Thanksgiving Day Headlines

Streetsblog is taking the Thanksgiving holiday off, but here are a few stories to enjoy with your turkey:

• You didn’t listen to him in 1988, but maybe you will now: Mike Dukakis says we need to beef up public transit! (Boston Globe)
• Ride-hailing drivers are still discriminating. After studies found that people of color wait longer to be matched with a driver, companies took steps to reduce discrimination by reducing the amount of information available to drivers, like names and photos. They haven’t worked, according to a new report. (City Lab)
• Meanwhile, Chicago passed a new fee on taxi rides to battle congestion. (StreetsblogChi)
• Demand for lithium — a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric cars and scooters, among other things — is set to explode. But it takes lots of water to extract, and over half the world’s supply of the valuable mineral is in the arid salt flats of South America. Without a Green New Deal, lithium could wind up replacing oil as a source of geopolitical conflict. Just ask Evo Morales! (New Republic)
• Our online shopping habit is terrible for cities and the environment. (The Guardian)
• Bastrop, near Austin, recently became one of the first cities since the mid-20th century to create a street-grid plan for future growth. Created mainly for flood control, the plan also encourages a mix of uses, affordable housing and shared parking. (Public Square)
• Very Local is running a series on the history of New Orleans streetcars (oddly, the word “Desire” is not in the first installment. Stella!)