Posts by Stephen Hudson — Contributor
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Our region is among the most economically segregated in the US
Among the US' most populous regions, Washington is one of the most economically segregated. It's slightly less segregated when it comes to black and white people, and is in the middle of the pack when you look at Latino and white people. When segregation levels go down, education levels and safety increase and life expectancies lengthen. Keep reading…
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Bogota has a world-renowned BRT system. What would it take to replicate it?
Bogota’s TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit system, which opened in 2000, is one of the largest and most heavily used in the world. In fact, the United States government even looked at how to mimic it. Creating a high-quality BRT system here is possible— it’d just require quite a bit of political will. Keep reading…
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Red, Purple, Green: Why we use colors to name our transit lines
There are numerous ways to distinguish transit lines, including using unique names or symbols. Here and many places elsewhere, our subway goes with colors. That's because colors are a simple and user-friendly way to organize a system. Keep reading…
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The Purple Line will change transit. Just ask Moscow.
Russia has been in the news a lot recently for negative reasons, but let's take a look at something positive: the Moscow Metro just opened a second rail ring around the city. Known as Line 14 or the Moscow Central Circle, it's a good example of what the Purple Line will (kind of) do for our region. Keep reading…
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In Barcelona, “superblocks” are giving streets back to pedestrians
Modern cities across the world have struggled to move away from the 20th Century's car-centric model to a more walkable, livable one. Barcelona is trying to pull it off by creating giant spaces where streets are only for people and cars are limited. Meet the “superblock:” Keep reading…
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What’s Vision Zero, and how does it work? This video explains.
Traffic deaths are all too common on our streets. To curb them, DC and Montgomery County have followed the lead of cities from around the world in adopting a program called Vision Zero. This video explains how it works. Keep reading…
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DC’s black population is growing, but there’s more to the story than that
Despite once making up over 70% of the city’s population, black residents are forming a smaller and smaller percentage of Washington DC’s population. But even with this being true, DC's black population is actually growing. Keep reading…
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After Bill O’Reilly got his DC facts wrong, Muriel Bowser set him straight
DC mayor Muriel Bowser is creating a legal defense fund for immigrants who may be targeted for deportation during the Trump administration. Bill O'Reilly and a guest recently railed against the plan, saying a number of untrue things in the process. Bowser's office put out this video setting the record straight. Keep reading…
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We’re not the only place with growth and transportation challenges. Here’s Seattle’s approach.
Similar to our region, Seattle has had an economic boom and a flurry of new residents in recent years. They’re using transit to manage the growth Keep reading…
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Should the feds take over Metro? It depends on these 3 questions.
On Tuesday night, The Washington Post put out an op-ed saying that the federal government should take over Metro. There are good reasons to consider this proposal, but also reasons to think it could be harmful. Keep reading…