National links: Some cities ban drive-thrus due to safety and other concerns

Cities explore banning drive thrus. Midwestern cities struggle to revitalize following impact of pandemic. AI tenant screening errors make the housing crisis worse.

Cities banning drive thrus: An estimated 200,000 restaurants around the United States have drive thru windows that make takeaway meals and drinks easier to access by car. But some cities are exploring banning them, as they undermine safety, active transportation, and good urban design that leads people to other businesses. (Nathaniel Meyersohn | CNN)

Some midwestern cities less attractive to pandemic migrants: While national news media focuses a bright spotlight on coastal cities dealing with the pandemic and changing worker preferences, it gives less attention to other places around the country. In the Midwest, cities such as Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Indianapolis are having a hard time attracting workers and visitors, according to research from the University of Toronto, which used cell phone data to see activity before and after the worst years of the pandemic. (Eliza Relman | Insider) Editor’s note: Tracy Hadden Loh is also chair of the GGWash Board of Directors.

AI makes the housing crisis worse: Tenant screening companies that use artificial intelligence to scour the web for information about prospective tenants are error-prone, causing some applicants to miss out on housing over inaccurate findings. Four tenant screening companies are currently facing 90 federal civil rights and consumer lawsuits, and the results of those lawsuits are likely to set up coming battles over AI regulation. (Rebecca Burns | The Lever)

Here come the electric buses: The US Department of Transportation has released $1.7B for bus acquisition with 50% of the money going to zero emissions vehicles. The funding is expected to result in the procurement of 1,700 buses and pay for upgrades to bus maintenance facilities to accommodate electric buses. While this will double the number of electric buses in use, there are currently 60,000 buses on US roads — so the movement to electrify is just getting underway. (Andrew Hawkins | The Verge)

Building based on a past climate: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration (NOAA) uses precipitation records that stretch as far back as the early nineteenth century to predict future rainfall, and these data are used inform infrastructure project designs. Experts explain that this means brand new projects may not be sturdy enough to withstand the impacts of climate change. While NOAA agrees that the predictions are out of date, the next update funded by the infrastructure bill won’t come until 2027. (Thomas Frank | Scientific American)

Quote of the Week

“ODOT is clearly walking away from phase two of I-205. They have no idea how they’re going to pay for it [and the Rose Quarter project]. It shows that what the critics have been saying about these projects has been absolutely right.”

No More Freeways co-founder Joe Cortright in the Portland Mercury on Oregons decision to pause two highway projects in Portland.

This week on the podcast, author Ben Wilson joins the show to talk about his new book Urban Jungle.