Newsroom

Mar 15, 2011

There are many signs that people are generally ready to make a significant departure from the status quo when it comes to transportation. Similar to how the appeal of large-lot exurban McMansions dwindled when the housing bubble burst any appeal of driving to accomplish every task in life is diminished when gas prices increase substantially. As The Washington Post reported recently the rapid rise in gas prices is also taking a toll on the region’s economy.

Mar 10, 2011

We need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we want to avoid the worst effects of climate change. That’s fairly straight forward and is a tangible measurable target in Region Forward. The current constraints on our nation’s and our region’s energy production however means that we’ll still be relying on fossil fuels for a large (but hopefully declining) portion of our energy for quite some time. With that said how do we mitigate the effects of our consumption?

Mar 9, 2011

Federal-regional funding agreement part of COG’s 2011 Federal Legislative Priorities

Mar 9, 2011

We just went through a major recession and we’re still trying to determine whether this economic recovery is actually going to be sustainable or if we’re not really out of the woods yet. We’re in the midst of a major debate on spending and budget deficits. Politics aside it’s a valid discussion to be had just as Region Forward promotes environmental sustainability fiscal sustainability is also important as long knee-jerk decisions aren’t made that end up with negative consequences in the lo​

Mar 7, 2011

We’ve discussed the evolution and future of “smart growth” many times at The Morning Measure most recently in early February where we talked about the rise of the term “intelligent cities” as an alternative to smart growth. This nominal change seems to be more than a matter of semantics and as we indicated in February could have both positive and negative implications for the planning process. While we were concerned more with the loss of a period for reflection in decision-making that th

Mar 4, 2011

We’ve had quite a few lengthy posts lately so let’s end the week with something light. Maps that change the size of a country based on a variable (aka proportional maps) can be enlightening and fun at the same time.

Mar 3, 2011

This guest post is authored by Deborah Westbrooke WSGA Executive Director

Mar 2, 2011

“To stay ahead the Washington area must think regionally.” That was the headline of a recent piece by Lisa Rother in the Washington Business Journal on the region’s future. As the headline indicates the piece is a call for unity which is necessary in a region composed of two states the District and 21 local governments.

Mar 1, 2011

Joel Kotkin is an author and scholar on urban land-use issues and a supporter of the proliferation of automobile-oriented sprawl an unsustainable pattern of development. This often places his priorities counter to those of Region Forward. However in a recent piece for Metropolis Magazine Kotkin makes a case that we here at The Morning Measure can agree with: premier cities need to be more inclusive and provide greater opportunities for advancement.

Feb 28, 2011

From debating the merits of skyscrapers to debating how to best allocate funds as austerity grips local state and federal leaders we’ve covered a lot of topics lately at The Yardstick and it’s been awhile since our previous post round-up so here are some of the highlights of topics covered in January and February: