Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Barack Obama

White House Economic Report Touts TIGER, High-Speed Rail, Transit

By Elana Schor | Feb 12, 2010 | 2 Comments

The White House Council of Economic Advisers’ first annual report under President Obama made headlines today for its gloomy job-creation outlook, but tucked inside its 462 pages is a tangible reflection of a changed outlook on transportation policy under the new administration. Top White House economic adviser Christina Romer, at right, holds up yesterday’s report. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Obama Taps High-Speed Rail Winners: Florida, California, Illinois and More

By Elana Schor | Jan 28, 2010 | 6 Comments

Click here for a larger version. (Image: U.S. DOT) In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama hinted at what many in the transportation world have anticipated all week: Florida’s emergence as a winner in the race for a share of the White House’s $8 billion (and growing) high-speed rail fund. But […]

In the White House’s High-Speed Rail Chase, a First Likely Winner: Florida

By Elana Schor | Jan 25, 2010 | 8 Comments

The prediction that Rep. John Mica (R-FL) backtracked on last month is starting to come true: President Obama is headed for Florida on Thursday, and the state is all but certain that he’s coming with $2.6 billion in federal stimulus funding for a new high-speed rail link between Tampa and Orlando. (Photo: FL High-Speed Rail) […]

Obama Previews His New Budget’s Urban Policy Moves

By Elana Schor | Jan 22, 2010 | No Comments

When it comes to re-centering the Washington bureaucracy to better accommodate cities’ needs, the first year of the Obama administration has brought its share of progress (a three-agency partnership set to spend $150 million on sustainable development) and hiccups (a White House urban affairs office with lots of talk but little action). (Photo: whitehouse via […]

Show More Stories