^I have family that lives in Salt Lake.  My uncle was telling me that when they first went to build the line, nobody wanted to do it.  When it was finally built, it was so popular, they had to expand the routs.  My Uncle used it everday when he worked downtown. 

New light rail clears way for an MLK makeover

By Eric Pryne

Seattle Times business reporter

 

Mike Hlastala has seen the future. And it runs on rails.

 

His year-old company plans to build more than 700 apartments and 40,000 square feet of shops a few steps from Sound Transit's Othello Street light-rail station on Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

 

A trip from Othello to Pioneer Square should take just 17 minutes when trains start running next year. Hlastala figures lots of downtown workers tired of traffic, $4 gas and $300-a-month parking will be interested in apartments like his.

 

.......

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004361342_mlk20.html

 

Light rail area maps:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2008/04/19/2004361362.pdf

 

Professor addresses TOD myths

Friday, May 16 at 1:16 PM

Rocky Mountain News

 

Dr. John L. Renne, an assistant professor of Urban Planning and Transportation Studies at the University of New Orleans, says that despite what some people believe, transit oriented developments can help protect the rural and suburban nature of communities surrounding Denver.

 

.....

 

http://blogs.rockymountainnews.com/rebchook/2008/05/professor_addresses_tod_myths.html

Portland-area commercial real estate running hot and cold

Downtown office space success is not translating to its retail spaces or suburban office areas

Friday, October 17, 2008

RYAN FRANK

The Oregonian Staff

 

Portland's central city office market keeps chugging despite a gyrating Dow and turmoil in the financial sector.

 

Some suburban businesses have actually started to move into downtown to be closer to public transit and young workers, brokers say.

 

But the suburbs aren't enjoying the same success. The housing slump and softening high-tech world translate into empty cubicles.

 

........

 

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1224213915198630.xml&coll=7&thispage=1

 

moved this post to commuting thread as it was more appropriate there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/realestate/14sqft.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

 

Spotlight

New Rail Lines Spur Urban Revival

By AMY CORTESE

Published: June 13, 2009

 

WHEN it was incorporated in 1913, Carrollton, Tex., was a thriving farm community. Three freight railroad lines intersected to help farmers get their grain, livestock and cotton to market. Today this city of around 123,000 people, just 14 miles north of Dallas, is again looking to the rail lines for its economic prosperity.

 

In April, the Carrollton City Council approved a $38 million mixed-use development next to a commuter rail station being erected downtown. The station is Carrollton’s main gateway to the 28-mile Green Line, a $1.8 billion expansion of Dallas Area Rapid Transit. After the line’s scheduled completion in late 2010, it will link Carrollton with downtown and southern Dallas

 

“Rail is the catalyst for this new growth,” said Peter Braster, whose title is transit-oriented development manager for Carrollton. “It’s important for the long-term sustainability of Carrollton.”

.......

Listen to the audio at:

 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113816643

 

In Ariz., Luring Suburbanites To Greener, Urban Life

by Adam Hochberg

 

October 15, 2009

 

Phoenix is one of the nation's fastest-growing and most sprawling metropolitan areas. Cheap and plentiful land has led to an ever-expanding ring of suburbs, and commuting downtown can take longer than an hour. Now, a small developer is buying up foreclosed houses near mass transit lines in the city, renovating them to green building standards, and marketing them to young professionals who may be tired of commuting.

 

Here's another charm of developing walkable neighborhoods around transit stops. I've often believed that, while transit is a good way of saving energy and emissions, a great way to reduce them comes from the walkable neighborhoods built around transit:

 

 

Study sees transit saving Californians' energy, cutting greenhouse gas

By Mark Glover

[email protected]

Published: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 6B

 

A new study says Californians could save billions each year and cut greenhouse gas emissions by developing neighborhoods within easy access of public transportation.

 

The study "Windfall for All: How Connected, Convenient Neighborhoods Can Protect Our Climate and Safeguard California's Economy" was conducted by Oakland-based TransForm, formerly the Transportation and Land Use Coalition. TransForm is a coalition that includes nonprofits, environmental advocates and labor unions.

