Weekend links: The sensitive subject of race

Kaya celebrates diversity

DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson applauded the increasing racial diversity of the system as more white children enroll in DCPS.  This being Washington, her remark caused a stir. (Post)

TBD dissects a gentrification article

Read a good takedown of a recent stereotype-laden gentrification article in the American Prospect in which “Washington” is shorthand for whites and “DC” is shorthand for blacks. (TBD)

Passengers may board at the back of the bus

To speed bus service, San Francisco may permit bus riders to board through the rear doors, too.  You still have to pay or show proof of payment. (SF Chronicle)

Transforming the projects can lower crime

Neighborhoods with public housing projects saw crime decrease after HOPE VI money helped transform them into mixed-income communities. (MetroTrends)

What’s good for GM may not be good for America

The Obama administration wants to advance batteries for electric cars. This would reduce oil dependence, but not auto-dependent land-use paradigms that require lots of energy. (Infrastructurist)

In Cuba, women hitchhike

Transit in Cuba is so bad and packed to the gills that women actually hitchhike. The state requires employees driving state-owned vehicles to pick people up if they have seats. (NPR, Erik Weber)

Bike sharing leads to personal biking

Even large bike sharing systems won’t constitute a significant share of daily trips, but they can catalyze more people to ride personal bikes, greatly increasing the amount of biking in a city. (ECF)

California eases transportation project funding

California may permit localities to levy gas taxes for local projects after receiving a simple majority of voter approval instead of a 2/3 majority. (Streetsblog)

And…

Pranksters in Seattle posted a notice for a new municipal ball pit with 1,200,000 cubic feet of plastic balls. (Boing Boing) … The Postal Service may not need 24% of its real estate. (Post) … A German artist is installing Google Maps place markers at city center points. (Architizer)