Time is Short, Go Fast, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from TracerBullet999′s photostream

Did you know that the average household spends 20% of its income on transportation? Would you like to participate in the the planning process that will guide transportation decisions and spending in Pittsburgh for the next 25 years? If so, we have a meeting for you.

MOVEPGH is a part of PLANPGH, the City of Pittsburgh’s first-ever comprehensive plan. The goal of MOVEPGH is to “[p]rovide a transportation network that is safe and efficient while meeting the City’s transportation needs.” The City expects the transportation needs of this area to grow because it anticipates a rise in population over the next few decades due, in part, to all of the favorable publicity the City is rightfully receiving. However, with all our great assets, the City has a fixed, established street network — as do most older cities. The plan must accommodate not only the needs of cars and public transit, but walkers and bikers — providing the the kind of wide range of transportation options that attract urban dwellers.

To Northside, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from inorman88′s photostream

The planning process for MOVEPGH is being led by the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning. Nine top transportation planning and engineering firms from around the country are participating as consultants. But, they also want and need your input. On Thursday, MOVEPGH will conduct a public kick-off meeting for the transportation plan. Attend and add your voice to the process.

MOVEPGH Public Kickoff Meeting
WHEN: Thursday February 2, 2012, from 6 to 8 PM.
WHERE: Building #3B (Porter Hall) off Frew Street on the Carnegie Mellon University Campus (Oakland). (map)

For additional information, please see the meeting flyer here. If you have special needs for attending this meeting, contact Patrick Roberts at 412-255-2224.

P1120132, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from wyliepoon’s photostream

You’re standing at a bus stop. Every couple of minutes you peer down the street. Then you glance at your watch. Then you look down the street again. Why? Because you and everyone else at the stop only want to know one thing: When’s the bus coming? Now, in Pittsburgh, there’s an app for that. Carnegie Mellon University has developed an iPhone app that provides real time information on Port Authority of Allegheny County bus and “T” arrivals. It’s called Tiramisu — which in Italian literally means “pick me up.” Tiramisu allows riders to use crowdsourcing not only to let fellow public transit users know exactly where a bus is, but also how full it is and more. From Carnegie Mellon News:

When a rider first activates the app, Tiramisu displays the nearest stops and a list of buses or light rail vehicles that are scheduled to arrive. The list includes arrival times, based either on historical data for that route or on real-time reports from riders. When the desired vehicle arrives, the user indicates the level of “fullness” and then presses a button, allowing their phone to share an ongoing GPS trace with the Tiramisu server. Once aboard, the rider can use Tiramisu to find out which stop is next and to report problems, positive experiences and suggestions.

Tiramisu screenshots

Tiramisu was developed by researchers in the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Accessible Public Transportation (RERC-APT) and supported in part by CMU’s Traffic21 initiative. RERC-APT is a collaboration between CMU and the University of Buffalo which focused on the transportation needs of people with disabilities. It’s critical, for example, for riders who use wheelchairs to know if a bus is crowded or if there’s ample room for their needs. Of course, most people would love to know more real time information about their bus, so the idea has been expanded for all riders.

Tiramisu is available free through the iTunes AppStore. It’s currently compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and it requires iOS 4.0 or later. The developers promise that it will also soon be available for Android smartphones as well. While it was still being tested, it was found that even a small number of riders on a route could provide useful information and that participants in the pilot studies continued to use it even after the formal study ended. That said, the more people who use the app, the better and more useful this tool will become. Therefore, you’ll get the most out of this free app by letting all of your friends and coworkers know about it too.

Tiramisu is part of a larger trend for cities to work with game developers to use smartphone apps and games to improve communities. An article from American City & County describes how New Yorkers were able to use The Commons game iPhone app to report problems and submit suggestions to improve city services. And, in Macon, GA, officials worked with developers to create Macon Money which rewarded participating residents with currency to spend at local businesses in order to spur local economic development and to help tear down social divisions.

New hybrid electric bus, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from HerrVebah’s photostream

TypeCon 2010 Los Angeles: Famous LA Traffic Jam, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from FontFont’s photostream

Sustainable communities promote sustainable living by providing people with access to affordable housing, increasing their transportation options, lowering their transportation costs, and at the same time, protecting the environment to better support local economies. Being able to live in a diverse community that is close to where you work and where you can purchase local produce and patronize local businesses helps the environment, the local economy and your pocketbook. Additionally, healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods are communities where people want to live. With this in mind, two years ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined together to form The Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

The Partnership “works to coordinate federal housing, transportation, water and other infrastructure investments” to help accomplish sustainability. They do this through providing new funding opportunities, working to reduce barriers at the federal level, and by talking to residents and businesses in hundreds of communities. On June 16th, The Partnership for Sustainable Communities will celebrate their two year anniversary. They have created webinars which you can participate in to learn more about their efforts (listed below). You can also learn more about sustainable communities at Smart Growth America.

