Maglev vs. Subway, Biofuel hazards, World Bank Pronouncements, more
Hayley Richardson | Fri, Feb 8th, 2008 | Category: Commentary | Tags: commentary, hayley richardson, los angeles, california, harlem, ethanol, cebu city, world bank, maglev, transit oriented development, frederick douglass, net zero energy
“Cities are now home to half of the world’s 6.6 billion humans. By 2030, nearly 5 billion people will live in cities. This special issue explores the enormous implications of the mass embrace of city life. News articles offer a look at how cities are tackling specific problems, a set of Reviews and Perspectives examines trends and demographics arising from the urban transformation.”
Disagreements over Harlem’s Redevelopment
“The Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development has proposed to redevelop 2282-2284 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, which currently includes three privately-owned buildings and two city-owned impound lots, into a complex with 89 residential units, space for retail and community facilities, and an underground parking garage. HPD contends that the project will eliminate a long-standing eyesore in the neighborhood and provide affordable housing for locals, while community members have raised concerns about affordability.”
Public transport Needed In the Phillipines
“Experts from the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday saw first hand the need of a mass transport system for Cebu City. Sam Zimmerman, WB’s public transport expert, and Ben Eizberger, ADB’s infrastructure coordinator, and his team of traffic experts observed traffic in two areas yesterday in barangays Banilad and Talamban and at the South Road Properties.”
“Today, researchers have lobbed a real bombshell into the energy public policy world: they have concluded that ethanol produced both by corn and switchgrass could worsen global warming. In other words, Congress really blew it last year when it mandated a massive increase in biofuels (an action coated with green language but really an effort by both political parties to cater to farm states). This is also a slap at President Bush’s effort to paint himself as something other than an oil man.”
“Interest in NJ Transit and NJDOT’s Transit Village program has mounted as more municipalities come to realize the benefits of transit-oriented development. In January, Neptune and Woodbridge held their first public “visioning” sessions as part of the process to eventually gain a Transit Village designation. North Brunswick held its tenth public meeting and is moving into a new phase of community visioning according to a project spokesperson. A development.”
In the quest to relieve traffic in Los Angeles, two ideas are gaining some traction - and they couldn’t be more different.On the one hand, the City Council is exploring the possibility of something that’s new, innovative, cost-efficient and would be a boon to the entire region. And on the other, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is pushing an idea that’s old, outrageously expensive and would drain resources from most of the Los Angeles region. Call it maglev vs. subway to the sea - a study in contrasts.”
California’s Zero-Energy Mandate
“Ed Mazria challenged the architecture and building community to go fossil-fuel free by 2030; the community yawned, knowing that until the clients paid for it and the building codes required it, not much was going to happen too quickly. Now the State of California is doing just that. The California Energy Commission has recommended that all residential buildings be “net zero energy” by 2020 and commercial buildings by 2030.”
