Posts by David Alpert — Founder
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DC zoning laws online, sort of
The zoning laws for DC are posted online. They’re typed documents clearly made on a computer. But… they’re printed out, then scanned in, and the scanned images converted to PDFs. Here’s an example. What’s wrong with this? PDFs made directly from the computer contain their text in computer-readable form. Search engines can read them and make… Keep reading…
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Ed Glaeser: transit attracts poor people?
Richard Florida has a post about a new article by Harvard economist Ed Glaeser that “the income elasticity of demand for land is too low for urban poverty to come from wealthy individuals’ wanting to live where land is cheap (the traditional explanation of urban poverty)… The urbanization of poverty comes mainly from better access to public transportation in central… Keep reading…
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What will Saudi Arabia’s new cities look like?
Saudi Arabia is spending its oil riches to build cities for the country’s exploding population, trying to become an economic power. Richard Florida sees them as “monuments to materialism.” This one reminds me of California’s Foster City, an exurb built completely on landfill. A network of lagoons gives many houses waterfront access, but it’s… Keep reading…
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Architecture criticism: the good and the bad
Washington Post architecture critic Ben Forgey drove and walked around downtown Washington giving his opinions about the best and worst of the city’s buildings for Washingtonian. Unlike too many architects, many of his comments focused on the interaction between buildings and the people around them:The Federal Triangle is a planning mistake of huge dimension because… Keep reading…
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Building over Union Station rail yards
One of the best ways for cities to improve the often-forlorn areas around major infrastructure is by building on air rights. When a street crosses over a major highway, why not put buildings over the highway on either side, turning an empty bridge into a city street with activity along the sidewalks, like they are doing in Boston and Columbus. Covering a big rail yard near a major… Keep reading…
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Taxi fare mashup
There’s a new taxi fare estimator/Google maps mashup at the Washington Post site. You can enter an address or click a point on a map for origin and destination, and see how the fare would compare between the old zone system and the new meter plan. It also estimates the extra cost from traffic, giving a range so you can get a sense for how much more a trip might cost in heavy traffic. Most… Keep reading…
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Lower DC taxi fares
Responding to public outcry about the original DC taxi rate proposal, Mayor Fenty lowered rates and eliminated several surcharges. The original proposal had a high “flag drop” fee, keeping the cost for short trips around the same range as it had been under the zone system, and retained extra charges for additional passengers (not present in NYC) and rush hour charges… Keep reading…
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UFT still narrow-minded on parking
Sam Schwartz, former NYC Traffic Commissioner who reduced placard parking in the 1980s, released his ten-part recommendation for reducing placard abuse. But the UFT has other ideas, passing a resolution asking for expanded rights to park on their schools’ scarce property. Keep reading…
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Are protected bike lanes actually more dangerous?
New York has its first physically separated bike lane on 9th Avenue, where the parked cars sit between the bike land and traffic, protecting riders. I emailed DDOT’s Chris Ziemann about the 15th Street reconfiguration, suggesting a similar lane there. Ziemann responded that “separating the bikes from traffic is safer for bikes along the block, but much more dangerous… Keep reading…
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Cars vs. bikes
In a five-part series in the LA Times, Los Angeles blogger and bike user Will Campbell and Cato anti-Smart Growth commentator Randal O’Toole debate the sources of car/bike rage, whether funding bike paths is worthwhile, Critical Mass, and more. Keep reading…