 

The study concentrated on four metropolitan centers Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/2338759.html

Urban infill development outpacing suburban sprawl:

 

'Smart Growth' Taking Hold in U.S. Cities, Study Says

 

By GABRIEL NELSON of Greenwire

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/03/24/24greenwire-smart-growth-taking-hold-in-us-cities-study-sa-30109.html

 

Redevelopment of urban centers has continued to outpace construction in the outskirts of suburbia, according to a recent U.S. EPA study, suggesting a "fundamental shift" has begun in the real estate market as the Obama administration pushes denser development through its "livability" initiative.

 

Though the nation's urban centers emptied for decades as suburbs sprawled outward, developers in many large cities are increasingly looking inward for building opportunities, according to the study (pdf), titled "Residential Construction Trends in America's Metropolitan Regions." In 26 of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas, the share of residential construction taking place in central cities more than doubled since 2000.

We probably have more open, vacant land in the older, industrial core cities of the Midwest-Northeast than ever before, too! So it makes sense for real estate investors to leapfrog from the urban fringe back to the urban core.

 

There's a mix of reasons why:

> available, vacant land in urban cores

> cost of farmland skyrocketing with soy and corn prices up thanks to booming biofuel use

> gas prices causing people to look at working/living locations that are closer together

> brownfield cleanup funds for vacant industrial sites

> historic tax credits

> younger professionals wanting to be in the cities

> increased capital funding for public transit (still have to deal with cuts in operating funding!)

 

None of these trends are showing any sign of stopping. If anything, they're accelerating.

It's definitely happening in Columbus. On the residential side, it seems sprawl development has almost completely stopped here, but there are still projects going on Downtown.

I've been shuttling between NYC and CLE, every two/three days, for the past 6 weeks and I thank Jesus for the Shaker Rapid.

I've been shuttling between NYC and CLE, every two/three days, for the past 6 weeks and I thank Jesus for the Shaker Rapid.

Dang, I was betting you were in jail for assaulting someone being your charming self.  :-D

I've been shuttling between NYC and CLE, every two/three days, for the past 6 weeks and I thank Jesus for the Shaker Rapid.

Dang, I was betting you were in jail for assaulting someone being your charming self.  ;D

 

That so kind of you to say!  I'm flattered.

I've been shuttling between NYC and CLE, every two/three days, for the past 6 weeks and I thank Jesus for the Shaker Rapid.

 

You can thank Jesus if you want, but you should also be thanking the Van Swerigen brothers.

 

If only we could resurrect them to lead Greater Cleveland's TOD efforts!!

I've been shuttling between NYC and CLE, every two/three days, for the past 6 weeks and I thank Jesus for the Shaker Rapid.

 

You can thank Jesus if you want, but you should also be thanking the Van Swerigen brothers.

 

If only we could resurrect them to lead Greater Cleveland's TOD efforts!!

 

I thank them for more than just the rapid!  LOL  They are a big part of my life!  LOL

 

Resurrect them?  AMEN to that idea!  Pet cemetery anyone?  LOL

I've been shuttling between NYC and CLE, every two/three days, for the past 6 weeks and I thank Jesus for the Shaker Rapid.

 

You can thank Jesus if you want, but you should also be thanking the Van Swerigen brothers.

 

If only we could resurrect them to lead Greater Cleveland's TOD efforts!!

 

And for leading the exodus out of the city, and excluding Jews and blacks from living in Shaker Heights!

I've been shuttling between NYC and CLE, every two/three days, for the past 6 weeks and I thank Jesus for the Shaker Rapid.

 

You can thank Jesus if you want, but you should also be thanking the Van Swerigen brothers.

 

If only we could resurrect them to lead Greater Cleveland's TOD efforts!!

 

And for leading the exodus out of the city, and excluding Jews and blacks from living in Shaker Heights!

 

Well we all know the history but, today there are plenty of Jews and minoriites in Shaker now.  I been here for the majority of my existence.  However, the Van's racial (in) equality history (and you kids know I can go there about race) is not the topic of this thread, now is it?

