A few days ago I posted about Traffic author Tom Vanderbilt’s thoughts about the ineffectiveness of warning signs on streets. Earlier this month in Slate, Vanderbilt wrote a fascinating piece about diverging diamond interchanges: Don’t Turn Left! A new kind…
Category: Urban Form
A guest column about Armstrong’s Student Union and the role of “third places”
Three months ago I posted about the history of Armstrong Atlantic State University (where I’ve been teaching since 2000) as it becomes a more residential campus. In that post, I linked to a cover story I wrote for the most…
“Traffic” author Tom Vanderbilt on those dangerous “Children at Play” signs
I write a lot about the interactions of pedestrians, drivers, cyclists, and various other modes of transportation here in Savannah. Earlier today, in preparation for my Tuesday column, I rode my bike to take pictures of surface parking lots on…
Sign of the times: Habitat for Humanity now 6th largest homebuilder in U.S.
From the AJC this evening: Habitat for Humanity International is now the nation’s 6th largest homebuilder, according to Builder magazine, as its sales of homes in the United States grew from 4,993 in 2005 to 6,032 in 2010, a 17…
I was wrong: no change in 2012 TSPLOST referendum date, failure seems likely statewide
I had been working under the assumption that Governor Deal would successfully persuade some reluctant Georgia lawmakers to move the date of next year’s referendums on regional transportation sales taxes (the so-called TSPLOST) from the summer primary to the November…
See a digital rendering of the 9/11 memorial and the entire World Trade Center site
I have not closely followed the controversies surrounding the 9/11 memorial and the fate of Ground Zero. Not to sound cold, but it’s clear that the urban space is important for many reasons and that all those who lost loved…
SMN takes a look at Savannah’s water ferries’ $266,000 deficit
Well this is a highly recommended piece for those who care about the functioning of the trade center, the prospects of a new hotel on Hutchinson Island, future development of the island, the pressures on local spending as federal subsidies…
More on the value ($$$s) of on-street parking
In my Savannah Morning News column today, I focus on the monetary value of on-street parking: New parking on Price will spur economic activity. A single parking space near a vibrant retail area could result in tens of thousands of…
Local press covers Price Street changes
I posted a couple of weeks ago about the looming changes to Price Street in Savannah, which will likely turn from a horrid two-lane, one-way speedway to a much friendlier street with one lane of vehicular traffic, a bike lane,…
Maps tell the story about new West Chatham high school site
[UPDATE, 4/4/12: This high school is now officially called New Hampstead High School, after the name of the New Hampstead development that has been almost completely stalled since the housing bust.] The Savannah-Chatham County public school system is moving ahead…
Odds looking better for high speed rail from Chattanooga to Atlanta
I’ve made a number of posts lately about transit and transportation projects and problems in Georgia. Here’s a bit of good news in my opinion. The Associated Press is reporting that matching funds for a federal grant have been secured…
Regional rail from Atlanta into middle Georgia another casualty of flawed sales tax proposal
I’ve written quite a bit about transit lately, including the general lack of commitment to transit projects in road-addicted Georgia. As I noted in a post yesterday, Georgia is right at the bottom in terms of state funding for transit…
Taking a closer look at Clayton Homes’ zero energy i-house
I wrote about Green Bridge Farm, a sustainable community in Effingham County, in a post a few weeks ago. Yesterday I went out again to Green Bridge Farm for the open house for Clayton Homes’ i-house, a zero energy home…
2012 transportation sales tax vote to be moved from July to November
Peach Pundit has posted already today about Governor Deal’s plan to have the Georgia Legislature (now dealing with redistricting) move the proposed regional 1% transportation sales tax vote from July 2012 during the primary to November 2012’s general election. I…