A small town in Ohio. by David Wilson licensed under Creative Commons.

One man’s mission to revitalize main streets in forgotten towns. Texas transportation officials plan to widen a highway despite skeptics. We may be more productive working from home — but why?

Reviving main streets across the Midwest: A local developer in a small Ohio town has transformed the bleak area into a tourist destination. Now, he’s on a mission to help dozens of similar towns reinvigorate their downtowns and main streets by preserving historic buildings and renovating storefronts. (David Kidd | Governing)

TxDOT wants to expand Austin freeway to 20 lanes: The Texas Department of Transportation revealed plans to widen I-35, which runs through downtown Austin, to 20 lanes in some spots. While a forum in September will allow the public to weigh in, the department seems undeterred by opponents. It’s their way, which is the highway. (Nathan Bernier | KUT)

Would new VMT taxes be bad for health? Inside the recently passed infrastructure bill, there’s a pilot program for a vehicles miles traveled (VMT) tax. Justin Hollander, a professor at Tufts, argues that we shouldn’t use such a tax to generate revenue for building roads. Instead, he says, we should encourage electric vehicle use and raise the gas tax, which hasn’t increased since 1993. (Justin Hollander | The Hill)

Why are we more productive working from home?: Many workers believe they are more productive at home because they’re away from chatty co-workers and endless meetings. However, some researchers believe boosts in productivity during the pandemic can be attributed to lack of commuting and improved sleep patterns. There’s also still more research to be done to answer the question: do people end up working more or fewer hours from home? (Rebecca Stropoli | Chicago Booth Review)

The Commerce Clause is the zoning answer: Current zoning practices have exclusionary effects and have led to limited housing production around the country. But it can be hard to prove that these codes are discriminatory in court. As such, the Commerce Clause in the Constitution might be a solution to proving that zoning regulations burden the commerce of home building through the exclusion of outsiders. (Michael D. Diederich, Jr. | New York State Bar Association)

Quote of the Week

“What we build in the transportation sector matters. It can’t just be about making the cars cleaner.”

CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew on Colorado Public Radio discussing a potential rule that requires new construction projects to offset any new emissions.

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Jennifer Kent to talk about her research about dogs on transit around the world.