A Variety of Transportation Options:

DC Dupont multimodal, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from faceless b’s photostream

Celebrating Two Years of Partnership
What: Join the senior leadership of the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities to celebrate the Partnership’s two-year anniversary and to talk about what initiatives are coming next.
Who: Beth Osborne, Deputy Assistant Secretary, DOT; Shelley Poticha, Director, Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, HUD; John Frece, Director, Office of Sustainable Communities, EPA; and Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs (Invited)
When: Thursday, June 16, 2011 – 1:00 PM EDT
Where: Click here to register for this webinar. Call-in information will be sent to registrants.

Long Term Affordability Near Transit
What: A webinar that will highlight innovative affordable transit-oriented development initiatives across the country, including Austin, Texas and Fairfax County, Virginia – two jurisdictions that have put long-term affordable homeownership mechanisms into place to create and sustain equitable transit-oriented communities.
Who: Co-Hosted by Cornerstone Partnership, the Center for Housing Policy, and the National Housing Conference; Allison Brooks, Chief of Staff, Reconnecting America; John L. Payne A.I.A, Deputy Director for Real Estate, Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development; Kelly Weiss, Executive Director, PeopleTrust in Austin, TX; Moderated by Ryan Sherriff, Center for Housing Policy
When: Thursday, June 16, 2011. The two-part event begins at 2:30 p.m. ET with a 90-minute webinar that will provide an opportunity to listen to each speaker as well as ask questions.
Where: Register here

Understanding Mixed-Income Transit-Oriented Development
What: This event will focus on introducing participants to the benefits, strategies, and challenges of mixed-income transit-oriented development and will introduce a useful tool, the “Mixed-Income TOD Action Guide.”
Who: Center for Transit-Oriented Development
When: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT
Where: Click here to register

Mixed-Income Development:

B-dairy tnhome with SFD PDX, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from faceless b’s photostream

Pedestrian Street:

Pedestrian Street – Athens, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from UrbanGrammar’s photostream

Walkable Communities:

Housing Community, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from www.urbancityarch.com’s photostream

A shadow of the past, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from CubanoConFlickr’s photostream

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is the regional planning agency for our area (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland counties). According to SPC, “The Commission develops plans and programs for public investments; fulfills federal and state requirements for transportation, economic development, and local government assistance programs; and operates with public involvement and trust.” They direct approximately $33 billion in state and federal funds through 2030. The last time we wrote about SPC, they were taking public comments on their Public Participation Plan. This time, they have set up a public comment period and regional public meetings on the draft of their 2040 Long Range Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania. There are four components to the plan. You can review each by clicking on the following links:

2040 Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania

Environmental Justice Benefits and Burdens Assessment for the 2040 Plan

Air Quality Conformity Determination for the Pittsburgh Transportation Management Area

Southwestern Pennsylvania Public Transit Human Services Coordinated Transportation Plan Update

The 30-day public comment period for the 2040 Long Range plan began on May 18th and will conclude on Friday, June 17, at 4:00 p.m.

You can attend a Public Participation Panel meeting to hear presentations, look at maps, ask questions, and submit your comments. The Pittsburgh meeting will take place:

June 8, 6:00 p.m.
Regional Enterprise Tower
31st floor
425 Sixth Avenue
Pittsburgh 15219-1852

If you cannot attend that meeting, written comments may be submitted:

Online:
www.spcregion.org

Mail:
SPC Comments,
425 Sixth Ave., Suite 2500
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-1852

Fax:
Comments, 412-391-9160

E-mail:
comments@spcregion.org

You can view the public notice here, for a full schedule of regional meetings.

CMU: Walking to the Sky, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0)image from ajstarks’ photostream

What makes a city desirable as a place in which we want to live? Is there a new American Dream in terms of how we live? These are some of the big questions tackled by a CEOs for Cities Strategy Session last month in Portland, Oregon. CEOs for Cities believes that “quality of talent, quality of place, and quality of opportunity, driven by quality of leadership” is what determines the success of a city and they attempt to nail down the facts on those factors. About 100 urban leaders from across the country gathered in Portland to look at how innovation is shaping cities and to learn why Portland has become a model for attracting talented young people. Councilman Bill Peduto was invited to attend and has been involved with the group since 2007. He has also served as a presenter previously.

