Fixing U.S. transportation, top rankings, how the poor commute, and more
Time again to catch up on the smaller items:
- Harvard's Dr. Ed Glaeser has seven great recommendations for fixing U.S. transportation infrastructure issues:
- Let users pay
- Implement congestion pricing
- De-federalize transportation spending
- Institutionalize maintenance funding
- Promote public-private partnerships
- Split up the NYC Port Authority
- Cherish the bus
That last one is my favorite. The excerpt:
"CHERISH THE BUS: There is an old joke that 40 years of transportation economics at Harvard can be boiled down to four words: “Bus Good, Train Bad.” The many advantages of the bus were first illustrated in the classic text, “The Urban Transportation Problem,” by John Meyer, John Kain and Martin Wohl. (Meyer and Kain were both mentors of mine). Buses are flexible, cheap and can move almost as fast as urban trains if they operate on a dedicated road or a private tunnel. Perhaps the most positive transport innovation of the past decade has been the enormous competition of private buses plying the roads of the Eastern Seaboard.
Cars can’t be the only answer for urban commuters, especially for poorer Americans during an era of high gas prices. Buses can be a pleasant alternative, with televisions and Wi-Fi connectivity. Buses can move quickly if they are given enough space to drive. Instead of chasing the quixotic dream of high-speed rail in Texas, public-transit aficionados should start agitating for better bus service, with plenty of private competition."
- The Center for Houston's Future has released an excellent report on the state of education and human capital in the Houston region. It's chock full of statistics, best practices, and good recommendations for improvement.
- Esquire critic admits Houston is underrated as a food city, places it above Dallas
- Wendell Cox over at New Geography has lots of data on how lower income citizens commute. It's a lot more automobile-centric and less transit-centric than you might think, which he argues is a good thing as it opens up many more job options within a given commute time.
- Houston dominates again. Added the most US private jobs in 2011
Houston increased its number of private-sector jobs by more than 230,000 between 2001 and 2011 — 75,000 more jobs than any other U.S. city’s increase.
- Houston is younger than most U.S. cities
- Houston on top again…the largest 10-year job gain in the US
- NYTimes highlights Houston’s strong economic recovery
“Everyone is looking at Texas for opportunities, quality of life and affordability, and Houston is off the charts for every one of those items.”Finally, I thought we'd end with a little humor I picked up from the City of Houston Planning and Development department's Facebook feed:
Labels: affordability, congestion pricing, demographics, economy, education, growth, infrastructure, mobility strategies, planning, quality of place, rankings, transit
posted by Tory Gattis @ 6:46 PM
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