Each Friday, the Wagner Planner editorial board will publish a news roundup of recent planning news. Topics range the gamut of urban planning concentrations, but will mostly be at the discretion of the editors.

Brendan’s Picks

Op-Ed: How Cities Should Regulate Scooters

Scooters hold great promise for transforming how people get around — providing greener commuting alternatives, aiding tourism, and reducing our reliance on cars for short trips. But we will never realize this transformation unless cities regulate shared scooters with an eye toward unleashing their full potential. (Streetsblog)

“An Amazon order starts with a tap of a finger. Two days later — or even in a matter of hours — the package arrives.

It seems simple enough.

But to deliver Amazon orders and countless others from businesses that sell over the internet, the very fabric of major urban areas around the world is being transformed.”(New York Times)

 

Want Better Streets? Just Add Paint

“Generally, people do not have a joyous relationship with their roads,” Schaaf said. “It’s where they hit potholes. It’s where they get parking tickets. Roads are usually the most negative engagement that you have with your government, and so it has been wonderful to transform that into positivity.”(CityLab)

Mayelly’s Picks

After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

“Under pressure from the City Council, the city would be required to build 250 miles of protected bike lanes in the coming years, along with a dizzying list of other street upgrades that safety advocates have long called for. The city now has about 1,250 miles of bike lanes, including 126 miles on city streets that are protected, meaning that a barrier separates the lanes from vehicles.” (The New York Times)

Sidewalk Labs (Alphabet’s grand experiment in smart cities) will move forward with Toronto project

“On one hand, the 12-acre project in Toronto’s Quayside district promised to be a proving ground for the latest thinking in sustainable design and technology integration into urban planning led by a subsidiary of one of the world’s most innovative technology companies. On the other, that same technology company has been instrumental in the development of a corporate, technologically enabled, panopticon that has an almost total view into our digital (and physical) lives through its search and mapping technology.” (TechCrunch)

Why Quito is embarking on one of the most ambitious transportation projects of the century

“Quito’s loss of worker productivity caused by traffic problems is not unique to this city, as Los Angeles and other suburbanized American cities face similar issues. If Quito’s subway is a success, it could serve as a model for other cities that are trying to build public transportation infrastructure in an urban sprawl environment.” (Curbed)

Post- Halloween Bonus (video)

Person Shows Off Creativity This Halloween With Pittsburgh Bus Stuck In Sinkhole Costume

“After a Pittsburgh bus stuck in a sinkhole made headlines, one person decided to make it their Halloween costume.” (Pittsburgh KDKA)