Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Friday’s Headlines Breathe in the Air

Don't be afraid to care about zoning that disproportionately exposes low-income residents to highway fumes.

Photo: Jay Peeples|

Smog in Los Angeles in 2023.

  • Municipal zoning codes tend to cluster high-density housing, including public housing, near busy highways, exposing residents to unhealthy emission. Instead, policies should discourage driving and encourage integrating multifamily housing into neighborhoods. (Urban Institute)
  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalled more than 400 Proterra buses for a potential fire hazard. (Smart Cities Dive)
  • Cities can't keep widening roads forever, so they should use technology to manage existing lanes while focusing more on transit and micromobility. (Metro)
  • Bloomberg is starting a new initiative to help cities share ideas for solutions to problems like sustainability, housing and transportation.
  • Strong Towns is touting a new approach to analyzing crashes and assigning blame -— mainly poor design that leads to driver error.
  • Self-driving cars haven't arrived yet, but self-parking ones? That's another story. (The Atlantic; paywall)
  • Washington, D.C.'s automated cameras appear to be cutting down on speeding, but they're no substitute for improving the built environment. (Greater Greater Washington)
  • Seattle has finalized plans for privately funded upgrades to the Elliott Bay Trail. (The Urbanist)
  • Pittsburgh planners are reviewing designs for the $740 million pedestrian-friendly Esplanade development. (WESA)
  • Downstate Illinois transit agencies are joining their Chicago counterparts in asking for more state funding to alleviate their budget woes. (Capitol News Illinois)
  • WABE has the lowdown on referendums for public transit and greenspace in the metro Atlanta counties of Cobb, Gwinnett and DeKalb.
  • Here's where candidates for mayor of San Francisco (Standard) and Richmond (WTVR) stand on street safety.
  • More and better bike lanes will make all road users in Honolulu safer. (Civil Beat)
  • London has seized 1,400 vehicles from motorists who ignored fines for driving through low-emissions zones. (The Guardian)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Commute with Dylan in Boston

"E-bikes are a thing," says one disabled Bostonian, as they show off how easy it is to get around without a car if a city provides the right infrastructure.

October 18, 2024

From Challenge to Opportunity: Transforming Salt Lake City’s Wide Streets

Salt Lake City’s unusually large grid pattern of wide streets and square blocks poses a massive challenge to walkability and bikeability but represents a rare opportunity for planners.

Talking Headways Podcast: Simpler Payment Systems for Agencies and Riders

Gillian Gillett and Dan Baker on how agencies can create simpler payment and travel experiences for transit riders.

October 17, 2024
See all posts