A few things to know this week: March 26, 2021
This week’s things to know:
Texas and Georgia Need a New Economic Model (CityLab)
Texas has long been known for putting growth (and any growth, at that) ahead of other priorities. Low taxes and comparatively cheaper land has been broadcast far and wide, and the exponential growth in numbers we've seen in the Lone Star State doesn't show signs of dropping off - though the financial crisis in 2007-2008 certainly impacted it for a brief time. As we always try to remind cities, however, that growth comes at great cost. It's simple math - sprawling infrastructure strains maintenance resources while ongoing gentrification replaces what could be affordable housing is replaced with the shiny and new, pricing out most residents. As this author writes, "For now, the most likely tweaks to the governance model will probably be incremental — stormwater improvements, sidewalk construction and other "complete streets" projects, modest increases to educational funding — simply because the votes aren't there to raise taxes enough for the kind of revenue needed for bigger changes." -AJ
How did a ship get stuck in the Suez Canal? (Washington Post)
You may have seen on social media or even your local nightly news, but there is a freighter stuck in the Suez Canal. Many have taken to their twitter, facebook, etc. to express just how strange this occurrence actually is. While the content coming from this event is entertaining to us through our screens, there is a larger and much more widespread effect of one ship blocking the way for tons of others trying to deliver goods. One report has the “Evergreen” blocking the way of billions of dollars worth of merchandise from their destinations. Many ships are reverting back to the way they had to travel prior to the canal - going around the southern horn of Africa. Many reports say that the excavation of the ship could take weeks, and it makes me think of our streets. If there was an event that disallowed drivers from accessing urban highways and had to choose alternative routes, what would the outcome be? Many communities are taking down their urban highways in order to increase the sense of community and decrease the amount of traffic so close to their most productive city assets. The canal serves a purpose much more important than our urban highways, but think of its effect and how people had to adapt and apply that to your community. What would happen? -Ryan
How urban planning and housing policy helped create 'food apartheid' in US cities (The Conversation)
Having been in Dallas for some time now, it has been known that South Dallas is one of the nation's largest food deserts. An area in which options for groceries and access to fresh fruit and vegetables is low compared to that of a more affluent area that has an option on every other corner of an intersection. Professor Agyeman details how food deserts disproportionately affect black and Latino communities coast to coast and paints a picture as to how urban planning could be a viable solution to an issue that has plagued our communities for far too long. -Bhargava
Post-Covid Transit Needs a New Metric for Success (CityLab)
With commuters staying at home and passenger numbers sure to remain below ‘normal’ across the country, public transportation leaders need to focus on a different metric of success. This article reports that metric should be “transit access”. David Zipper writes on to detail just how access is a much more sustainable and accurate metric for usefulness and says that “few people would argue that (transit) systems’ societal value has fallen as steeply as their ridership. On the contrary, the pandemic has reminded us that cities cease to function if public transportation is unavailable. You might be able to drive to a hospital or grocery store, but that won’t do you much good if transit-reliant workers can’t get there to staff it.” His analysis shows that even with commuters going to their local downtown not riding the light rail or bus there is still a population that is just as important coming from communities all over to go and serve vital roles in our cities. The access that these individuals have should be measured and adjusted if not up to par with the level of demand. -Ryan
Dart cleared to seek federal- dollars for $1.7 billion downtown Dallas subway (Dallas Morning News)
The Dallas City Council voted this past Wednesday to continue to move forward with their regional light rail expansion in downtown, re-upping prior approval of the route in 2017. It is good to see a prioritization of the access that I mentioned in the prior article, but my hope is that council and DART board members are also considering those populations that have maintained ridership throughout 2020 and into 2021. The route will serve downtown and the deep ellum neighborhood to the east, and will serve to decrease congestion but there are no reports of the expansion leading to a decrease in wait times between trains on individual routes. -Ryan
Here's the standard disclaimer: We always encourage our team members to freely share their thoughts and opinions, both in these newsletters and elsewhere. Given that, opinions expressed by any one member do not necessarily represent the views of the company as a whole.
Do you enjoy these weekly roundups? (Why wouldn’t you?) You can get them sent straight to your email inbox every Friday, if you’re into that.
Want to learn more about how fiscal analysis can help you make your city stronger financially?
We created a new sister website showcasing how we use math, maps, and money to help cities communicate your resource gap and explore ways to increase tax revenue and improve service efficiency without necessarily raising taxes.
Hey, friends in local government:
Hey, friends who love cities! If you're looking for a place to discuss these topics (and more) with like-minded peers who want to help create a more resilient community, check out our Community Cultivators Network. It's free to join, and we are currently working to build new features for our 2021 relaunch, so stay tuned! We'll arm you with the content, ideas, and support to take small impactful steps to cultivate change.
