Five articles curated by the Wagner Planner staff: Here’s what the Wagner Planner staff is reading.
This week: Efforts to reconnect sections of Buffalo divided by a highway, fare reductions for low-income transit riders in Boston, reflecting on the impact of a sustainable public housing development in the Bronx, preparing NYC public schools for climate change, and a new law in New Jersey that may restrict micromobility users.
A Highway Cap Divides the City It Was Designed to Reconnect (CityLab) “The $1 billion project in Buffalo, New York, promises to replace a stretch of freeway with a park and restore a historic boulevard. Critics say the fix doesn’t go far enough.”
Boston area transit agency to offer half-price fares for low-income riders (Smart Cities Dive) “Up to 60,000 Massachusetts residents could qualify for half-price fares on subways, buses, commuter trains and ferries as soon as this spring, pending approval of a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority proposal it briefed reporters about on Monday. If approved by the MBTA Board of Directors, the new program would apply to nondisabled riders ages 26 to 64 with incomes that are 200% of the federal poverty line or less.”
Via Verde Was Built to Be an Exemplar of Public Housing. Did It Succeed? (NY Times) “When it opened in 2011, the Via Verde development in the South Bronx stood out as handsome and dignified, an attempt at better architecture and sustainable design that promised value to match the cost. How has the development fared in the 12 years after the first residents of the South Bronx development moved in?”
How Climate Change is Hitting NYC Public Schools (CityLimits) “More than a quarter of the city’s public school buildings are currently at risk from extreme stormwater flooding, according to an analysis by the Comptroller’s Office shared with City Limits. Teachers, students and environmental groups are pushing for more weather-resilient schools.”
Why Every E-Biker Should Be Worried About NJ’s Proposed Micromobility Insurance Law (Streetsblog USA) “A New Jersey bill to require micromobility users to carry a form of liability insurance will be the first step down a “slippery slope” of onerous requirements that could have devastating consequences even for exclusively human-powered modes, advocates say.”