Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Transit-Oriented Development

White House Budget Includes $530M for Local Sustainability, $1B for HSR

By Elana Schor | Feb 1, 2010 | 2 Comments

The White House officially unveiled its $3.8 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2011 this morning, seeking $1 billion to continue its high-speed rail investment and $530 million for the transportation leg of the Obama administration’s inter-agency push to promote sustainable planning on the local level. White House budget chief Peter Orszag challenged employees to […]

Does Transit-Oriented Development Work Even Without Transit?

By Elana Schor | Jan 8, 2010 | No Comments

Yes, says urban planner Neil Payton. From his guest column today on Reconnecting America’s blog: Denver’s light rail, in the background, ended up increasing the value of nearby homes. (Photo: Denver Post) Either [local planners] view [transit access] as too distant a possibility to factor in or, ironically, they view rail transit as a means […]

Message From Copenhagen: Climate Plan Must Include Walkable Urbanism

By Ben Fried | Dec 9, 2009 | No Comments

The energy-saving benefits of transit aren’t limited to the transportation sector. (Image: Jonathan Rose Companies via Richard Layman) At a panel discussion yesterday at the Copenhagen climate summit, American policymakers and transit experts delivered a clear message: Walkable urban development must be part of any effective plan to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to […]

Rep. Earl Blumenauer: Announcing the Livable Communities Task Force

By Earl Blumenauer | Oct 19, 2009 | 2 Comments

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) (Photo: Airdye.com) With much excitement, today we are launching the Livable Communities Task Force — an official initiative of the House Democratic Caucus that will work to improve community livability and Americans’ quality of life. This means reducing the nation’s dependence on oil, protecting the environment, improving public health and investing […]

How Congress Can Help Create Suburbia 2.0

By Elana Schor | Oct 9, 2009 | 1 Comment

As Obama administration adviser Shelley Poticha noted this week, building more energy-efficient and hospitable cities — not to mention suburbs and rural areas — starts with clear terminology. "Sustainability" and "livability" are positive concepts that can be hard to define, but how can "transit-oriented development" be brought home to someone unfamiliar with the nuts and […]

Bridging the Local-National Message Divide: The Climate Bill is the Answer

By Ryan Avent | Oct 9, 2009 | No Comments

Urban areas have a lot to contribute to the congressional climate change debate. (Photo: SDOT Blog) This week, I was fortunate to attend the Open Cities conference in Washington (along with fellow Streetsbloggers Elana Schor and Aaron Naparstek), on the ways in which new media is shaping urban policy. The takeaway, for me at least, […]

Show More Stories