Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Smart Growth

Can State DOTs Be Trained to Kick the Sprawl Habit?

By Ben Fried | Sep 25, 2009 | No Comments

I had the chance to listen in yesterday to top staffers from USDOT explain their collaboration with HUD and the EPA — the "Partnership for Livable Communities" that was first unveiled in March and touted again by President Obama in July. Three officials, including one of Ray LaHood’s top deputies, Beth Osborne, outlined their plans […]

More People, Less Driving: The Imperative of Curbing Sprawl

By Ryan Avent | Sep 3, 2009 | 1 Comment

Experience with case studies has made it clear to many urban planners and environmentalists that to maximize the benefits of transit investments, and to slow growth in traffic congestion, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and carbon emissions, you have to focus on land use. Photo: Penn State. This knowledge has begun working its way into the […]

The Power of Transit-Oriented Development

By Ryan Avent | Aug 27, 2009 | 1 Comment

Back in the late 1970s, when Washington’s Metrorail system first began operating in Arlington County, Virginia, the future of Arlington and other old, inner suburbs was far from certain. Across the Potomac, the District of Columbia was suffering from depopulation, rapidly rising crime rates, and serious fiscal difficulties. Ballston Metro station, Arlington Co. Photo: Point […]

New Report Quantifies Benefits of Adding Smarth Growth to Climate Bill

By Elana Schor | Jun 22, 2009 | No Comments

As a new non-partisan analysis of the House climate change bill — proving that capping CO2 can save money for the poorest fifth of the nation — continues to make waves on the Hill, it’s worth noting that the legislation could yield even greater savings by focusing on reducing transportation-based emissions. House Energy & Commerce […]

Call for Regional Coordination of Land Use and Transportation

By Michael Rhodes | Jun 11, 2009 | 3 Comments

It appears a consensus is forming among local governments that building more livable and sustainable communities is an immediate priority. At a conference in San Francisco yesterday, elected officials from across the Bay Area, along with business, housing, development and transportation groups, called for a coordinated land use and transportation planning strategy to account for […]

MTC Approves Sweeping Regional Plan, Debates New Toll Lanes

By Matthew Roth | Apr 23, 2009 | 3 Comments

Photo by bvohra via Flickr The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) yesterday approved its 25-year "Change In Motion" Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), after more than two years of work coordinating with the 26 regional transportation operators, the public, and the many authorities under its control. A slew of bicycle and transportation advocates lined up to thank […]

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