The real turnaround for Portland occurred when they demolished a waterfront freeway to make it now largely pedestrianized. As Robert Liberty, Executive Director of the Sustainable Cities Initiative put it, “We changed course not because we are different but became different because we changed course.” Some of that change in course included investment in light rail, streetcar, aerial tram and bicycle infrastructure. Alex Steffen, a world leader on sustainability, futurism and walkable urbanism, noted that, “Being able to live without a car is the gold standard for young people” and “If your city doesn’t offer this option anywhere within it, young people will not move there.” (More reason to celebrate Pittsburgh recently being rated as ”one of America’s safest metropolitan areas for walking.”)

It’s about asking “How can my city be the best version of itself?” Relying less on cars has obvious benefits for the environment, but it also helps to build community when we get out of our individual, private cars and meet our neighbors on the sidewalks and on public transit. But, it’s more than just about lessoning the traffic — it’s about building a culture of DIT (Do It Together). That involves residents relying on each other, such as when a “cluster economy” grows when a particular industry has success and other spin-off companies are created to support it. It also means that the citizens are active in making their city the best that it can be. It means cities which cater to people and people who are enabled to participate in the planning of their cities — placemaking.

The video below features Carol Coletta, who just stepped down as CEO of CEOs for Cities. In it, she talks about the need for a new “American Dream.” One that’s not automobile-centric. One that’s better suited to our new reality and which takes advantage of the ability of urban environments to enact “innovation, opportunity and efficiency.”

Electric_Vehicle_Conf_100622-16, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Antonio Villaraigosa’s photostream

ChargeCar is a project of Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute’s CREATE Lab. They’re hosting an open house today to unveil an all-electric 2002 Honda Civic. The car is a prototype for their ChargeCar Electric Vehicle Conversion Project. ChargeCar wants to change the way you drive by making electric cars both practical and affordable. Their goal is to revolutionize urban commuting. Best of all, they’ll start taking names today of people who would like to have their own converted vehicle. For now, they’ll only be converting Honda Civics, but plan to add other makes and models in the future. Attendees of the open house can ask questions of the ChargeCar team and representatives from local garages, take a test drive, and “kick the tires” so to speak. Councilman Bill Peduto is also scheduled to be on the program at the open house. There’s a $50 refundable deposit to get on the list and the expected cost of conversions will be discussed at the event.

According to CMU’s website, the cost of conversions won’t be negligible, but the advantages are worth it, says Illah Nourbakhsh, associate research professor of robotics and head of the CREATE Lab:

[C]onversion is a means of recycling and extending the life of older vehicles, while eliminating harmful emissions and supporting local mechanics and garages. Because each vehicle is customized, the size of the battery pack — the most expensive part of an electric car — can be determined based on the commuting needs of the vehicle owner/driver, he noted.

You can find out much more about ChargeCar at their website, including software that calculates the cost of commuting via electric car vs. a standard gasoline-powered vehicle.

ChargeCar Electric Vehicle Conversion Project Open House
Friday, March 25, 2011
3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Electric Garage
4621 Forbes Ave (Oakland)
Pittsburgh PA 15213 (map)

P1120468, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from wyliepoon’s photostream

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is the regional planning agency serving the Pittsburgh area (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland counties). Its responsibilities include planning and prioritizing the use of all state and federal transportation funds allocated to this region. Federal mandates include the publication of a 20-year plan, establishment of a 4-year improvement plan and development of a “unified” planning program which identifies all transportation planning activities currently underway. SPC offers the public an active role in the development of these plans and programs. To that end, they have a Public Participation Plan which outlines how they foster proactive participation in their process. They’ve recently updated their Public Participation Plan to “reflect the enhanced use of technology.” There’s a 45-day open comment period for the draft plan which began on February 28th and which will close on Friday, April 15, 2011 at 4pm (you can view the official notice here).

A presentation of the updated plan will be held at a meeting which is open to the public:

Thursday, March 24, 2011
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Xplorion Lobby
Regional Enterprise Tower
425 Sixth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

They will accept comments there. If you cannot make this meeting, written comments can also be made:

Via Email: comments@spcregion.org

Via Mial: SPC Comments, 425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 2500, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Via FAX: 412-391-9160

You can view the actual draft Public Participation Plan here (.PDF).

