Earlier this month, Denver, Colorado eliminated minimum parking requirements from its zoning code for all developments across the city. We’ve promoted the benefits of reforming outdated parking policies, including lower construction costs and better traffic management. In Denver and many other cities, changes at the state level helped catalyze the city’s reforms.
urban design
Washington State’s new shared streets law could set an example for pedestrian-friendly design nationwide
Washington recently became the first state in the country to authorize “shared streets,” a shift that could reshape how people move in cities across the state and serve as a model nationwide. The measure gives walkers and bikers priority, slows vehicle traffic to 10 miles per hour, and removes jaywalking restrictions. Washington’s law, signed in April, is a major step toward safer, people-centered streets.
Study finds rich and poor most likely to walk
As a percentage of all commutes, walking accounts for less than three percent of all trips in the United States. But not all groups in the country walk at the same rate. A new study from the University of Virginia reveals that a distinct socioeconomic divide exists; walking rates are noticeably greater among high- and low-income adults compared to middle-income individuals—a pattern that holds for all trip purposes and levels of land use density.
Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City (ITDP, 2018)
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy recently released Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City. The toolkit, aimed at governments, city planners, NGOs, and developers, notes that “Walkability is the foundation of any type of transportation; all trips require walking at some point.” The toolkit notes factors that influence walkability throughout the city and three scales: citywide, neighborhood, and street level.
NACTO releases Blueprint for Autonomous Urbanism
The National Association of City Transportation Officials has released a guide for cities to prepare for a future with autonomous vehicles. Unlike their previous design guides this blueprint does not present specific design recommendations but instead lays out a vision of how to enhance the city with autonomous technology instead of simply adapting to it.
Researchers highlight city-centered practices in “roadmap for the 21st century”
A new paper suggests that while gas taxes or similar revenue sources might be well-suited for maintaining our interstates, urban transportation will thrive more on local resources and must focus on two guiding principles: value capture and livability.
Where people walk: Two new studies improve “walkability” measurement
In planning and designing for pedestrians, sidewalks are often a good start but rarely make a place walkable on their own. Measuring pedestrian accessibility (the topic of a recent SSTI webinar) depends on two important pieces of information: 1) where destinations are located, and 2) the quality of the walking network connecting to those places. This second point is the focus of two studies.
Fire codes threaten to undo urban street design
A local debate over on-street parking in Florida typifies how codes and standards can obstruct walkable urban street design and, apparently, put those designs in jeopardy even after they have been implemented. Celebration is a traditional-style development, however, the design of its streets is being challenged by local officials who say they aren’t wide enough.
Does urban sprawl inhibit upward mobility?
A recently published study lends more support to the idea that sprawl can be a deterrent to upward mobility, making it difficult for low-income residents to improve their economic circumstances. Compact metro areas showed better results than those that are more spread out. The authors also note that upward mobility tends to be higher in Europe than in the U.S., and they theorize that besides differing approaches to education and social programs, the compactness of European cities may contribute to better opportunities.
Tools for Estimating VMT Reductions from Built Environment Changes (Anne Vernez Moudon and Orion Stewart , University of Washington, 2013)
This report reviews the built environment characteristics associated with travel and the tools available that utilize these built environment characteristics to estimate travel and related outcomes such as vehicle emissions and health co-benefits. Tools ranged from simple to complex, and a number of factors should be considered when applying a tool to a planning effort.