Charlottesville’s pedestrian-only Downtown Mall, built in the 1970s by Payton Chung licensed under Creative Commons.

Today’s open streets echo yesterday’s pedestrian shopping streets. Is going all-out on electric vehicle chargers really necessary? Banks could be facing down a bigger threat than subprime mortgages.

America and the new pedestrian mall: Post-pandemic, officials will have to decide how to move forward with all of the open streets they created for social distancing. To keep them, there are lessons to learn from pedestrian malls from the 1970s and 1980s, most of which failed to stay closed to cars. Pedestrian malls need to be in places with higher density and a younger population — and longer streets aren’t necessarily better. (Stephan Schmidt | Bloomberg CityLab)

Do we really need 500,000 EV chargers?: Electric car proponents are arguing that we need 500,000 chargers to entice people to purchase electric cars and get over range anxiety. But Aaron Gordon argues that thinking is for a world that supposes we refuel vehicles as we had before. This however is not the case for most electric car owners, who charge their cars at home rather than at a fueling station. There should be targeted investments for longer trips, but the 500K goal might be a waste of money. (Aaron Gordon | Motherboard)

Climate change’s big impact on banks: A new report from sustainability nonprofit Ceres finds that climate change is a greater risk to bank solvency than the subprime mortgage crisis. But unlike the mortgage crisis, it’s much harder for banks to divest from climate-threatened assets, especially in small communities that can get hit by one disaster. Banks can prepare by using the same risk assessments that insurance companies are starting to employ. (Saul Elbein | The Hill)

The gas station business model: In 2020, gas stations in the United States sold enough fuel to fill up 187,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. But despite demand, more often than not gasoline is a loss leader for independent owners, who make just a 1.4% margin on fuel. To put that in perspective, grocery stores make 2.5% and other industries in general make just under 8%. Station owners make up for minimal gas revenue with markups on convenience items. (Zachary Crockett | The Hustle)

The “residental caste system”: State and federal policies have perpetuated segregation in neighborhoods for decades, and many current policies perpetuate these gaps by pitting poor communities against rich ones for resources. Georgetown Law professor Sheryll Cashin argues that this has created a residential caste system that allows for geography-based politics that divide rather than unite. Acknowledging that system offers an opportunity to identify places that need support and investment. (Sheryll Cashin | Politico Magazine)

Quote of the week:

“Parisian public space is rare, precious, and very useful. It belongs to everyone and it can’t be captured by one unique usage, which is the automobile. Today, still, 50 percent of public space in Paris is consecrated to the car, whether it’s on the road or parked. That represents just 10 percent of trips.”

David Belliard, Paris’ adjunct mayor for transportation and public space, discussing how Paris has taken space back for people in Slate.

This week on the podcast, Professor Leslie Kern joins the show to talk about her book Feminist City.