Yet Another Exploding Whale: ODOT’s Freeway-Widening Cost Doubles

The Oregon DOT has experienced massive cost overruns on all of its largest construction projects…and has systematically concealed and understated the frequency and scale of those cost overruns.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, City Observatory, Transportation, Top StoryJoe CortrightJune 3, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cult, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, Oregon, DOT, City Observatory, Joe Cortright, transportation

The NIMBYs Made $6.9 Trillion Last Year

We keep looking for villains to blame for the housing affordability crisis—but are we pointing fingers at the wrong culprits?

City Observatory, Housing, Top StoryJoe CortrightApril 20, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing market, Housing, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, race, Race, City Observatory, Joe Cortright

Freeway Widening for Whomst?

Widening freeways is no way to promote equity.

10 Reasons to Not Trust ODOT's Environmental Claims

Oregon’s Department of Transportation is making phony claims that widening highways reduces pollution. Here’s why they’re wrong.

Where We Embrace Socialism in the U.S.: Parking Lots

How we embrace socialism for car storage in the public right of way.

City Observatory, Parking, Top StoryJoe CortrightOctober 12, 2021Parking, parking, parking landing page, Joe Cortright, City Observatory, politics, car dependency, car culture

Selling Oregon into Highway Bondage

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been authorized to issue revenue bonds to finance potentially billions of dollars of highway widening projects.

#InfrastructureCrisis, #NoNewRoads, City Observatory, Infrastructure, Top StoryJoe CortrightAugust 3, 2021debt, Oregon, #NoNewRoads, Infrastructure, infrastructure cost, highways, highway spending, Joe Cortright, City Observatory, toll roads

How Highways Finally Crushed Black Tulsa

Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood survived the 1921 race massacre, only to be ultimately destroyed by a more unrelenting foe: interstate highways.

Race, City Observatory, Top StoryJoe CortrightJuly 9, 2021tulsa, race, history, highways, Joe Cortright, Reparations

Wholly Moses: Pave Now, Pay Later

A malignant legacy lives on through a recent bill proposed in Oregon.

City Observatory, #NoNewRoads, Local Government, Transportation, Top StoryJoe CortrightApril 23, 2021Robert Moses, Oregon, City Observatory, Joe Cortright, Portland OR

The "Diverging Diamond": Greenwashing Auto Infrastructure

A proposed new “diverging diamond” interchange in Massachusetts is being sold as pedestrian-friendly. In truth, it is a profoundly pedestrian-hostile design.

#SlowtheCars, City Observatory, Top StoryJoe CortrightMarch 29, 2021Diverging Diamond, cars, #SlowTheCars, Joe Cortright, City Observatory, Massachusetts

The Fundamental, Global Law of Road Congestion

It goes by many names — the Jevons Paradox, Braess Paradox, Marchetti’s Constant or Downs’ Triple Convergence — but the science is clear: expanding freeway capacity makes traffic worse.

City Observatory, Transportation, Roads and Streets, Top StoryJoe CortrightMarch 4, 2021congestion, toll roads, highways, City Observatory, Joe Cortright

Most “Pedestrian Infrastructure” Is Really Car Infrastructure

Houston’s “Energy Corridor” gets a pedestrian makeover, but just one thing seems to be missing: Pedestrians.

#SlowtheCars, Walkability, City Observatory, Top StoryJoe CortrightFebruary 1, 2021Pedestrian Safety, pedestrians, pedestrian crossing, Houston, Texas, #SlowTheCars, Joe Cortright, City Observatory, walkability

Parking's "Free Ride" Is a Financial Disaster for Cities

Cities essentially subsidize parking, to their own harm. An ordinance in Hartford would close that gap with what one expert describes as a “lite” version of the land value tax.

Podcast, Upzoned, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 27, 2021Parking, Joe Cortright, Upzoned, Podcast

Taking Pedestrian Safety Into Our Own Hands

The feds don’t have serious solutions to the problem of pedestrian safety. It’s up to us to take action right where we are.

Top Story, Walkability, #SlowtheCarsJohn PattisonOctober 20, 2020pedestrian safety, #SlowTheCars, NHTSA, Transportation For America, Joe Cortright

Carpocalypse Never?

Why do predictions of “Carmageddon” so often fail to materialize? Recent lane reductions on a major bridge in Portland may hold answers, if we pay attention.

City Observatory, TransportationStrong TownsSeptember 30, 2020traffic congestion, traffic projections, Portland OR, Joe Cortright, City Observatory

Is There Anything "Smart" about Smart Cities?

Big data and new technology make bold promises about solving urban problems. Not only do they fall well short of solutions, but can actually make things worse.

City Observatory, Planning Profession, Top StoryJoe CortrightSeptember 17, 2020smart cities, Joe Cortright, City Observatory, Portland OR

The Myth of Pedestrian Infrastructure in a World of Cars

Big money “pedestrian” projects are often not for pedestrians at all. Their real purpose is to serve faster car traffic.

City Observatory, Transportation, Top StoryJoe CortrightSeptember 10, 2020Pedestrian Safety, car dependency, auto-oriented, Joe Cortright, City Observatory, transportation

A World of Fewer Cars and Less Driving

A new report shows the automobile industry preparing for a future with fewer cars and less driving. Planners and policymakers should take note too: this is not the time to build new roads.

City Observatory, #NoNewRoads, Coronavirus, Top StoryJoe CortrightAugust 5, 2020#NoNewRoads, car dependency, Coronavirus, Joe Cortright, City Observatory

Are People Fleeing Cities for the Suburbs?

It’s become common for the media to run stories about a supposed pandemic-induced flight to the suburbs. But there’s a problem: it’s not supported by data.