There may be plenty of reasons to hail the rise of electric vehicles, including California's policy to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. But what may be good for the air is not necessarily good for cities.

Economists, energy analysts, and even psychologists will debate and anticipate the impacts of a gas-free future. I expect it will, on balance, be far better than the status quo. But tradeoffs will be made (oil drilling for cobalt and nickel mining, for instance) and unintended consequences will arise, as they always do with major technological shifts.

Back in 2005, the prospect of widespread use of electric vehicles—much less ones that could outdrive the gnarliest hot rods of the day—was, if not unthinkable, at least implausible. That year, Californian drivers emitted roughly 180 million tons of carbon into our 1.01 million cubic miles of troposphere.

California surely needs to reduce pollution. But, just as surely, it also needs to make nicer cities. The trouble with “nicer cities” is inherent in the phrase itself: it's vague, subjective, and debatable. Public policy loves metrics, though. The more definitive a measure, the better. If you can say what you want, you can figure out how to get it, and, later on, you can evaluate whether you've gotten what you want.

Cars are still cars, electric or not. They still take up space. They still require energy and infrastructure. They can still kill occupants and bystanders alike. They still make people lazy and antisocial. Walking, biking, rolling, scooting, and bus-riding are all preferable to lithium mining and highway-building if we want to be sustainable.

FULL STORY: The Internal-Combustion Car Did Us A Favor

Tuesday, September 13, 2022 in California Planning & Development Report

Op-ed: Charging road users by how much they drive, not how much gas they buy, is the only sustainable way forward for infrastructure funding.

Washington Gov. Jay Insee distinguished himself in the 2020 presidential Democratic primary as the "climate candidate," yet he vetoed a section of a transportation electrification bill that set a goal of ending sales of gas-powered cars by 2030.

The bill also calls for increased investment in charging infrastructure and financial incentives for consumers.

May 10, 2021 - Smart Cities Dive

The Mercatus Center published a list of 16 policy recommendations designed to help states clear local obstacles for housing construction.

A list dubbed the ‘Dirty Dozen’ shames the cities where unhoused people face the most harassment and least support from authorities.

September 12, 2022 - National Coalition for the Homeless

Instead of removing urban freeways, which have proven to be destructive to communities and economies—in some cases deliberately so—many cities are expanding freeways in and around cities.

September 12, 2022 - The New York Times

The percentage of Americans working primarily from home tripled to over 27 million people during the pandemic. Will the popularity of remote work last?

September 16 - U.S. Census Bureau

After being closed to cars during the pandemic, Rock Creek Park’s Beach Drive has become a haven for people with mobility impairments.

September 16 - Greater Greater Washington

Research from Chicago suggests that the city’s traffic calming infrastructure is concentrated in the most affluent neighborhoods, contributing to higher rates of road deaths in lower-income neighborhoods.

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA

Smart City Expo World Congress

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Sun City Center Community Association, Inc

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.

Planning: The professional practice and academic study of the future of built and natural environments — from the smallest towns to the largest cities and everything in between.

Copyright Planetizen, Inc. © 2000 - 2022. All rights reserved.