Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Streetsblog Network

If shared fleets of self-driving cars really do hit the streets in the next decade, some big changes are on the horizon. One of the biggest is that individual car ownership will become much less common. At Market Urbanism, Nolan Gray explores the effect this would have on the way we use the garages attached to typical single-family homes. There’s […]

Letting people carry firearms on transit vehicles is a new priority for the gun lobby in several states where legislation to expand concealed carry rules to buses and trains is gaining momentum. Proponents of theses bills imagine armed transit riders protecting themselves from would-be assailants. Some states, like Texas, already allow guns on transit. But not everyone thinks crowded buses are a […]

The big rail line to the airport is an awfully seductive transit project to many political decision makers. So cities keep heaping resources on flashy airport transit even though the ridership is seldom worth the expense. Toronto, for instance, recently rolled out a new airport line that costs a bundle to ride and is drawing a disappointing number of […]

Cars are a very inefficient transportation technology for too many reasons to count. They take up huge amounts of space but get driven around mostly empty — the average private car in the U.S. carries only 1.6 people. A lot of the time, people drive distances that are short enough to easily walk or bike — 28 percent of car trips […]

Cleveland’s first zoning code was written in 1929, and since then it’s been amended in ways that have eroded the walkability of the city. City leaders acknowledge that building compact, mixed-use neighborhoods has basically become illegal under the current zoning code. But in an exciting development, Cleveland is looking to overhaul its regulations to make the city a […]

If you spend much time at community meetings, or you’re a Leslie Knope fan, you know that public forums are often where open-mindedness goes to die. Bill Lindeke of Twin City Sidewalks has been thinking about the contrast between urban NIMBYism and the ideals espoused by Fred Rogers, host of the legendary Pittsburgh-based public television show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” […]