersive ugliness of our everyday environments in America is entropy made visible," and only gets better.

Individual choice is one of the values or objectives central to traditional transportation interests. Barry Schwartz points to the fact that increased choice may actually decrease quality of life.

Will Car Companies Become Mobility Service Providers?

BMW's New Market Strategy Suggests Auto Industry Moving to Mobility Services. Imagine a car company giving information on transit services. Here is a direct quote from the article:

"In a departure from the traditional auto-focused advertising of its parent, the BMW i venture will advertise with lifestyle images that will "gradually be complemented with more and more content related to the products," per a company statement.

There is also a new Web site, www.BMW-i.com, showing several films about the generation of the forthcoming BMW i3 and BMW i8 cars from design sketches to engineering principles. The Web site will also have a social media element, mining online debates around developments in urbanization, sustainability and mobility, with links to BMW i's Facebook, YouTube and Twitter fan sites, according to the company.

The company says its new "BMW i Ventures" is set to invest in "highly innovative service providers," The first of these is My City Way, which develops apps for information on public transportation, parking availability, and local entertainment for over 40 cities in the U.S. Another 40 cities will be part of the global rollout, including Munich, of course, according to the automaker".

Read entire article on BMW's new electric vehicle strategy and entry into services 

EPA to Ease Cost of Reducing Air Pollution

EPA to Ease Cost of Reducing Air Pollution

Is the T Safe To Ride (asks Boston Magazine)

Picking up on Fred's comment that "if you want more people to ride the T, then make the T better" here is a short set of articles from Boston Magazine summarizing physical and fiscal problems with the T and what it might take to fix them.

Bringing streetcar back: One more argument that Portland is ahead of other cities in smart transit planning

This is worth the read...transit and environmentalism being defined as being a step ahead of others much the way growth and development has traditionally been touted by other regions. This piece is more than about Portland it is a perspective on transit and livability that we should consider throughout the semester. Good video too! Take note of the links in the story.

"As we wait for work crews to finish laying Portland Streetcar tracks into Northeast Portland (and to reopen automobile and bike lanes), here’s a little something to scratch the ol' chin over.

Patrick Condon’s new book “Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities”argues that bringing streetcars back is the wisest thing cities can do. 

With guidance and consulting fromPortland Streetcar officials, Los Angeles is in the process of bringing streetcars back to its moribund downtown. 
The Sustainable Cities Collective blog has a nice piece on Condon, a professor of landscape architecture at the University of British Columbia. " Read the rest of the story here....

On Whose Authority?

A question which has been bouncing around my head for some time: what characteristics are shared by effective transportation planning arrangements?

For example, the MBTA ("a body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts") operates both the T and Commuter Rail; while in Toronto, subways are operated by the TTC (a commission of the city) and commuter trains are run by a different, regional body. Transport for London appears to be quasi-regional, associated with a Greater London Authority; and a link in Ryuusuke's earlier post discusses the multitude of operators in Tokyo.

There are many variables here:

• Sometimes transportation (in general) and (public surface) transit are managed by the same entity; other times they are separate. The distinction also exists for aviation and water transport.
• Entities can be publicly operated or private companies.
• Public entities can be affiliated with one of the standard levels of government (municipal, regional, state/province, federal) or managed jointly by representatives from multiple levels.
• Private entities can be transit operators only, or have other related businesses; they can operate within or across jurisdictions (for example, MTR in Hong Kong).

Obviously the context is very different in any city, but I am curious about common themes, e.g. does it tend to be harder to execute policy using a municipal (vs. regional) transportation authority? Are funding mechanisms a better determinant of success than where planning authority lies?

A casual search turns up some U.S.-specific literature on the subject; does anyone know of a respected, general source, or a good visualization of different structures?

Holding an owned car in Tokyo is almost impossible and meaningless

"Like many Japanese of his generation, the 28-year-old musician and part-time maintenance worker says owning a car is more trouble than it's worth, especially in a congested city where monthly parking runs as much as 30,000 yen ($330), and gas costs 100 yen a liter (about $3.50 a gallon). "

Original article is here.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/123121951587500.xml&coll=7

Especially in high population density cities, such as Tokyo, railway transportation is more useful than owned car.
http://blog.greggman.com/blog/tokyo_trains/

A Few Fast Facts on Cars & Countries

According to the United Nations there are:

• 762 cars per 1000 people in the United States
• 164 cars per 1000 worldwide
• 10 cars per 1000 people in China

United Nations Statistics Division: http://www.unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm

300,000 people bid for 20,000 license plates in Beijing

"300,000 people in Beijing apply for second round of number drawing, with a 5.7% chance of getting a license plate. The second round of application for passenger car quota in Beijing ended yesterday. There are 306,865 individual applications and 13,386 corporate applications from 7,108 enterprises. The chance of getting quota for license plate in the second round of number drawing is 5.7%.

Beijing municipal government issued a new policy to relieve traffic jam at the end of 2010. The quota for newly added motor vehicles in Beijing in 2011 is restricted to 240,000. People who want to buy new cars have to file applications before getting license plates through number drawing.

In the first round of public number drawing, 17,600 individual applications, or 8.37% of the total, are picked. The remaining unselected applications are automatically transferred to the second round, in addition to the newly added 137,045 individual applications. The second round of number drawing will be carried out on February 26."

The original article with commentary may be found here

For more on cars and China go to http://www.chinacartimes.com

Joe Coughlin

Obesity Linked to Income, Education; Not Sprawl?

Obesity is more prevalent in areas with lower educational attainment and certain ethnic profiles than in areas of suburban sprawl, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Researchers at UIC's Urban Transportation Center revisited their 2005 analysis of data from about 7 million northern Illinois drivers licenses, which found that body-mass index scores in most city neighborhoods differ little from those in the farthest outlying areas. Read the rest of this story....
Joe Coughlin