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by corncam
Jack Smith is a regular columnist for the Fort Worth Star Telegram, a newspaper in Texas. His column contrasts "Old American" urban design; eg. bigger cars, more freeways, and longer commutes with newer ideas. Except that what's new in America is already commonplace in Europe.
First, he quotes from Rep. Joe Barton, a defender of the old ways, and the chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. Barton said that he represents the US at international conferences and gets lectured by other countries about global warming: They don't understand the lifestyle where you live in Arlington and drive to Dallas to work. . . . I don't think they (the Europeans) really understand the concept of personal freedom. They think everybody ought to live in an eight-story walkup with no air conditioning and ride bicycles everywhere. That's not Texas. And I'm not apologetic about that. In contrast, the columnist praised European cities for their mixed use developments, excellent public transit systems and short commutes. He pointed out that this type of design is gaining popularity in the US, even in Texas. Developers throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area are now planning urban mixed-use, transit-oriented developments that increasingly resemble development patterns in European cities. Even Plano, once considered purely suburban and auto-reliant, has embraced light-rail transit and accompanying mixed-use development. . . . Those are increasingly appealing development trends in North Texas, which is choking from gridlock and pollution as a result of a spiraling population, heavy reliance on the automobile and voluminous urban sprawl. . . . Some North Texans are suddenly finding that living in far-flung suburbs can be a downer if it means paying $2.55 a gallon for gas for their fuel-hog SUV for a 90-minute round-trip commute that robs them of time to exercise or enjoy their children. In the USA, this movement favoring integrated urban design is known as New Urbanism. It has ten principles, which I'll briefly list below. You can obviously find out more at their website.
While these ideas may be new in Texas, they have been popular in California for about ten years now. New Urbanism neighborhoods are especially sucessful when they are built near rapid transit. And surprisingly, they are very popular among families with children. Comments >> (11 comments) by corncam
I just got back from a trip to Moscow, and it has totally changed since my last visit 16 years ago. We stayed in the apartment of some old family friends, so we got to see the city the way its residents do. I'll try to highlight the things that have changed since the old days, but some things haven't changed at all - like the Moscow traffic. Luzhkov, the mayor, has built lots of roads, but there are many more cars, and the driving is sporting as always (Ooops, no seatbelts in this Zhiguli - hang on kids!)
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