Car Culture

A letter bomb exploded yesterday at the offices of the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea, South Wales, injuring a woman. It was the seventh such incident reported at a UK agency linked to traffic enforcement in the past three weeks, and the third in three days, according to an article in the Guardian. A total of six people have been injured so far, according to a statement issued just yesterday by police. 

The Wall Street Journal ran a piece this weekend by Conor Dougherty on the municipal move toward charging more for parking. It's available online to paid subscribers only, but here's a taste:

Sam Schwartz, aka "Gridlock Sam," is best-known to many New Yorkers through his Daily News column about the city's quotidian traffic woes. Schwartz is the president and CEO of Sam Schwartz LLC, a traffic planning and engineering firm that has worked on projects including the JFK AirTrain, the IKEA project in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and the World Trade Center Memorial.  Before he moved to the private sector in 1990, Schwartz served as NYC traffic commissioner and as deputy commissioner of transportation in the Koch administration. He sat recently with Mark Gorton, president and founder of the Open Planning Project, to discuss congestion pricing, cars in parks, and the way pedestrians in this city don't get much respect from traffic planners. As the city begins looking for a new transportation commissioner to replace Iris Weinshall, this interview is worth watching:

A new study to be published in the Feb. 17 issue of the Lancet makes a strong case for the link between proximity to vehicular traffic and poor lung function in children. An article on Medical News Today sums up the report, which is currently available online to Lancet subscribers.

From the political left, concern is growing about global warming. From the political right, concern is growing about the United States funding both sides on the war on terror. Health officials worry about a national epidemic of obesity and high urban asthma rates, urbanists are concerned with degraded, atrophied public spaces.

Mayor Bloomberg delivered his State of the City address at Brooklyn Tech yesterday afternoon. Anyone hoping to hear policy proposals on traffic, transportation, livable streets, climate change and long-term sustainability issues was likely disappointed.

Just when it seemed like congestion pricing proponent Carolyn Curiel and Portland native David Shipley were helping to steer the the New York Times in a greener more urban environmentally aware direction, the Times launches Wheels, their new Auto Blog. Its mission: Cover the Detroit Auto Show and help drivers and auto enthusiasts know new cars to watch for and which new concept car that is turning heads.

A few of us from Project for Public Spaces were recently in Dubai to train a group of the city's leading real estate developers in Placemaking. The largest city in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai has experienced explosive growth in recent years, emerging as the region's financial and cultural capital. 

The Vauban Department of Transportation gets to work. Schritt Tempo: Walking Speed.