This is also critical as we consider what transportation options to invest in -- more highways which foster more sprawling suburbs? Or more rail, transit, cycling and walking that foster more vibrant urban settings? Private capital follows public capital, and Ohio is falling behind in offering city-building transportation infrastructure. KJP

__________

 

Take note, companies: Young workers want urban jobs

by Jonathan Hiskes

29 Apr 2010 1:41 PM

 

Businesses ought to consider locating in walkable, culturally diverse city centers because that's where young workers want to be, according to some liberal commie rag printed on recycled draft cards. No, scratch that, this argument comes from the Harvard Business Review (http://hbr.org/2010/05/back-to-the-city/ar/1).

 

An article in the May issue opens with the news that United Airlines is moving its headquarters to downtown Chicago from the outer-ring suburb Elk Grove, while Quicken Loans plans to build headquarters in downtown Detroit.

 

"These companies are getting a jump on a major cultural and demographic shift away from suburban sprawl," writes Assistant Editor Ania Wieckowski. "The change is imminent, and businesses that don't understand and plan for it may suffer in the long run."

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-04-29-take-note-companies-young-workers-want-urban-jobs/

Take note, companies: Young workers want urban jobs

by Jonathan Hiskes

29 Apr 2010 1:41 PM

 

Businesses ought to consider locating in walkable, culturally diverse city centers because that's where young workers want to be, according to some liberal commie rag printed on recycled draft cards. No, scratch that, this argument comes from the Harvard Business Review (http://hbr.org/2010/05/back-to-the-city/ar/1).

 

An article in the May issue opens with the news that United Airlines is moving its headquarters to downtown Chicago from the outer-ring suburb Elk Grove, while Quicken Loans plans to build headquarters in downtown Detroit.

 

"These companies are getting a jump on a major cultural and demographic shift away from suburban sprawl," writes Assistant Editor Ania Wieckowski. "The change is imminent, and businesses that don't understand and plan for it may suffer in the long run."

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-04-29-take-note-companies-young-workers-want-urban-jobs/

 

Eaton....you listening?!  Of course not!

Companies really wasted a lot of money relocating to the suburbs for 15 years. Upper management lived in the suburbs. So they moved the offices out there. Over the coming years they'll have to move back into the city to be close to their workers again. Just think what the companies could have spent that money on!

 

Eaton....you listening?! Of course not!

 

They would be if they had their hearing aids turned up.

 

Eaton....you listening?! Of course not!

 

They would be if they had their hearing aids turned up.

 

:-D

Apartment seekers willing to pay more to be near light rail

By Margaret Jackson

The Denver Post

Posted: 06/14/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

 

People are willing to pay about 4 percent more a month to rent an apartment within a quarter-mile of a light-rail stop.

 

That's pushing vacancy rates down in those communities, and the cost of land near transit is going up, according to a recent analysis of the apartment market by Grubb & Ellis.

 

"We do have a really young, educated work force that will pay a premium to be near light rail," said Tom Wanberg, senior vice president of investment services at Grubb & Ellis.

 

Full story at: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_15290467

Here's a pretty cool video from the Toronto region....

 

http://www.vivanext.com/242

Ford Foundation donating decent chunk of change to Transit/Rail friendly planning

 

http://www.builderonline.com/sustainability/ford-foundation-commits-200-million-to-smart-growth-planning.aspx?cid=BLDR100714002

Here Comes the Neighborhood

 

The Atlantic Monthly

By Christopher B. Leinberger

 

Conventional suburbs are overbuilt and out of favor. In cities and suburbs alike, walkable neighborhoods linked by train are the future. Here’s how a new network of privately funded rail lines can make that future come to pass more quickly and cheaply—and help reinvigorate housing and the economy.

 

Full story at: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/04/here-comes-the-neighborhood/8093/

So we fear trains in Ohio because???....

 

Metra commuters - Enjoy your bump in home prices

Study finds more sales, better prices in Metra communities

November 17, 2010

 

BY KAY SEVERINSEN - SearchChicago-Homes editor

 

Metra commuters — your attention, please. The next outbound Union Pacific train to Harvard with intermediate stops at Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights, Palatine, Barrington and Cary (and a lot of other northwest ’burbs), has caused the number of home sales in your municipalities to be up a robust 57 percent over last year, and your home’s value to go up at least 9 percent over last year.

 

Though Union Pacific line residents came in tops in a RE/MAX Northern Illinois survey of the impact of train lines on home sales, they aren’t the only areas that have enjoyed the train line bump.

