-
Monthly archive for June, 2010
The Worst Commutes in the World (And They’re Really Really Bad)
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
We’ve covered the worst commutes in America — and, to be fair, they’re pretty horrific. But they barely hold a candle compared to cities in the rest of the rapidly-developing world. Wired‘s Chuck Squatriglia reports:[SButtonZ button="digg"] Quit whining about your Read more ›
The Morning Dig: What is the Future of Airplane Travel?
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
• The Financial Times takes a good long look at why airplane travel has gotten so universally dreadful in recent years. (FT) • New York City streets will be different without the Town Car or the Crown Victoria. (NYT) • Read more ›
Tech Saves the World: New Software Makes Existing Trains Go Faster
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
We need more and better infrastructure in the U.S. This much we know. What we don’t know is how to pay for it. New roads, new bridges, new rail lines, new public transit — we need them all, and have Read more ›
Could the Gulf Disaster Be a Good Excuse to Beef Up the Region’s Infrastructure?
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Watch the latest business video at video.foxbusiness.com There’s not much to say that’s positive about the Gulf Coast disaster. And with thousands of displaced workers watching their industries crumble and their families despair, something needs to be done about jobs, Read more ›
The Morning Dig: Is the ‘Subway Slide’ Coming to a Stairway Near You?
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
• Here’s a cool video of a Berlin subway staircase that was transformed into a slide. Watch it above. • The reporter Howard W. French has a good letter from Shanghai on how the city is changing. (NYT) • The Read more ›
What’s the Best Way to Create Jobs? Spend More on Roads and Bridges (We Think)
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Whether or not it’s a fact, the public certainly seems to believe it’s true (which, in an ontological sense, arguably makes it so). The latest Pew Research/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll asked 1,009 adults which government actions would best improve Read more ›
Divide and Conquer: Should States Impose Region-Based Gas Taxes?
Monday, June 28th, 2010
So is our best chance of raising the gas tax on a state level (which we all know needs to be done) to carve up each state, and let the smaller regions decide on the tax for themselves? Officials in Read more ›
The Morning Dig: China’s (Many) Housing Problems
Monday, June 28th, 2010
• An article takes a look at the housing conditions tolerated by many Chinese young people. (AP) • A lot more spectrum is going to be available for broadband. (NYT) • Behind many news stories is the tale of global Read more ›
The Week in High Speed Rail: Don’t Mess With HSR In Texas
Friday, June 25th, 2010
• ‘Bout time! Alabama’s Regional Planning Commission announced that they have the funding to start a feasibility study for HSR between Birmingham and Atlanta. (NBC) • Will Central Texas build its own, privately-run HSR system? (Kvue.com) • California State Sen. Read more ›
More From ‘The Future of the City’: Smart Grid’s Early Mistakes
Friday, June 25th, 2010
The panel “The Future of the Smart Grid: Early Lessons Learned from the Rollout of Smart Grid Technologies” at the Atlantic’s “Future of the City” conference couldn’t have come at a more pressing time: Earlier this week, the Maryland Public Read more ›
The Morning Dig: The Story of A Flight Stranded in Hartford
Friday, June 25th, 2010
• Passengers on one international flight from London to Newark have yet another nightmarish experience being stranded on a tarmac. (AP) • A video takes a look at the bike lanes in Vancouver, Canada. (Vanouver.ca) • In a controversial decision, Read more ›
The Future Comes Down to Where We Live v. Where We Work
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
This week, the Atlantic hosted its “Future of the City” conference in downtown D.C. The speaker list included a roster of heavy hitters like Valerie Jarrett, Volkswagen Group President and CEO Stefan Jacoby, the Brookings Institution’s Christopher Leinberger, and the Read more ›
The Morning Dig: How China Is Changing in the 21st Century
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Beijing Taxi » Trailer from Editorial Pinch on Vimeo. • Trough the lens of three taxi drivers, the new movie “Beijing Taxi” shows how China is modernizing. The trailer is above. • Vietnamese legislators have rejected a proposed $56 billion Read more ›
Could the BP Disaster Be a Good(ish) Thing for the Gulf’s Infrastructure?
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
It’s bad in the Gulf. Really, really bad. Despite the valiant efforts of wildlife conservationists, 80% of the oiled animals are dying. Then there are the long-term economic consequences: This very well may be the death toll for the area’s Read more ›
U.S. Cars Still Eons Behind Rest of World in Emissions Reductions
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
For all our posturing and advertising and gallant attempts by car companies to reinvent themselves as leaders in energy efficient technology, the United States is in a positively pathetic place when it comes to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Read more ›
The Morning Dig: Jon Stewart Focuses on BP Oil Spill Again
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
How Bikes Saved America’s Roads: A Historical Perspective
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
This is an adapted excerpt from “The King’s Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route That Made America,” by Eric Jaffe, which hits bookstores today. The Office of Road Inquiry, seedling of today’s Federal Highway Read more ›
Flight Delays in U.S. Airports: The Dirty Truth [Graph]
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
CLICK TO ENLARGE Air travel in the U.S. is pretty abysmal when it comes to on-time flight schedules — this we know (and if you haven’t yet experienced the joy of commercial flight delays, just wait until the summer vacation Read more ›
The Morning Dig: Jon Stewart Takes on the U.S. Addiction to Oil
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c An Energy-Independent Future www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party • The Daily Show has a very funny look at how U.S. presidents over more than Read more ›
We Need New Infrastructure. So How Do We Pay For It?
Monday, June 21st, 2010
This is a guest post by Steve Loranger, Chairman, President and CEO of ITT Corp. As awareness of the need for infrastructure investment broadens, the natural question is, “How do we pay for it?” This question of who should foot Read more ›
