Join us for #BlackFridayParking
For years, American cities have required businesses to provide an amount of parking based on the anticipated peak demand. That peak demand is commonly believed to be "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving. Cities seemingly disregard any notion that businesses may not find it in their interests to devote valuable space and limited resources to providing parking spots that will only be used once or twice a year (or never). Ostensibly the greater apostasy -- from a regulatory standpoint -- would be for a driver to show up in their automobile this Friday and not be able to quickly find a place to park. To avoid that horror, we will set aside all of our "pro-businesses" inklings and roll out the red tape of parking minimums. Fortunately, many cities have repealed minimum parking requirements. Many more are considering taking such a step. Let's give them a push by helping them see the folly of their ways.
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#BlackFridayParkingCharles Marohn
Understanding Fresno's lack of cash
Earlier this month we ran a graphic that showed how the city of Fresno, California, had less than a day of cash flow on hand, a perilously low amount. Someone asked for some context -- why is this the situation -- and our friend, Bryan Jones of the city of Carlsbad, provided these graphics in response. While we fully understand that correlation is not causation -- particularly in such a complex situation --the observations fit precisely with the mechanisms we have described in the Growth Ponzi Scheme.
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Charles Marohn
SID.tv Episode 54: Pimped out roundabout
A roundabout in rural Wisconsin is tricked out with decorative brick, intense landscaping and a "complete street" despite there being little to no chance of pedestrians. This is happening while funds for urban improvements -- where there actually are people walking -- remain elusive.
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Charles Marohn
The Fool Proof City
The Fool Proof City

The most brilliant innovations in building cities, however, won't come from the current generation of politicians, professionals and advocates. That brilliance is already embodied in the traditional development pattern, a fool proof approach to building places that was developed the hard way.

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For NewcomersCharles Marohn
Traffic Anarchy Works
Warning: If you are from Kansas City or Omaha or if you believe the Nazis invented the roundabout thus setting off World War II, then you won't want to watch this video. For the rest of you, while this won't be happening anytime soon in a city near you, it should give you additional confidence when standing up to the dogmatic traffic engineers and their rote, untested, arbitrary standards. http://youtu.be/Sf-O5o4aqcs
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Charles Marohntraffic engineering
SID.tv Interview with Spencer Boomhower
An interview with video game developer and Portland-based urbanist Spencer Boomhower who previews how video game technology can be used to visualize different urban forms. Spencer works with Cupola Media and can be reached directly by email at spencer@cupolamedia.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1f11iOnalE
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Charles Marohn
Missing the Forest for the Stroad
When I was in Mississippi last week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran this article about a major road reconstruction project in the city of West St. Paul. The headline of the article, and a major thrust of the lament, centered on the lack of trees in the new design of Robert Street. Here's how one city council member was quoted in the article: “I want trees and I want a lot of them, and I want them all up and down,” said City Council Member Jenny Halverson. “To me, trees are vital to improving the atmosphere on Robert. Right now it’s a sea of concrete and I am afraid that it will remain a sea of concrete if we don’t have these trees.” Besides engineers, who wouldn't want trees?
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Engineering Profession, Misunderstanding Mobility, Roads and StreetsCharles MarohnSTROADS, traffic engineering