Posted on Tuesday September 15th by Jebediah Reed | 67
- French president Nicolas Sarkozy wants to do away with GDP as the measure of national well-being and create an index that includes “happiness.” Prime example: ‘Traffic jams may increase GDP as a result of the increased use of gasoline, but obviously not the quality of life.” (The Age)
- A gathering of top transportation thinkers last week concluded that somewhere, somehow, politicians have to find the courage to tell Americans that roads are not just totally free. The highway fund is broke and gas taxes haven’t changed since 1993. Strange stuff, this “reality.” (NYT)
- Residents of big cities tend use about a third as much energy as rural peers. Soon, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. If humanity is going to stick around for awhile, energy-efficient city living will be a big part of what saves us. (Guardian)
- Richard Florida talks with Spacing radio about rewarding creativity, and rebuilding our cities on that principle. Also, he wonders: why are there no public parks in Silicon Valley? (Spacing - starts at 8 min)
- Joel Kotkin: “For most exurbanites, moving back to the city–the preferred option of planners and urban boosters–is not an attractive option. A more humane approach would be to find ways to help these communities thrive. The first step: local job creation.” (Forbes)
- A stretch of roadway in Minnesota built with porous concrete is drawing national attention. It lessens the need for storm sewers and filters runoff water. See the YouTube video for a demonstration of the effects. (Daily Reporter)
- Over at Planetizen, an online hub for architects and planners, they’ve put together a list of the top 100 urban thinkers of all time. Numero uno is Jane Jacobs, author of Death And Life Of American Cities.
September 15th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Prime example: ‘Traffic jams may increase GDP as a result of the increased use of gasoline
This view is baffling. Use of gasoline does not per se contribute to GDP unless the country in question is a net gasoline exporter.
September 15th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Is that quite true? If you import crude and sell gasoline domestically, that contributes to GDP…
-Jebediah
September 15th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
GDP adds up (or tries to) every instance of value added, including the act of taking an imported product from the dock to the store shelf.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
The vehicle taxing system and taxing system in general needs an overhaul. The one thing that gets me is still this state by state crap.
This is THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, one country, not THE 50 SEPARATE STATES OF AMERICA. So have a gas tax country wide, have a vehicle tax, whether it be CO2 based, vehicle weight based or engine size based country wide and enforce it.
Do something already. everybody with a vehicle, moped to big rig, needs to pay something for the maintenance of the infrastructure they use. If not a vehicle excise tax then toll the interstates.
All the monies collected from these taxes on road going vehicles then go into the roads fund. When it comes time to dish out the money, look at a state by state contribution and the states then get the monies they contributed. Meaning enforcement will happen otherwise they don’t get the cash.
September 15th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
How will porous concrete in Minnesota survive a winter there? Won’t it crack into gravel quite quickly in a freeze-thaw cycle?
September 15th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I guess you could count the difference in price between crude oil and refined gas as a GDP add, but that assumes that if you don’t use the gas it wouldn’t be made. I think in most cases this would not be true. If you think in terms of an oil producing nation, you either use the oil or export it, in which case idiling your car is not a GDP contributor. I don’t see why refined gas would be any different. I.e. You either use it or sell it to someone else. I’m not an economist, tho, I could be wrong.
September 15th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Only one way to find out, Nikolas. The question is whether enough of the water percolates all the way under the concrete instead of freezing somewhere halfway through.
September 15th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
“no public parks in Silicon Valley”? Really? By what definition? They may not be the best but they certainly exist. The title was so preposterous I didn’t bother to click the link. Try typing “Sunnyvale” into maps.google.com and go from there…
September 16th, 2009 at 12:33 am
It is neat as hell. I hope it works. Surely it would in the more southerly states.
September 16th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Porous roads are widely deployed in Northern Italy and are a real innovation in terms of road safety. Hydroplaning is reduce, and road spray more or less eliminated. Of course, Italians drive 160 km/h at all times, so any help is appreciated.
States should put real consideration into deploying porous concrete for any future projects. Anyway, it gives project directors a good excuse to come visit Italy for a week to see them in action.
September 16th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Cyrus! I’ve seen those roads in Action! Driven on them in the rain and like you said, at the speeds you guys travel at you need all the help you can get.
NikolasM: as Cyrus here says in Northern Italy these types of roads are widely deployed. In the winter they hold up fine. If memory serves me correctly you still get the icing on the roads in winter time, the normal treatments with salt grit then get done and the ice melts and drains away quickly. Its a real good system. I think it would be a hit here.