Five articles curated by the Wagner Planner staff: Here’s what the Wagner Planner staff is reading. This week: Bogotá’s trailblazing rapid bus system, federal funding for high-speed rail, new building efficiency standards in Seattle, MTA approves congestion pricing, and ideas on how to design more social cities.
How Bogotá Tried to Lead the Way for Better Bus Systems (The New York Times) “For a brief shining instant in the early 2000s, it even looked as if the city had solved the great mobility riddle. It hit on a dull but slyly effective strategy to move millions of commuters: rapid buses. Called TransMilenio, Bogotá’s bus system took inspiration from the city of Curitiba, Brazil, which instituted one of the first successful rapid bus networks. Bogotá’s more extensive network of 12 bus lines covered 71 miles.”
High-Speed Rail Projects Get $6 Billion in Federal Funding (NPR) “The Biden administration pledged more than $6 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail, aiming to close the gap between the U.S. and other developed nations when it comes to fast and reliable passenger service. ‘We’re not there today for the simple reason that you get what you pay for, and America disinvested over the last many decades in our rail systems,’ Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a call with reporters. ‘We’re reversing that trend.’”
Seattle Requires Large Buildings to Zero Out Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050 (Smart Cities Dive) “The Seattle City Council unanimously passed building performance standards on Tuesday that require large existing buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The “landmark legislation” is expected to cut the city’s total core emissions by 10%, making it the most ambitious plan to reduce building emissions in Seattle’s history, according to a City Council news release.”
MTA Board Approved Congestion Pricing Tolls, Initiating 60-Day Review (Gothamist) “The MTA board voted on Wednesday to approve a slate of congestion pricing tolls for vehicles that enter Manhattan below 60th Street, putting the agency on track to begin collecting the fees late next spring. The tolls impose a $15 fee on passenger vehicles that enter the zone from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. The vote paves the way for a 60-day public comment period that will be followed by a final vote by the MTA board initiating the program.”
City Life Is Too Lonely. Urban Planning Can Help (CityLab) “The loneliness epidemic that many Americans are experiencing is exacerbated by the way communities are built, experts say. But design fixes could be close at hand.”