Mobility is more important than density
Bill Reeves sent me a great link to a Marginal Revolution blog post by Tyler Cowen arguing that mobility has been more important than density in shaping American history and its future, which I 100% agree with. It highlights the historical importance of mobility in the US and challenges current urbanist trends favoring density. He makes some key points:
- America's success is attributed more to advancements in transportation and infrastructure than to population density.
- Historical examples range from horses and ships to modern aviation, showing a consistent focus on movement and connection.
- Urban density is linked to lower fertility rates and the potential replication of undesirable political climates.
- Mobility, on the other hand, is seen as fostering a stronger national defense and better immigrant assimilation.
- Low-speed options like bicycles are viewed as impractical and even dangerous - "low-speed transport is a poor country thing"
- The future lies in high-speed, affordable, and eco-friendly transportation solutions, such as self-driving vehicles and improved aviation.
I made my own comment over there, which I'll repeat here:
Mobility is one of the secret sauces to Houston's success. In Jane Jacob's world, mobility was fixed and limited but density was variable. In today's world, density is fairly limited (by cars and higher living standards in terms of living space per person), but mobility is highly variable. My own thoughts on this:
Applying Jane Jacobs' 4 tenets of vibrant neighborhoods to car-based cities
Labels: density, opportunity urbanism, perspectives
The solution for Houston's traffic lights, transit doesn't reduce emissions, HSR terrorism risk, and Colorado's bad transportation policy
Apologies for taking a break from blogging over the summer. Looking forward to picking up the posting again in the fall. Today just a few small items:
"In other words, if we eliminated every passenger automobile in the U.S. in favor of a transit alternative and use completely unrealistic assumptions, the total estimated reduction would be barely out of the margin of error for total estimated GHG emissions. ...
I believe we need an efficient and effective transit system as part of the basic social safety net. Providing some mobility for those who cannot afford to own and operate their own vehicle and those who are physically not able to operate one is the right thing to do. It also helps the local economy by providing a way for employees to get to their jobs.
But transit does little to relieve traffic congestion and virtually nothing to improve air quality. We need to start having an honest conversation about the purpose of transit and what we can reasonably expect it to accomplish. And we need to stop lying to the public and voters about fanciful, non-existent benefits."
- NYT: Olympics Precautions Failed to Halt Rail Sabotage. One of the issues I've pointed out in the HSR vs. planes debate is the near impossibility of securing hundreds of miles of HSR rail from sabotage or terrorism.
- WSJ: The Smart, Cheap Fix for Slow, Dumb Traffic Lights - Most cities can’t afford smart traffic signals. Fortunately, data from new cars—and even drivers’ smartphones—can make old-fashioned traffic lights work a lot better. "the system yields a 30% reduction in stop-and-go traffic at intersections" Can we get this for Houston please?!?
- NYT: Colorado’s Bold New Approach to Highways — Not Building Them. I really disagree with this. Studies have shown that highways are the great enabler of opportunity and upward social mobility for the working class to get access to better jobs and newer, more affordable, higher-quality housing in better school districts. Massive transit expansions, like LA, have not increased rideshare and don't work. Environmental solutions focused on reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) will be an economic disaster. Instead, gas stations should be required to charge at the pump for the necessary carbon capture to offset the gas, currently ~$1 per gallon.
Labels: environment, high-speed rail, mobility strategies, planning, rail, transit
