really likes cities

After a few months of yelling into the void with just my own newsletter, it's nice to know that someone else thinks I'm making sense. Huge thanks to @InfiniteBlockHQ and @MicromobilityCo for believing in me and publishing this piece on @culdesac, and all of you for reading.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to preserve what you have and protect your investments but America is rapidly reaching a point where, especially in urban centers, this attitude will have lasting impacts on our ability to progress beyond our current levels of development.

Great article from @Noahpinion on why America struggles to build quality transit, develop renewable energy potential, or even construct housing. noahpinion.substack.com/p/the-build-no… NIMBY attitudes and the ability of small number of local actors to stymie progress is largely to blame.

If American cities are serious about reducing emissions and actually working towards Vision Zero (no traffic deaths) then we need protected bike lanes, bike storage, and other meaningful infrastructural investments that actually encourage non-car means of transportation. (4/4)

From the article: “To reduce car dependency, you need bikes plus a high-capacity, high-efficiency, high-frequency public transit system.” It's not enough to keep existing car-centric infrastructure and policies in place and expect people to pick up cycling (3/4)

Amsterdam gets a lot of positive attention for their high levels of cycling and limited car dependency, especially compared to US cities. But their success isn't an accident, or a fluke of culture, it's deliberate. bloomberg.com/news/articles/… (1/4)

Chicago opening job board specifically aimed at hiring H1-B visa holders. bloomberg.com/news/articles/… A very cool response by the city, H1-B who have had their lives upended by tech layoffs need and deserve support, great to see this kind of quick policy action being taken.

American exceptionalism does exist, but not in the ways we'd often like to admit. Great piece here on why it's so stupidly expensive to build transit in NYC: vice.com/en/article/xgy…

I am all for congestion pricing and getting more vehicles off the road, but to do that without also providing alternatives (e.g. bike infrastructure, public transit improvements, increasing walkability) is going to be a hard sell politically for sure

If Manhattan (or any city) is serious about making congestion pricing work, you need this kind of corresponding investment into alternative modes. nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-ope… Great piece from @MarkLevineNYC arguing for more West Side bike lane investments

This just blew my mind when I was researching this week’s video. Is Acela a really bad service, or are Americans just too car-brained? A combination? Other? Vid at noon(ish) Pacific.

Just added a new 'recommended' newsletter - @ReadExpedite by @kh. Love all the food tech and delivery coverage.. Great analysis and a personality/style to match!

Bleecker Street (Greenwich Village, NYC)

@jahorne @TheWarOnCars I will try out the "car required to car optional" phrasing though

@jahorne @TheWarOnCars Hey Jerome! Big fan of your work. I think the statement itself is a good idea but w/ bad messaging, but like other pithy, more radical statements it does attract attention (though not all of it posivitive). "Make cities less car dependent" doesn't have the same ring to it.

I struggle with #BanCars because it feels like a "dead on arrival" approach to having a conversation with someone who is not in urbanist circles. Doug from @TheWarOnCars talks about what the #BanCars movement really means. As I like to say "From car required to car optional."

Saying "ban cars" is a compromise, because saying "Let's reduce car usage in favor of safer, more sustainable modes of mobility and reduce dependency on automobiles" isn't nearly as good as slogan. More here from @TheWarOnCars: jalopnik.com/what-i-mean-wh…

#WUF11 Reminder: Superblocks in Barcelona by @CityBits_Max citybits.substack.com/p/superblocks-…

NYC bus speeds up 50% after the city installed priority bus lanes, but legal and fiscal woes still abound, as @JohnSurico explains: bloomberg.com/news/features/…