Every day, The Overhead Wire collects news about cities and sends the links to their email list. At the end of the week they 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 D.C. region. They are national links, sometimes entertaining or absurd but often useful.
Cities try to take back curb space: Curbs are some of a city’s most valuable real estate, but during the pandemic they became more crowded and complicated because of all the deliveries and outdoor dining. Cheapened by years of free parking, the curb is now being seen as an asset that can benefit both drivers and the city through appropriate pricing. Smart curbs and demand-based parking charges are becoming more common. (Nathaniel Meyersohn | CNN)
Norway thinks past electric vehicles: Norwegian officials are having second thoughts on the all-out promotion of electric cars in the country. The benefits of EVs, which have reached amazing transition numbers, have been going to affluent residents at the expense of more climate-friendly transportation modes such as biking and walking. Now cities are looking at more efficient ways of reducing emissions. (David Zipper | Vox)
Halifax shows the way on waterfront revitalization: How did Halifax, Nova Scotia create one of the most vibrant waterfronts in Canada? By making targeted investments and changes year after year that, together, made a huge difference over time. The waterfront shouldn’t have worked based on its location and is now reliably beating out a recent $200 million redevelopment project for over 100,000 visitors a year. (Tristan Cleveland | Happy Cities)
Cement industry needs a full de-carbonization: Cement production around the world creates more emissions than every country aside from China and the United States. Some companies have figured out how to reduce emissions and production costs by eliminating the use of clinker, a residue of burning coal used for making cement. But other processes are hard to create alternatives for and need solutions if emissions are going to be reduced for construction projects. (Jeff St. John | Grist)
Do highway caps reduce harmful air pollution?: A highway cap on I-70 in Denver, Colorado opened up for use in 2022 to dampen noise and exhaust from the expansion of the road below as it winds through one of the most asthma stricken neighborhoods in the city. But neighbors don’t believe the cap is reducing emissions, and experts wonder if such projects only encourage risky activities in areas with high levels of particulates. (Sam Brasch | Colorado Public Radio)
Quote of the Week
“I think the days of just literally bulldozing those projects over, just about anywhere, are gone. People will have to be thoughtful about where they are putting materials and separating materials.”
Michele Crane, Boulder’s city architect for facilities, design and construction in the Colorado Sun discussing the recycling of a whole hospital.
This week on the podcast we’re joined by Chris Fabian of Resource X to talk about his work on priority-based budgeting.