Every day at The Direct Transfer we collect news about cities and send the links to our email list.  At the end of the week we take some of the most popular stories and post them to Greater Greater Washington, a group blog similar to Streets.mn that focuses on urban issues in the DC region.  They are national links, sometimes entertaining and sometimes absurd, but hopefully useful.

Transit-oriented affordable housing?: The Washington State Legislature has asked that if Sound Transit’s ballot measure is passed in November, that the agency buy projects staging land in parcels that will later be usable to build affordable housing. Previous projects have bought just slivers of land that are hard to build on after projects are completed. This innovative step towards TOD, to their knowledge, has never been done before at any transit agency. (The Stranger)

Lifting up Lyft: General Motors is investing in the ride hailing company Lyft, providing drivers with vehicles at reduced costs, or for free if they they complete 65 rides a week. GM sees removing barriers to working in ride hailing as a step into the self-driving car market. (Vanity Fair)

Philly renovation: Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is getting an upgrade, and redevelopment is coming to its adjacent rail yards. A cap over 80 acres of rail yards is part of a project to essentially create a new, desirable neighborhood. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

More transit in LA: Los Angeles Metro has big plans, including a toll and transit tunnel under Sepulveda Pass, a notoriously congested corridor in the region. In November, LA County voters will decide whether to fund the new projects with a tax increase that would bring in $120 billion in new revenue. (Los Angeles Times)

First cities:The city of Alexandria is often hailed as one of the first great cities, but great for who? Dinocrates designed Alexandria for Alexander the Great, and making sure the city functioned for everyday people wasn’t a priority. (The Guardian Cities)

Pigeon Air Patrol: Many cities around the globe are grappling with air quality issues and London is no exception. London is creating awareness by strapping tiny sensor backpacks to pigeons, which will measure pollution in the air and tweet their findings. (Grist)

Quote of the Week

“If you were to check your Facebook on the phone, it would happen in front of the funny shops, among the other people. If you had to tie your shoelaces, it would happen there. If you have to park your bike, it would happen there. We found that all kinds of activities in street were drawn over to where the activity was and people resisted doing anything in front of the inactive place.”

International Urban Designer Jan Gehl on the importance of having active ground floor facades. (Plan Philly)

Cross Posted at Greater Greater Washington