 

RE/MAX analyzed home sales in a three-town sample along each of the 11 Metra corridors and compared those numbers to home sales throughout the suburban market. Overall, the report found that Metra municipalities averaged 10 percent more home sales growth in the first half of 2010 than non-Metra towns.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://searchchicago.suntimes.com/homes/2903172,metra-town-prices1118.article

I miss the Metra a lot. I stare longingly at the track that comes near my neighborhood and wish it had a station.

I grew up in Highland Park, and real estate ads would always put "walk to train and shopping" in the listing if they could.  The two usually go hand-in-hand as the shopping would of course usually be near the train station.  Still, for all those people who say transit and walkable commercial areas are "teh evulz!" then why would real estate brokers advertise it, and in a very affluent suburb no less!?  ;) 

I grew up in Highland Park, and real estate ads would always put "walk to train and shopping" in the listing if they could.  The two usually go hand-in-hand as the shopping would of course usually be near the train station.  Still, for all those people who say transit and walkable commercial areas are "teh evulz!" then why would real estate brokers advertise it, and in a very affluent suburb no less!?  ;) 

 

They have.  The  Shaker Rapid was and is still a selling point for living in Southern CH & UH and Shaker Hts.

ReThinking TOD: The Transportation Planner’s Dilemma to Transit Oriented Development

by alanhuyn on January 27, 2011

 

Rethinking TOD is an ongoing series discussing problems that come with conventional and fundamental TOD projects.  The examples, practices, and theories outlined in this article stem from the work, methodology, and research completed by Irv Taylor, James Rojas, and Dr. Rick Willson (Arguably the best three TOD experts in the region).  I’ve just tried to synthesize it in ways that I can understand and share.

 

What is TOD?  For most planners it’s a headache.  For developers it can be a cash cow.  For cities that just started building TOD within the past decade, there’s a high chance it’s a failed investment rather than a shining example of success.  For a resident, TOD is usually a confusing montage of people who say this or that, and a transit station with gawdy public art. A TOD project boils down to two things; a massive success or an expensive disappointment.

 

Sadly, these perceptions have split most of the planning world into an either/or group with regards to TOD.  Either a planner is all in for TOD projects, or a planner tends to fold and walk away from the table as soon as the three dreaded letters are mentioned.  Because lets be honest anyone that pronounces TOD, as Todd, should provide indication enough to walk away from the table.

 

Read more at:

http://thealannote.com/?p=182

I am not a planner but living near transit is important to me. Interestingly, both the older people (55+) and the younger people seem to want transit and walkable communities. Here is a link to an interesting study by AARP on TOD with Cleveland as one of the twenty cities studied for the report. (See appendix A, B, C and D.

 

Here is the link to the article and the video:

 

http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/housing/info-09-2009/2009-15.html

 

 

and a summary of the report here:

 

Research Report

 

Preserving Affordability and Access in Livable Communities: Subsidized Housing Opportunities near Transit and the 50+ Population

by: Rodney Harrell, Allison Brooks, Todd Nedwick | from: Public Policy Institute | September 2009

 

 

 

As communities address the general shortage of affordable housing, preserving affordable housing in transit-oriented developments (TODs) is one of the challenges that communities must address to increase livability. A livable community has affordable and appropriate housing, supportive features and services, and adequate mobility options for people, regardless of age or physical ability. Because housing near transportation is desirable, property values tend to rise over time reducing the incentive for property owners to accept federal subsidies to keep housing affordable.

 

This study analyzes the location of affordable housing in 20 metropolitan areas by mapping federally subsidized rental apartments in each area and measuring the amount of affordable housing within certain distances of transit. The study uses five areas as case studies—including site visits and interviews with residents 50 and older—to provide more information on the challenges and benefits of different locations of affordable housing.

 

It finds that a substantial number of affordable apartments are located near public transit in these 20 metropolitan areas, but more than two thirds of the federal subsidies that keep these apartments affordable will expire within the next five years; that subsidized housing meets a crucial need for residents with few housing options;  and that affordable housing must be both well served by quality public transit and within walkable distances of amenities and services to benefit older residents.  The report also contains policy recommendations for federal, state, and local policy makers to ensure that these areas provide affordable housing and transportation options in addition to a range of features that allow people to retain independence as they age.

