Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Quality of Life

D.C., VA, MD to Apply for Federal Aid as Snow Eats Into Transport Budgets

By Elana Schor | Feb 11, 2010 | 2 Comments

The scene in D.C. this week. (Photo: thisisbossi via Flickr) Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are set to apply for federal disaster aid to offset the costs of cleanup from this month’s record-breaking mid-Atlantic blizzards, according to the Washington Post reports today. But the so-called Snowpocalypse could dent more than just worker productivity — already […]

White House Pitches $400M for Healthier Neighborhood Food Outlets

By Elana Schor | Feb 3, 2010 | 2 Comments

The connection between walkable development and grocery shopping may not seem immediately apparent — until you consider studies conducted in cities from Austin to Seattle that showed the share of trips taken by foot or by transit rises as local food outlets move closer to residential areas. The White House budget envisions a new investment […]

Streetsblog Capitol Hill Q&A: Blumenauer Talks Economic Recovery

By Elana Schor | Dec 3, 2009 | No Comments

On the issue of clean transportation, from transit to bike paths to clean water, few members of Congress are as knowledgeable or active as Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). Chief of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus and founder of the new Livable Communities Task Force, the Portland lawmaker is on the front lines of Washington’s biggest infrastructure […]

Senate Health Bill Holds Onto Grants For Healthier Transportation

By Elana Schor | Nov 20, 2009 | No Comments

Back in June, when the Senate was in the early stages of its marathon health care reform debate, several Republicans blasted the proposed legislation for including a grant program aimed at encouraging construction of local infrastructure to promote healthier movement. The new Senate health bill held onto a billion-dollar grant program to promote walking to […]

When State DOTs Run Amok: $266M For Widening, Crumbs For Waterfront

By Ben Fried | Nov 20, 2009 | No Comments

Streetsblog New York reported last week on the state DOT’s expensive plan to widen part of the Major Deegan Expressway in the southwest Bronx, even as the agency fails to maintain upstate bridges. More lanes, or more housing and parks? (Image of proposed Deegan Expressway widening: NYSDOT. Image of the community’s plan for a de-commissioned […]

Has the Government Been Bailing Out Sprawl?

By Ryan Avent | Nov 2, 2009 | 10 Comments

One of the themes of the financial and economic crisis we’ve faced over the past two years is that government, pressed into responding to serious economic pain, has often found itself supporting the activities that got us into this mess in the first place. Sign of the times? Side-by-side foreclosures in Massachusetts. (Photo: Yovani via […]

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