Recent Posts by Noah
The Post Wins Most Improved Player Award
The Post Wins Most Improved Player Award
Without getting into the merits of the plan, I do want to commend the Post for writing an almost entirely pro-urbanist article about the White Flint plan. Greater Greater Washington wrote about how when two other Post writers wrote about ...
Living in a Symbolic City
Living in a Symbolic City
This is one of the only times I’ve ever seen Walmart look like they’re going to lose a battle. Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Speaker William Howell have come together, along with both candidates in the 2009 governor’s race, ...
There Must Be a Catch, Right?
There Must Be a Catch, Right?
Via Inhabitat, I see that Chiyu Chen, a student at the Royal College of Art, has designed what must be the most awesome bike-sharing technology ever. Using the same technology that the Prius has to recapture the bike’s kinetic energy ...
Learning to Love L'Enfant
Learning to Love L'Enfant
Generally, I’m not such a fan of the L’Enfant plan for D.C. I’m from Boston originally, and always feel more at home on illogically winding streets than rationalist straight lines. I think that the L’Enfant plan also makes it easier ...
An Easy Fix: Build Out New Hampshire Ave Sidewalk
An Easy Fix: Build Out New Hampshire Ave Sidewalk
Mostly I’m skeptical of small attempts to reclaim a particular patch of land from cars. I don’t generally think that the war will be won battling block by block, but rather through macro policy shifts. But sometimes there’s a site ...
Ray LaHood Speaks at Center for National Policy
Ray LaHood Speaks at Center for National Policy
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood gave a talk today at the Center for National Policy (great name for a think-tank, no?) about the economic impact of transportation. In other words, he spoke about how awesome the stimulus is. According to ...
What's Going on in D.C. Development Politics?
What's Going on in D.C. Development Politics?
Funny business abounded in D.C. development news yesterday. I’m not sure what to make of it, so if you have any sense, please help me out. First, the Washington Business Journal reported that Councilmembers Mary Cheh and Kwame Brown have ...
Thoughts on the Metro Hearing
Thoughts on the Metro Hearing
For the liveblog that I’ll be commenting on, click here. Below are my random thoughts on the whole hearing. On one level, I feel silly writing anything at all. This was largely, as far as I could tell, Eleanor Holmes ...
Liveblogging the Metro Crash Hearing
Liveblogging the Metro Crash Hearing
Liveblogging below the fold
Fear and Loathing in Montgomery County
Fear and Loathing in Montgomery County
The suburbs were founded on fears of racial heterogeneity and sometimes it’s hard to escape that. The big news story of the last week was the private swimming pool in Philadelphia where the white members called minority campers using the ...
New Report: Smart Growth Necessary for CO2 Reduction
New Report: Smart Growth Necessary for CO2 Reduction
It’s always good to have your argument laid out for you in a well-designed policy paper. The Center for Clean Air Policy’s new report, “Cost-Effective GHG Reductions through Smart Growth and Improved Transportation Choices,” does just that. It lays out ...
NYT on BRT: Great to See, A Bit Disappointing to Read
NYT on BRT: Great to See, A Bit Disappointing to Read
For a BRT advocate, it was really exciting to wake up this morning to a front-page, above-the-fold article in the New York Times, with Transmilenio as the central picture. Reading Elisabeth Rosenthal’s article, though, I must say that there were ...
Does This Actually Honor Jane Jacobs?
Does This Actually Honor Jane Jacobs?
The New York Times‘s City Room blog is reporting that Jane Jacobs’ block of Hudson Street, that most iconic block of the sidewalk ballet and the White Horse tavern and so many more phrases and characters iconic to anyone who ...
Known Unknowns and Predicting the Urban Future
Known Unknowns and Predicting the Urban Future
BeyondDC has an absolutely fantastic post up about what he expects the D.C. area to look like in 2040. On any given point, I think it’s hard to disagree (except maybe that they’ll close National Airport—businesses outside the Northeast would ...
Community Building is Worth the Cost
Community Building is Worth the Cost
The Post has a story today about how local governments are trying to decide whether in a time of budget crisis they ought to keep the kinds of small programs that build “quality of life.” When Fairfax County cuts a ...
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