National links: New study dissects high cost of transit projects in the US, provides recommendations

Dissecting the causes of high transit project costs. Why has construction productivity fallen in the last 70 years? How cities can be a haven for biodiversity.

Transit Costs Project releases executive summary: The Transit Costs Project at the Marron Institute of Urban Management at NYU has released an executive summary of their findings looking at over 900 construction projects around the world. The authors argue that it’s important to study the costs of rapid transit projects because lowering costs would translate to more construction of transit and increased economic prosperity for cities and the country as a whole. (Eric Goldwyn et al. | Transit Costs Project)

Why has construction not had productivity gains?: Ezra Klein ponders why construction productivity is down compared to 1970 when other major sectors have seen massive productivity gains. There isn’t any single issue he can point to about the disparity but notes that it’s getting more troubling that it’s harder to build things, which in turn makes it harder to address our most pressing national issues. (Ezra Klein | New York Times)

Cutting-edge cities in biodiversity: Human settlements reshape the environment to the benefit of residents, but often to the detriment of biodiversity. But new findings suggest that there are ways that cities can foster nature and have it grow alongside urban life. From Mexico City, Mexico to Kanazawa, Japan, cities around the world are now embracing this and finding ways to enhance biodiversity to support climate goals, well-being, and tourism. (Eric Margolis | The New Republic)

Lessons from a successful e-bike rebate pilot: E-Bike rebate vouchers offered by Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency were so popular that they were gone within 20 minutes of the program launching. Program officials talked about lessons learned from the successful launch so that they can be replicated elsewhere, highlighting the need to scale up and the role of budget flexibility. (Maria Rachal | Smart Cities Dive)

Quote of the Week

“Participation in The Line—an indoor, climate-controlled mall only conceivable in a state absolutely drunk off oil money that will almost certainly never get built and, if it does get built, will come at the cost of massive human suffering—is not just an embarrassment; it should nullify the progressive reputations of all firms involved.”

Kate Wagner in The Baffler discusses The Line, a proposed Saudi Arabian city in the desert.

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Nadia Anderson, former director of federal affairs at INRIX to talk about what lobbyists actually do.