Newsroom

Feb 18, 2011

Ed Glaesar Harvard economist and well-known urban thinker has a new book out that’s getting a lot of attention especially considering its subject matter. I mean seriously who would have thought that urban planning would get a segment on The Daily Show ? The book is called Triumph of the City and in it Glaesar argues that the city has returned to its place as the center of economic activity in the U.S. at precisely the same time that megacities around the world such as Mumbai and Shanghai a

Feb 17, 2011

Metro is an indispensable asset to our region. It provides an environmentally sustainable alternative to auto transport and helps alleviate some of our region’s infamous traffic congestion. Metro provides an important physical connection between the three major parts of metro Washington – Virginia D.C. and Maryland. And it really needs money.

Feb 16, 2011

Yesterday The Morning Measure highlighted some key elements of President Obama’s proposed transportation budget. Today we’re going to look at his proposals for energy but first wanted to point out a little breaking news (at least for planner folks): Florida Governor Rick Scott has just announced that he’s rejecting federal funds for the Tampa to Orlando high-speed rail line. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has indicated that funds for these projects must go to high-speed rail so now

Feb 15, 2011

To really figure out what’s important to a President their budget is where to look. President Obama released his proposed budget yesterday providing an insight into his domestic policy priorities.

Feb 14, 2011

Progress halted? Lawmakers and pundits are taking aim at two of President Obama’s key initiatives for ensuring the country’s competitiveness in the 21 st century. Leaders in the House of Representatives are hoping to reduce or eliminate Obama’s plan to bring high-speed rail to the U.S. as well as investments and innovation in clean energy . Clean energy will be a major economic growth sector over the next decades though it has become an ideological lightning rod.

Feb 10, 2011

We have seen projections that metro Washington’s current population of ~6 million will grow by 38% reaching 8.6 million by 2040 . New Census 2010 data released for Maryland and Virginia give us an indication of how that growth is currently taking shape.

Feb 9, 2011

We’ve written about the need to bring real high-speed rail to the U.S. on many different occasions . Apparently the topic is a crowd pleaser (our analytics software shows that posts on high-speed rail are some of the most viewed). Well we’re doing it again and it’s not because of some shameless attempt to up our view count it’s because the Vice President announced yesterday a major plan to bring a high-speed rail network to the U.S.

Feb 8, 2011

COG’s John Mataya attended the 10th Annual New Partners in Smart Growth Conference in Charlotte North Carolina. The conference was organized by the Local Government Commission a forward-looking nonprofit that assists local governments in addressing community problems and leveraging environmental and economic resources.

Feb 8, 2011

Metro’s Blue and Orange lines provide direct shots from Virginia to Maryland while other lines can get you from one state to the other with just one transfer. To make the trip by car there are two main options: the American Legion Memorial Bridge which connects Fairfax and Montgomery Counties and the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge which links Alexandria to Prince George’s County.

Feb 7, 2011

TOD without the T is just OD. Over at GOOD Allison Arieff writes about a transit-oriented development (TOD) in an outer suburb of metro Washington whose residents “knowingly moved into this transit-ready development have now decided they don’t actually want the transit.” Apparently the planned light-rail would be “incredibly disruptive.”