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.
Do one-dollar housing schemes work? Cities and towns around the world have tried luring new residents to cities and neighborhoods by offering homes for just $1 with proof of sufficient resources to invest in the property. You see a lot of them in rural towns with declining populations, such as in Italy, but the idea has also been employed in urban places like Baltimore, Maryland, and Liverpool, England. Among the questions: Who benefits from such schemes? And do the promised improvements to the area actually materialize as imagined? (Rowan Bridge | BBC News)
Why no tiny cars?: Mini cars have many advantages. They take up less space, offer greater safety for those outside the vehicles and, of course, are cheaper to run and maintain. But the rigidity of U.S. regulations, which have just two categories of vehicle, ensure that no innovations from other countries come to the United States. So we’re stuck getting retro vehicles under existing import law, but even the possibility of snagging a Japanese-made Kei truck might be under threat. (David Zipper | Bloomberg CityLab)
A model for a suburban retrofit?: Rancho Cucamonga, California, in the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles, recently updated its 1980 general plan. A form-based code was adopted, and density has been targeted for the Metrolink station, arterial corridors and major shopping centers. The hope is that this city of 175,000 will grow into a more urban place with greater connectivity for everyone, not just those who drive. (Robert Steuteville | CNU Public Square)
Connecting Texas and Mexico: Officials from Texas and Mexico got together to discuss passenger rail between Austin and San Antonio, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico. The line would promote commerce between the two countries and mirrors a Mexican expansion plan that would connect Mexico City with the Texas and Arizona borders. Funding will prove to be the biggest barrier. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is focused on expanding roads, as well as developing a rail line between Houston and Dallas, which also has Amtrak’s attention. (Cristela Jones | My San Antonio)
How to rebuild storm-damaged roads: Extreme weather is becoming more common, and historical weather patterns can’t be trusted when designing infrastructure to meet the moment. For example, Hurricane Helene damaged 400 roads in North Carolina. Engineers can do quick fixes and have planned for road closures, but now they will need to prepare for 50- to 100-year flood events with new thinking and new materials. (Arian Marshall | Wired Magazine)
This week on the Talking Headways podcast we’re hitting 500 episodes! And to celebrate we have a look back in time with Tanya Snyder about the origins of the show, and then we chat with Ken Napzok and Joseph Scrimshaw of my favorite podcast, Force Center, about living in Los Angeles.
Quote of the Week
“Most of the time, when I reach out to inquire about why a job would require a driver’s license when driving isn’t part of the job description, the license requirement gets removed pretty quickly. I’ve heard that it’s the default setting in many government HR hiring systems, so unless the person posting the job unchecks the driver’s license requirement box, it will appear in the posting.”
— Anna Zivarts in Governing questioning why most job applications require a driver’s license when many people don’t drive and the jobs don’t require it.
Photo at top by Alexander Grey on Unsplash