 

 

 

 

   

 

Interesting summary...

The website article features a photo of Cleveland's HealthLine BRT, although most of the news coverage is about Greater New York.....

 

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Home buyers are moving closer to public transit

 

KAI RYSSDAL: While he was standing in the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station, Ed Glaeser offered a quick tutorial about how important centralized transportation was to the rise of American cities. Railroads and rivers back then.

 

An analogy for today might be modern transit lines. Moving people, not things. Because even though a nice house out in the suburbs with a white picket fence and all is the prototypical American dream, truth is, a lot of home buyers are voting with their feet and choosing to live within walking distance of public transit.

 

From public radio's Transportation Nation project at WNYC, Andrea Bernstein reports.

 

READ MORE OR LISTEN AT:

http://marketplace.publicradio.org//display/web/2011/02/17/pm-transportationnation/?refid=0&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+APM_Marketplace+(APM:+Marketplace)

BTW, if someone tells you that rail works in the Northeast because of the density that surrounds it, show them these pictures. It was the development of rail that spawned that density, not the other way around.

 

These pictures are at the north end of Central Park on Manhattan in the late 1800s......

 

 

 

Same area but a few years later.....

 

 

 

North end of Manhattan. An el line opens; the city follows soon thereafter....

 

 

 

City's design, transit system can ease gas costs

Updated 3/22/2011 2:32:25 PM |

By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY

 

Some cities in the USA are better positioned to deal with rising gas prices than others

because of their design and transit systems, according to a national non-profit

group that works to build stronger cities.

 

The key factor: whether residents have to drive everywhere, or have other options.

 

That's according to CEOs for Cities, a Chicago-based network of civic, business, academic and philanthropic leaders seeking to build and sustain stronger cities for the future. Researchers analyzed federal government data on vehicle miles traveled in 51 metropolitan areas that have at least 1 million residents.

 

Read more at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-03-22-citygas22_ST_N.htm#

How to Create a Culture of Public Transit: The 'Marci Option'

By Lisa Margonelli

foe The Atlantic

 

An exurban office park in California shows that we don't have to spend long commutes alone in our cars if we don't want to Today's national average gas price is $3.77 for regular, which means we'll spend about $1.428 billion dollars on gasoline today. But what if we decided not to? Instead of bloviating about drilling our way out of high prices, or coming up with magical green fuels and sparkly green cars, or punishing these alleged speculators in the oil market, we could--as a nation--take our foot off the gas. Think of it as a sort of Shock and Awe at the pump.

 

The American driver buys about a quarter of the world's oil production and has been willing to put up with higher and higher prices, despite the extraordinary drain on our household and national economies. (In March, we spent more than $42 billion on gasoline. Our gas tanks have become a stimulus program in reverse.) If we significantly reduced our commutes, we'd not only reduce the amount of money we're spending on oil, we might also send a message to the oil market that there are limits to what we'll pay, thus dampening prices.

 

But conventional wisdom says that Americans will not get out of our cars. Only 4.5 percent of us take public transit because it's too [fill in the blank] inconvenient, expensive, slow, unpredictable, dangerous, or un-American. Another 10 percent or so use carpools, but nearly nine out of 10 of us commute to work in cars, mostly alone. (Outside transit-rich cities like New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco, this number is higher.) The hurdle to change the way Americans commute seems impossibly high, and made of expensive investments in high-speed rail, light rail, and long-term changes in development patterns.

 

Read more at: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/how-to-create-a-culture-of-public-transit-the-marci-option/237183/#bio

That was a good article.  I can just imagine the reaction to that in Dayton, where transit is seen as a crime delivery system vs an alternative to the car....  "Communist California"....

CNBC is going to show "SPRAWLING FROM GRACE" April 20 at 10pm....