 

VO!CE of the Region

Here’s another way to voice your opinion. VO!CE of the Region is an online community of residents in our tri-state area who participate in polls, surveys and forums on local, regional and national topics of interest. Recent topics have included “Allegheny Riverfront & Mellon Arena site development; pros and cons of a City/County merger; Marcellus Shale: drilling, regulating, and educating the public on the facts and their rights; public transportation shortcomings and alternatives, and options for balancing the state’s budget. ” Participants include regional government, businesses and organizations. You can sign up to get started here.

 

INTA Communities of Competences

Lastly, INTA is a global effort to open up conversation. It’s an “association of public and private policy-makers and urban practitioners to share knowledge, experience and tools for integrated urban development.” The ultimate goal is to ensure that urban areas in the future will be more sustainable and more cohesive. The following Communities are currently active:

Urban Development in the New Economy: Workspace urbanism Рco-animated by Larry Barth (Architectural Association, London), Charles Lin (NCTU, Taiwan), R̩mi Feredj (RATP, Paris).

Innovative Metropolitan Development – co-animated by Paul Gerretsen (Deltametropolis, The Netherlands) and Abel Enguita (CEIM, Madrid).

Innovation, Services and Territories with sub groups on Tourism and Heritage, Health, Retail Рco-animated by Pascal Carr̩ (group ING), Christine Lor, Marc Bechet (Rh̫ne Alpes Tourism) and Joseph Tossavi (OGOLD, Benin). [In French]

Innovative Habitat – co-animated by Maurice Charrier (International Laboratory for Popular Habitat), Marek Bryx (Warsaw School of Economics), Mohamed Mbarki (Agency for the Eastern Provinces) and Marc Brabant (Logistransport).

Derry and Thompson, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from SimonP

In the video below, Dr. Brendan Williams of the University College Dublin School Of Geography, Planning & Environmental Policy speaks about the importance of urban planning for sustainable development. He breaks it down to two issues: the need to regenerate city centers (which have suffered from underinvestment and neglect) and the need to contain the outward spread of the city (urban sprawl). Urban sprawl can be seen as the opposite of sustainability. Its effects include a high dependence on cars (with resulting pollution and dependence on fossil fuel, and loss of time and productivity due to long commutes); high per-person infrastructure costs; high per-capita use of energy, land, and water; and a loss of rural land and biodiversity.

While Williams is in Dublin, this is not an issue local to his city, nor to his country — it is the same issue being addressed around the world. The question is: Can Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania change our economic and development strategies to meet the global challenge or will we be left behind? Williams asks us to consider what our cities will look like in 20 years. What will the consequences of our planning — or lack of planning — be to our environment in the future?

And speaking of urban sprawl, the Center for Neighborhood Technology has a new mapping tool to assess a neighborhood’s average household transportation costs. One of the reasons that people chose housing in the suburbs is because it’s often cheaper than housing in cities. However, they may fail to fully account for transportation expenses — the second highest expense for working Americans. While, typically, housing costs are considered affordable if they consume no more than 30% of income, the index factors in transportation costs into the mix and and comes up with a defined affordable range of 45% of income for both. You can go directly to their Housing + Transportation Affordability Index here.

Recently, several cities around the country have begun to look at the possibility of creating streetcar transportation systems. According to an article on Inhabitat, 22 US cities are considering instituting streetcar systems. Streetcars have appeal to several cities not only as a convenient, more environmentally friendly method of transportation, but also as a tool to spark economic development. The Inhabitat article states that in Portland, Oregon, which was the first city to build a streetcar system, “53 percent of the area’s downtown development has occurred along the streetcar line” since 1997.  In 2007 USA Today also looked at the reemergence of streetcars as a tool for green transportation and economic stimulus.

A Streetcar Name Forbes-Fifth

Imagine getting onboard a trolley at Market Square and being connected to:

Point Park University – Art Institute – Downtown – City and County Government – Duquesne University – Mercy Hospital – Palumbo Center – Uptown – Magee Hospital – Oakland – Carnegie Museum – Carnegie-Mellon University – Squirrel Hill – Chatham University – Frick Park – Penn Avenue – Homewood – Point Breeze – East Liberty – Shadyside – Shadyside Hospital – Hillman Cancer Center – University of Pittsburgh – Montefiore Hospital – Presbyterian Hospital – Petersen Event Center – Carlow University – Hill District – Consol Energy Center – Robert Morris University – and back downtown to Market Square.