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 and international links, sometimes entertaining or absurd but often useful.
Nashville mayor unveils transit plan: Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell has released a $3.1 billion transportation plan that includes transit improvements and complete street upgrades for the city. Funding would be through a half-cent sales tax that voters would have to approve this fall. The plan includes 54 miles of upgraded streets with priority bus treatments and a potential doubling of transit service. Property would be purchased near major transit nodes for transit-oriented development (TOD). (Cassandra Stephenson | Nashville Tennessean)
Aging in place or stuck there? Many older Americans believed they’d be able to sell the house they paid off, and where they may have raised their children, in order to move somewhere that works better as they aged. Now, however, some are feeling stuck. Those places with a smaller footprint and without stairs are few and far between, and rising property taxes and other homeownership costs are creating burdens for a large part of the population. (Paula Span | New York Times)
High-speed rail starts construction for 2028 Olympics: Construction began on a $12 billion high-speed rail line between the outskirts of Los Angeles and Las Vegas that will be operated by private operator Brightline. The line will reach speeds of 200 mph, and CEO P. Michael Reininger hopes it will be open in time for the LA Olympics in 2028. Construction will include viaducts and wildlife crossings, and land acquisition will be limited due to existing rights of way. (Julie Strupp | Smart Cities Dive)
A much older example of social housing: A lot of social housing advocates look to Vienna, Austria for inspiration on creating more affordable housing for cities. But an older example should perhaps be considered: Teotihuacan, Mexico in 300 AD. At that time, according to the archeological record, the city’s temples fell out of use and a new grid of communal apartment blocks emerged. (Miriam Axel-Lute | Shelterforce)
Design weeks have changed Milan: Milan, Italy is famous for the Design Week and Fashion Week that take over the city every year. But those short bursts of activity have also changed the commercial real estate market as property owners have succumbed to the lure of short-term rentals and as aggressive gentrification has set in. The events have changed, too, from places of experimentation and conviviality to overcrowded and overhyped scenes. (Lucia Tozzi | DomusWeb)
This week on the podcast: We’re joined by Sara Stickler, president and CEO of WTS International. We discuss how WTS highlights women’s expertise in transportation and creates opportunities — from mentorship to leadership and education — for women in the field.
Quote of the Week
“Every summer, after the season closes and the oysters begin to spawn, I work to restore sections of salt marsh within our lease whose banks were stripped of oysters long ago. I plant wooden stakes along the intertidal zone to which microscopic oysters will attach in the summer and eventually grow into dense, mature clusters. With time and additional generations of oysters, these growing clusters become healthy beds, and the eroded marsh will begin to heal itself.”
— Oysterman Cyrus Buffum in Esquire magazine discussing how he works a section of South Carolina Lowcountry, farming oysters and restoring ecosystems