 

"The unintended consequences of suburban sprawl inform David M. Edwards' documentary detailing the dangers Americans face should we fail to reevaluate our approach to urban development. The suburban way of life isn't simply at risk; it's in absolute peril. How can a country support such inefficient horizontal growth patterns when the very existence of such patterns threatens to bankrupt the entire nation? By interviewing close to thirty experts on the subject, Edwards discovers that we can no longer continue building our cities as we did in the past. While the suburbs once seemed an essential part of out maturation as a society, it now contributes to pollution, increased health risks, and a decreasing quality of life. But as non-renewable fossil fuels are being slowly depleted, Americans remain trapped behind the wheels of their own cars. With each new subdivision, strip mall, and corporate office block, the promise of a better tomorrow slips further away. So is there a solution to making our society sustainable in a post-fossil-fuel world? By exploring the efforts of state and city governments to invest in such viable alternatives as BRT (Bus Rapid Transit, commuter rail, and light rail, Edwards reveals why innovative thinking regarding land use and transportation is essential to keeping our society functional."

If you missed it, Sprawling From Grace: The Consequences of Suburbanization premiered April 20, 2011 on CNBC as a 60-minute (with commercials) TV program. It was originally produced in 2008 as Sprawing From Grace: Driven to Madness, an 82-minute documentary film.

 

Press release:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42220187/SPRAWLING_FROM_GRACE_THE_CONSEQUENCES_OF_SUBURBANIZATION_WILL_PREMIERE_APRIL_20TH_ON_CNBC

 

Here is the full 82-minute documentary of Sprawing From Grace: Driven to Madness (with Verizon commercials every 10 minutes!)...

 

Broadening Urban Investment to Leverage Transit (BUILT) in Cleveland

 

How did I miss this??? Check out this report by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology which says Greater Cleveland real estate developers are not satisfying a pent-up demand for more multi-family housing and mixed-used development, despite the availability of transportation assets (like the rapid transit system) that would sustain them....

 

http://www.cnt.org/repository/BUILT-Cleveland.FINAL.pdf

Thanks for that link!  CNT does some great stuff...just by looking at their other stuff, too, on Chicagoland.

OK, so this isn't America. But I received this in my e-mail box because I used c2c trains in 2009 to travel between London and Southend-on-Sea at the mouth of the Thames. And this new development is owned and operated by Westfield which owns/operates many American shopping malls, including in Greater Cleveland....

 

http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/westfield/more_about_westfield?utm_source=Septembereshots&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Westfield%20eshots&fr_mailer_reference=0000004p-000027ky

 

 

Westfield Stratford City will be home to over 300 dynamic new brands, over 50 places to dine (including Jamie's Italian, Balans, Bumpkin and Wahaca), a 17-screen, all-digital Vue cinema, the UK's largest casino operated by Aspers, three hotels, a 14-lane All Star Lanes bowling alley and events and entertainment spaces. Its collection of design-led buildings, outdoor spaces, shopping streets, offices, hotels and houses, all surrounded by an unrivalled transport network, will create a 'city within a city' and one of the best connected retail destinations in the UK.

 

http://www.westfieldstratfordcity2011.com/

The Housing-Value Bonus for Rail Transit: 10, 20, Even 50 Percent

by Angie Schmitt on September 12, 2011

 

How much extra would you be willing to pay to live near rail transit?

 

For Minneapolis residents along the Hiawatha rail line, that convenience is worth tacking on an additional 10 percent to housing prices. Chicagoans near the Midway transit line are willing to pay about 19 percent extra. And in Portland, folks are willing to fork over an additional 31 percent for an abode within one-quarter mile of a rail transit station along the Westside extension line.

 

Selling prices for homes within 1/2 mile rose 31 percent after the addition of light rail in Portland, according to one study. Photo: Wired Autopia

 

The Center for Housing Policy recently completed a comprehensive review of the existing research on housing prices and proximity to rail. According to dozens of studies over decades, a rail station within a short walk can add 6 to 50 percent to home values.

Read more at: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/09/12/the-housing-value-bonus-for-rail-transit-10-20-even-50-percent/

Worth sharing......

 

Infographic of the Day: Growth in a Shrinking St. Louis

MARK BYRNESFEB 17, 2012

 

 

The unveiling of the latest census numbers has not brought good news to St. Louis for decades, but maybe that's changing.

 

According to this excellent infographic on NextSTL.com, about 83 percent of St. Louis neighborhoods with light rail access gained population between 2000 to 2010. Eighty-seven percent of the population gains were in neighborhoods categorized as "very walkable," according to WalkScore.com. Downtown, with the highest walk score in the city (92), has gained nearly 3,000 new residents since 2000.

