Congress included allocation of funding for several new transit projects in its spending law:
06.03.2026 16:41
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Congress included allocation of funding for several new transit projects in its spending law:
How electrifying a Bay Area rail system made trains faster, cleaner, and more frequent | grist.org/transportati....
This week on #TalkingHeadways it's our annual prediction show with @yonahfreemark.com We discuss what we got right and wrong last year, and what we think might be on the horizon for next. link.theoverheadwire.com/468dw @usa.streetsblog.org
Yesterday, Oregon's legislature voted to ban underfunded inclusionary zoning from the Portland metro area.
It's a big turnaround, and I hope a path forward for other states too.
www.sightline.org/2026/03/05/o...
Happy 189th birthday, Chicago!
Results: Progressives win all four of these primaries, ousting incumbents Cunningham, Willingham, and Majeed, while Pierce held off Wray’s comeback.
extraordinary night for state progressives in North Carolina
via boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...
JUST IN: North Carolina's Dem lawmaker Carla Cunningham gave the GOP the decisive vote to pass a law forcing police to comply with ICE. She said "all cultures are not equal."
She just lost reelection BIG in the Dem primary to a progressive pastor & activist, Rodney Sadler. 70% to 22%!
Context:
We have definitely entered new territory when the largest recipient of federal transit funds—the MTA, which receives literally billions in federal funds each year—is dissing the head of the federal transportation department.
US Congress is advancing housing legislation. On @urbaninstitute.bsky.social, I examine land-use elements in both House & Senate bills.
There are some promising opportunities in the legislation—best-practice guidelines & rewards for cities building lots of housing—but also areas for improvement.
Judge Lewis Liman (brother of Doug Liman) has ruled that the federal government can‘t unilaterally end congestion pricing, giving the MTA yet another court win on congestion pricing
It's going to be interesting to see how the numbers end up, though, because I agree if they're off.... it could be an issue.
Yep! Though keep in mind that the data are not exactly what HUD would be using (and would be more recent), so the actual winners & losers in a few years could be quite different.
Very much! The typical jurisdiction would gain or lose a very small amount of money!
The legislation has some issues:
—Fails to increase HUD funding, even though Trump Admin just fired many staffers
—Eliminates efforts to coordinate housing & transport, even though that was in previous bills
—Uses CDBG as the bonus mechanism, even though it's a tiny program
Read the full analysis:
The Senate's housing legislation, ROAD, could provide more CDBG funding to the New York and Chicago while cutting funding from Los Angeles, Boston, and Phoenix.
Senate's version of bill includes a bonus-malus system where cities & counties with little housing construction would lose CDBG dollars—whereas those with lots of housing construction would gain funds.
Using recent data, I made some >estimates< of what communities would benefit. Not a final list!
US Congress is advancing housing legislation. On @urbaninstitute.bsky.social, I examine land-use elements in both House & Senate bills.
There are some promising opportunities in the legislation—best-practice guidelines & rewards for cities building lots of housing—but also areas for improvement.
Like all states, Oklahoma leverages Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to finance affordable housing projects.
In new @urbaninstitute.bsky.social research, we examine what's working about Oklahoma's LIHTC program & how it can be improved.
Excited to announce a new report, by the Center for Building in North America and @cmiflin.bsky.social's Center for Zero Waste Design – on the high cost of waste handling in New York City! Article in Vital City below on it, full report here: centerforzerowastedesign.org/all/advocacy...
In 2 weeks, France holds 1st round of municipal elections, which will decide which parties lead cities—transport, housing, land use. Most cities will likely go to 2nd round on Mar 22.
In the 2020 elections, left alliances won 24/42 cities with >100k people, including big 3: Paris, Lyon & Marseille.
Paris has been in the left’s hands for 25 years. Mayor Hidalgo—a socialist—has been remarkable in transforming the city’s streetscape for bikes & peds, but she’s not running for reelection. If socialist Grégoire wins, he’ll accelerate her efforts. If right-wing Dati does, she’ll slow them down.
Polls suggest tight elections in Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux. The right is likely to take Lyon. There’s a possibility of the left taking Le Havre.
Partisan control in French cities makes a difference on outcomes like social housing, with the left being associated with much more affordable housing:
In 2 weeks, France holds 1st round of municipal elections, which will decide which parties lead cities—transport, housing, land use. Most cities will likely go to 2nd round on Mar 22.
In the 2020 elections, left alliances won 24/42 cities with >100k people, including big 3: Paris, Lyon & Marseille.
The collapse of the US National Science Foundation
The differences are aesthetic (more tattoos, cursing, Mar-a-Lago face, etc) and institutional (don't follow the Constitution). The one difference in the actual policy agenda is internal mass deportations. Otherwise it's basically Gingrichism.
The BRT line is in the plan from the NYC EDC in 2020, not necessarily Mamdani's plan (if such a thing exists). The EDC plan also proposes a prospective future subway line.
Yonah Freemark talks with Jeff Wood about the state of the trains across the world.
In the future, everything will be free, you’ll just be a slave to Musk Co in order to maintain Elon’s trillion-dollar compensation
You can’t make this stuff up: “Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chairwoman, told The New York Times in a recent interview that Mr. Musk’s goal of sustainable abundance was part of the board’s justification for awarding him a pay package that could turn him into the world’s first trillionaire.”
A good, if sober, Year in Transit with @yonahfreemark.com and the @theoverheadwire.com. As Yonah points out, the number of rail projects in the US is dwindling even as the amount we're spending stays about even. The biggest issue: astronomical costs.
New meta-analysis of 26 published studies concludes that AVs will lead people to use cars a lot more — which would thicken congestion and worsen pollution (even if AVs are electric).
"AV deployment is anticipated to lead to an overall increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled."
doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...