Living Cities Movement

Discussion

"Here's where the livable cities movement is going next, according to (Mark) Gorton:

1. More sophisticated open source city models

Planning software will add land use factors, so that towns and cities can ensure that transportation line up better with zoning. The two issues are intertwined in reality, so the model needs to reflect that.

2. Federal funding could come into play

The Obama administration might pump federal dollars into bike lanes, public space reclamation, traffic calming, and maybe even open-source urban planning projects.

3. Blogs and videos

He funds two social websites: Streetsblog.org, which employs seven full-time reporters and editors who cover "the livable streets movement" and Streetfilms.org, for which a three-person film crew chronicles innovative traffic solutions from around the world. A typical story on the new San Francisco version of Streetsblog concerns the potential destruction of the bike lane on Octavia.

4. Buses will become even more like trains

Buses have already learned a few tricks from trains: pre-paid tickets, elevated platforms, multiple doors and dedicated lanes. Bogota, Columbia recently implemented many of these recommendations." (http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/01/mark-gorton-ceo.html)