Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming
One of the more frustrating challenges for people in our field to overcome is a certain past-is-destiny argument from sprawl defenders who contend that past trends in favor of large-lot, dispersed, automobile-dependent development constitute proof that Americans want more of...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil
From Wikipedia: "Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge located near the city of Alliance, Nebraska on the High Plains. Instead of being built with large standing stones, as is the case with the original Stonehenge,[1] Carhenge is formed...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
Sharon and I often marvel at how over-scheduled and over-supervised the lives of our friends' kids seem to be. Although we grew up in different environments, she in a ranch house in a then-new suburb of DC and me in...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
The following maps are the product of research done in Melbourne, Australia, on patterns of car ownership. What they suggest is that transit works: the closer one is to a rail transit line, the less need there is for a...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Americans are far less likely to use public transportation than residents of other countries, according to the National Geographic Society's 2009 Greendex report. Only five percent of Americans surveyed report daily use of public transportation, and only seven percent report...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Elisabeth Rosenthal writes in yesterday's New York Times how Vauban, a suburb of Freiburg, Germany, is seeking to create a car-free community. Here's an excerpt: "Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
If you start mulling through the literature of academic research and writing on the relationship between land use and transportation, one of the first and most frequent names you will encounter is that of Robert Cervero of UC-Berkeley. (Go here...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Both of these, with releases timed for this week's Earth Day, look pretty good, if also not exactly uplifting. First, Sprawling From Grace features my friends Shelley Poticha and David Dixon, along with Bill Clinton, Michael Dukakis, James Howard Kunstler and...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil
Driving under the influence of alcohol is a very serious matter. But count me among those who enjoy a good brew or single malt from time to time, so I am not without sympathy for those who find it...continued→
Posted by Kaid Benfield in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil
One of the main differences between a walkable, amenity-rich environment such as the one being created for San Mateo's Station Park Green and automobile-dependent sprawl is that, in the latter, workers have to drive to lunch unless they bring...continued→
