Friday, May 6, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
How History Killed the Suburb - The Atlantic
From the Atlantic:
Read full story here.
For today's entry I am happy to return to Washington Post commentator Roger Lewis, whose April 23 column analyzed market forces now favoring walkable neighborhoods over the automobile-dependent, sprawling subdivisions that characterized most U.S. land development in the late 20th century. In particular, Lewis—sounding very much like the esteemed professor of architecture that he is—says that now-declining "suburban planning and zoning templates were predicated on four key assumptions":
- America had an unlimited supply of land;
- Automobiles and road building, thanks to inexpensive and presumably inexhaustible supplies of petroleum, would forever satisfy metropolitan transportation needs;
- Grouping homogeneous land uses, not intermixing them, would best protect property values, especially for residences; and
- The only way to realize the American dream was to own and inhabit a mortgaged house.
Today, all four of those assumptions have collapsed or are in the process of collapsing. We now know that much of our land, especially in and around metro areas, should not be developed, because of risk (flooding, wildfire, landslides); limited resources (water); or ecological value. There is considerable variation in these factors from one place to another, but the supply of land in regions experiencing growth can no longer be seen as "unlimited." Gasoline prices are back up to four bucks a gallon and, as global supply declines and demand for oil grows in developing countries, are surely going to continue to grow over the long term.
Read full story here.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Forty Strongest U.S. Metro Economies: 2009
The Brookings Institution ranked the 100 largest metros by averaging the ranks for four key indicators:
- employment change
- unemployment change
- gross metropolitan product and
- home price change
Employment was measured by the change from the peak quarter for each metro to the second quarter of 2009. The peak was the quarter in which the metro had the most jobs during the past five years. Unemployment was ranked by measuring the percentage-point change from the first quarter of 2009 to the second quarter of 2009. Gross metropolitan product was measured from the peak quarter to the second quarter of 2009. And the ranking of home prices compared the second quarter of 2009 to the previous quarter. The employment data were provided by Moody's Economy.com, the unemployment data were collected from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the home price index came from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Using data and analysis from the Brookings Institution's new MetroMonitor study, BusinessWeek.com ranked the nation's top 40 economies based on job growth, employment, economic growth, and home prices. And Texas seems to be the clear winner with San Antonio at the top of the list and five metros in the top 10.
Here's the top 10:
1. San Antonio, TX
2. Austin- Round Rock, TX
3. Oklahoma City, OK
4. Little Rock - North Little Rock - Conway, AR
5. Dallas - Fort Worth - Arlington, TX
6. Baton Rouge, LA
7. Tulsa, OK
8. Omaha - COuncil Bluffs, NE-IA
9. Houston- Sugarland - Bayton, TX
10. El Paso, TX
Except Ogden MSA, UT, none of the Western metros made it on the top 40. To see which metros made the list, read on.
- employment change
- unemployment change
- gross metropolitan product and
- home price change
Employment was measured by the change from the peak quarter for each metro to the second quarter of 2009. The peak was the quarter in which the metro had the most jobs during the past five years. Unemployment was ranked by measuring the percentage-point change from the first quarter of 2009 to the second quarter of 2009. Gross metropolitan product was measured from the peak quarter to the second quarter of 2009. And the ranking of home prices compared the second quarter of 2009 to the previous quarter. The employment data were provided by Moody's Economy.com, the unemployment data were collected from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the home price index came from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Using data and analysis from the Brookings Institution's new MetroMonitor study, BusinessWeek.com ranked the nation's top 40 economies based on job growth, employment, economic growth, and home prices. And Texas seems to be the clear winner with San Antonio at the top of the list and five metros in the top 10.
Here's the top 10:
1. San Antonio, TX
2. Austin- Round Rock, TX
3. Oklahoma City, OK
4. Little Rock - North Little Rock - Conway, AR
5. Dallas - Fort Worth - Arlington, TX
6. Baton Rouge, LA
7. Tulsa, OK
8. Omaha - COuncil Bluffs, NE-IA
9. Houston- Sugarland - Bayton, TX
10. El Paso, TX
Except Ogden MSA, UT, none of the Western metros made it on the top 40. To see which metros made the list, read on.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Ed Glaeser on John Stewart - talking about...
what else but cities?
Watch interview here. The interview was broadcast/recorded in February I believe.
Watch interview here. The interview was broadcast/recorded in February I believe.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Ed Glaeser on the Future of American Cities, with an Emphasis on Housing Policy
In a roundtable interview with MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton, Harvard University's Edward Glaeser discusses the future of American cities, including housing in Dec 2008. (length: 22:21 min)
Housing discussion in the clip starts at 4:58.
Housing discussion in the clip starts at 4:58.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Curitiba's Success in Congestion Management
Here's a short video clip from the DVDe watched in class on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. Curitiba, Brazil is a city of more than 2 million people. Over the years, it has been a trail blazer in designing and implementing sustainable urban development strategies. This video clip highlights Curitiba's achievements in congestion management using integrated Bus service.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
