The Last Post

It has been many week since I have written a post. This is due to a variety of reasons.

I am currently working as an intern at the United States Senate. I am involved in variety of projects and activities related to a variety of topics. My primary focus has been active transportation in relation to obesity prevention.

I will no longer be posting in this space because this space no longer has the capacity to reflect my current and full views.

I was initially attracted to writing on the topic of "Urban Transport Revolution" (or initially as "Transportation Solutions from a Burqueño") as a result of trying to follow the ideas and concepts of the existing Streetsblog community. Having an existing blogging network to join seemed much easier than trying to create a following from scratch. While this concept worked well for awhile, it eventually led to posts which were too focused on urban transport related issues vs. larger concepts that I wanted to cover.

I love the Streetsblog community and I find it wonderful. However, I personally want to explore some broader concepts related to transportation, urbanism, history, built environment, government and community. Since the title "Urban Transport Revolution" fails to cover all those bases, I can not post here anymore. The current title also alienates many parties that i would like to appeal to. I have changed the name of this blog too many times already; another name change would be defeating to my overall purpose of this space, as well as make it inconsistent with previous posts in this space.

KEY POINT: I will no longer be posting consistently here. HOWEVER, once I have a better idea of what I want to write about, I will begin writing again, on the Wordpress platform. Once I figure out the logistics of that, I will post the link to my new web log here.

Thank you for reading! Though I will not be posting here anymore, emails, comments and questions are always welcome.

Dan M.

The Extreme Importance of Zoning Policy

The cities we have created today are relatively unsustainable. By unsustainable, I mean a place that can not easily survive for a long period of time. The primary reason behind this is zoning policy.

There are two major issues with current zoning policy:
1) Subsidizing Sprawl: We continue to pour money into developments that make our city weaker instead of stronger.

We can even look at this kind of development from a purely economic standpoint: In the long run, it is far more expensive to construct and maintain new infrastructure than it is develop areas that already have infrastructure. For this reason, local and national government should give major tax breaks to infill development, opposing to greenfield sprawl. In places where infrastructure exists, other services (such as shopping, workplaces, schools, etc.) are likely to exist as well. This not only creates lower longer-term prices for taxpayers, but it also encourages and stimulates walkable development. As many studies have shown (the most recent one from the NRDC), walkable areas retain value much better than non-walkable areas do.

2) Single Use Automobile Dependent Zoning Policy: Most new development in the United States continues to be single use and car dependent. This kind of development is a major reason why the obesity rates in the United States have skyrocketed. Creating areas and communities where people do not have the option of walking, biking or using public transportation is detrimental to the health of this country.

America prides itself on the freedom and independence car ownership provides, but car ownership should not be (and is not) a necessity for everyone. In my opinion, freedom means building areas where people have the freedom to use any transportation option they want.

Federal and local governments MUST revise zoning policies that encourage single use car dependent developments. Continuing to build these spaces will just lead to more pollution and congestion on local roads, and the eventual collapse of local transportation systems. Only so many lanes can be added to a road; eventually, the right of way ends.


Let's Review:

We must fight to end tax subsidies for sprawl.

We must subsidize infill development instead.

Car dependent development weakens our country.

Freedom means transportation options, not automobile dependency.

Revising zoning policy is crucial to the future of this country.


In my next post, I will address a balanced solution for future suburban growth that embraces the tenets of progressive urban policy.