 

Cities declining in population increasingly talk about shrinking their way to success. With growth along walkable and transit-accessible corridors, St. Louis looks to be doing just that.

 

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/02/infographic-day-growth-shrinking-st-louis/1272/#.T0MBO5lLBzo.email

Interesting.  St. Louis is a Rust Belt, shirnking city like Cleveland, and yet, they can't expand rail fast enough...

 

"BTW, if someone tells you that rail works in the Northeast because of the density that surrounds it, show them these pictures. It was the development of rail that spawned that density, not the other way around."  -- KJP.

 

Words worth remembering.

 

It's also worth remembering that, in Cleveland, (similar to St. Louis), most of our strongest/growing/most promsing neighborhoods are DIRECTLY served by the Rapid: Ohio City, U. Circle, Dowtown (notably E. 4th and Flats East Bank) and Shaker Sq.  Detroit-Shoreway is indirectly served -- the southern portion is directly served, although it is still transitional as compared to the north end/Battery Park, which is white-hot (and is transit friendly with Bus Routes 45 and (frequent/24-hour) 26 on Detroit (and a .6 mile walk to from Gordon Sq. to the W. 65 Red Line station)... Tremont is our lone hot neighborhood that isn't either directly served by the Rapid (it's a healty hump through sketchy Abby Ave areas) or a frequent bus line -- RTA does plan to beef up the #81 bus.

 

The most encouraging part about the St. Louis news is, downtown Cincinnati is far more attractive, as well as the immediate surroundings.

 

 

Study shows suburban life not really cheaper than city living

March 8, 2012

 

Housing may be less expensive far beyond the D.C. border, but that doesn't mean it's cheaper to live there.

 

While D.C. and its close-in neighbors are home to heftier home prices, the cost of transportation in the suburbs and distant exurbs -- not just for commuting to work but also for getting around generally -- is making those once more affordable areas even pricier to live in, according to the Center for Neighborhood Technology.

 

Suburban families who saved tens of thousands of dollars on the price of their homes can pay $15,000 or more a year just getting around, according to the center. People who live in the District or just outside the city are paying half that much for transportation, even less in some cases.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/transportation/2012/03/suburban-life-not-really-cheaper-city-living/347736

 

 

Lowest annual commuting costs

 

1. New York, $10,158

2. San Francisco, $11,980

3. Los Angeles, $12,154

4. Chicago, $12,311

5. Philadelphia, $12,365

6. Boston, $12,394

7. Denver, $12,662

8. Washington, $12,664

9. Miami, $12,822

10. San Jose, $12,914

 

 

Highest annual commuting costs

 

1. Birmingham, Ala., $14,928

2. Nashville, Tenn. $14,854

3. Raleigh, N.C., $14,630

4. Rochester, N.Y., $14,624

5. Riverside, Calif., $14,421

6. Charlotte, N.C., $14,375

7. Oklahoma City, $14,310

8. Atlanta, $14,305

9. Jacksonville, Fla. $14,193

10. Memphis, Tenn. $14,182

 

Source: The Center for Neighborhood Technology

NOTE: was actually looking for the "car free" link.  Nevertheless, this is tangentially related... Man's no doubt a freaking 36-year-old multi-millionaire and chooses this lifestyle...I already respect Sam McNulty; even more so, now...

 

Cleveland-area chefs stay slim despite being surrounded by food

Published: Saturday, March 03, 2012, 6:00 AM

By John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer

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. . .

Sam McNulty

 

Market Garden Brewery and Bier Markt/Bar Cento

 

Height-weight: 6-2, 165

 

Diet: Avoids processed food. Drinks wheat grass juice and "mega juices" made out of various vegetables. Drinks 5-6 beers a day.

 

Exercise: Doesn't own a car, which adds up to a lot of walking and bike riding. Lifts weights, runs and does yoga.

. . .

He also doesn't have a car, which makes a world of difference.

 

"Have you ever been to London or Paris or New York?" asks McNulty. "There aren't many overweight people. Why? Because they're always walking."

 

http://www.cleveland.com/dining/index.ssf/2012/03/cleveland-area_chefs_stay_slim.html