Skid marks on a California road by Russ Allison Loar licensed under Creative Commons.

The idea that 94% of crashes are caused by human error is hindering the systemic change we need. The pandemic is changing the e-commerce environmental math. Fast-growing Seattle channeled that growth into its downtown core.

When individuals take the blame for crashes: More than 20,000 people died on American roads in the first six months of 2021, more than any year since 2006. But the myth is that human error is to blame for these deaths, not the systemic road and vehicle design flaws that make US roads more dangerous. And the misleading statistic that 94% of crashes are human error continues to be pushed by those that should know better, the author writes. (David Zipper | The Atlantic)

The sustainability of e-commerce: The entire supply chain of everything we consume makes up 50% of worldwide emissions. But a question arises about whether increases in e-commerce also increase emissions. Research done before the pandemic says online shopping is often more sustainable than going to brick and mortar stores, but changes to determining variables such as packaging, number of trips to the store, or the efficiency of delivery could shift the answer considerably. (Catherine Boudreau | Politico)

Seattle’s population growth was concentrated in the core: Total housing units in Seattle grew by 60,000 between 2010 and 2020, beat out only by Denver and Austin. What was surprising however was that half of those units were built in central Seattle, a 30% increase in units. The reason: the central city is where land is zoned for more units. (Gene Balk | Seattle Times)

Electric vehicles can’t keep emissions down: Research shows electrification of vehicles alone won’t be enough to keep global temperatures from rising less than 2 degrees Celcius. More cars in cities taking up space means less room for people and climate-calming nature. Fortunately we know the solutions including the promotion of active transportation for shorter trips, increasing broadband access in rural areas, and reducing the need to drive unless necessary. (Vera O’Riordan | Fast Company)

Los Angeles considers banning wood construction downtown: Los Angeles is considering whether to expand a planning overlay that bans wood frame construction to more parts of downtown. This move, pushed by interests like the concrete industry, is estimated to increase construction costs between 10% and 50% but with no clear safety improvement. (Nolan Gray | Pacific Research Institute)

Denmark to Germany tunnel breaks ground: Germany and Denmark are embarking on an 18 km (11 miles) under sea transportation tunnel that will create a more direct connection between Scandinavia and the European mainland. Most impressively, it will cut trips between Copenhagen and Hamburg from five hours to three, and will only cost 10 billion Euros. For comparison, the Gateway Tunnel under consideration between New Jersey and New York is about the same distance and is estimated to cost $10.1 billion. (Denis Balgaranov | The Mayor.eu)

Quote of the week:

“In the short term, the goal should be to ensure that we funnel new federal funds as much as possible not through the states but through existing regional governance structures. In the longer term, we can imagine these beefed-up regional governments overseeing regional single-payer health care operations, raising regional minimum wages, or coordinating Green New Deal job guarantee programs. Ideally, federal policy should make clear that such [Metropolitan Planning Organizations] are recognized federal entities not subject to state preemption for their operations.”

Nathan Newman in The Nation discussing how devolution to regional entities could bypass the rural instincts of states.

This week on the podcast, Dutch architect Ton Venhoeven joins the show.