Newsroom

Jun 29, 2011

In Monday’s post we linked to a fascinating piece (with an unfortunately biased headline) in The New York Times that outlined some of the differences in planning between the United States and Europe namely what each prioritizes. American cities notes Elisabeth Rosenthal tend to plan around the automobile whereas European cities tend to plan around people by prioritizing walking biking and transit (for example a recent post of ours highlighted transportation policies in France specific​

Jun 28, 2011

While The Yardstick has urged against hasty spending cuts for the sake of spending cuts in the past it’s clear that as a country we have to make some tough decisions on our fiscal situation. However it is important that any such decisions be made very carefully – our economy is too fragile to make sweeping spending slashes arbitrarily. Programs which have proven outdated or ineffective are likely targets for cuts. On the other hand initiatives or programs that will yield return on investm

Jun 27, 2011

There have been so many interesting pieces on urbanism land-use and transportation over the past few days and it’s too difficult to choose just one or two to highlight for you so here comes a smorgasbord:

Jun 22, 2011

Back in January we commented on the unacceptable disparities in public education in the region with Maryland and Virginia having some of the country’s best schools while the District of Columbia lags far behind:

Jun 21, 2011

Livability is a major buzz word in planning circles right now – for good reason. It’s a wide-ranging concept encompassing several factors that make places well livable: transportation choices affordable (and desirable) housing good schools rewarding careers clean environment lots of green and open space etc. It makes sense that livability is one of the main pillars of Region Forward since the goal of RF is to ensure that the impact of growth in metro Washington is positive on all these and

Jun 20, 2011

Americans shouldn’t hold their breath for congestion pricing at least according to Joe Peach at This Big City . Congestion pricing which involves charging a fee to enter part or all of a central city by car is aimed at encouraging alternatives to drive-alone commuting by making more climate-friendly modes of transport economically more attractive. It works. As Peach points out London launched congestion pricing in 2003 and it has had a major impact on reducing the amount of cars entering th​

Jun 15, 2011

At the Region Forward Coalition kickoff event on June 10 Barbara McCann Executive Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition spoke about her experience leading the Coalition how its mission aligns with Region Forward and what Coalition members can do to make sure they are successful in making a more accessible sustainable prosperous and livable metropolitan Washington region.

Jun 14, 2011

Creating the Region Forward vision was hard work. Using Region Forward to measure progress prioritize needs and jumpstart projects will be an even more challenging endeavor. Fortunately the new group responsible for taking Region Forward to the next level is more than up to the task.

Jun 9, 2011

On June 8 two gatherings were held that reinforced why Region Forward holds great promise to be a catalyst for renewed regional focus and action.

Jun 8, 2011

We’ve written previously about the understandable dilemma environmentalists often face when confronted with the notion of putting a price on nature . How exactly do you put a dollar figure on the planet? It seems almost offensive to compare clean air and water to Dior bags and Blu-Ray players. However when rationality isn’t sufficient to promote environmental protection (we only have one planet after all) it may be necessary to look to the almighty dollar.