Research: Drivers of Firm Location
Cities that wish to foster high-growth entrepreneurship should work to improve quality of life factors, increase the supply of talent and expand access to clients and vendors. –What the Best Entrepreneurs Want in a City The dense urban centres of big cities have never been more important.…
15 Comments Sunday reading 26 March 2017
Welcome back to Sunday Reading. Let’s start off with a critical look at driverless cars. Peter Calthorpe and Jerry Walters, “Autonomous Vehicles: Hype and Potential“, ULI.
The reality is that some forms of AV could actually make things worse. The convenience of AVs could result in more miles traveled—up to 35 percent more for personal AVs and an amazing 90 percent more for single-passenger AV taxis, according to Urban Mobility: System Upgrade, a 2014 study by the International Transit Forum (ITF) and the Corporate Partnership Board (CPB).…
Sunday reading 12 March 2017
Welcome back to Sunday Reading. Let’s start off with a story about induced demand from the mainstream media. Driverless cars introduce an interesting variation on the story, but the answer is the same. Read through to discover the obvious solution to the problem.…
Sunday reading 26 February 2017
Welcome back to Sunday reading. Here is a piece by Joe Cortright describing the importance of storytelling in framing “Visions of a Future City“, Strong Towns.
WHY NARRATIVE MATTERS
In his Presidential Address to the American Economics Association two weeks ago, Nobelist Robert Shiller presented his thoughts on what he called “narrative economics.”…
Research: Recommended road user rule changes
A bunch of walking and cycling research just dropped on the NZTA website. This report by MHW and ViaStrada looks at several possible road user rule changes (PDF). The first consideration is fundamental to supporting high quality cycling facilities, and the second is, well, fundamental to living in a city in 2017.…
Proximity as a transport solution
This school year Auckland University will be opening up housing for 600+ students at the City Centre Campus, including the 55 Symonds Street building pictured above. This is a welcome addition to the meager (though increasing) supply of student housing of about 3,100 units.…
Invisible infrastructure – Turning the Corner Campaign
Signals and traffic control devices have a significant influence on people’s journeys. And combined with road rules, local customs, and professional practices they can shape not only travel choices but also the physical environment (see above).
The recently launched “Turning the Corner” campaign lead by Phil Jones Associates for British Cycling seeks to illustrate the unique road rules in the UK and the challenges they present to enabling improved conditions for walking and cycling.…
Sunday reading 29 January 2017
Welcome to Sunday reading- a bunch of links and media that I found interesting over the week. Please add your links in the comments section below.
There were a lot of stories last year about how big European cities are actively de-caring their centres.…
Introduction to Systematic Safety, The Principles Behind Vision Zero
Here’s a great video on the principles of behind “systematic safety” by Peter Furth. It’s really interesting how the approach is so different than current practice in the States, Australia and New Zealand.
And in case you missed it, Harriet had a great post on Dutch cycleway design last week, “Great Cycling Myths & Mistakes – How Auckland can easily be a Great Cycling City“.…
Sunday reading 1 January 2017
Happy New Year and welcome back to the first Sunday Reading of 2017. Please add your links in the comments below.
“Was it worth it?” It seems like such an obvious question, but one that is seldom raised in a meaningful way.…
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