Midtown Dialogues - The Urban Experience

The Midtown Alliance in Atlanta organized a panel discussion today about what makes an exceptional urban experience in urban areas.

On the panel, from left to right:

1. John Moores, Architect, Gensler (Moderator)
2. Anne Dennington, Executive Director, Flux Projects
3. Chris Martorella, President of Investment Management, Integral Group
4. Kwanza Hall, Atlanta City Council
5. Steve Simon, Founder/Partner, Fifth Group Restaurants

Here are my few takeaways from this panel discussion. For the most part, the discussion echoes Midtown Alliance's annual meeting back in February. Looking forward to hear progress updates for ongoing projects.

1. Good design and amenities: What is already figured out:
• Walk, live, work, play, and dog parks.
• Connectivity.
• Great mix of retail, food, arts, education, and green space.
• Housing projects that make sense.
• The "bones for growth" are in place.
2. Demographic needs
• People who create jobs (downturn survival).
• Investors.
• Retain university graduates (young people define where the jobs go, examples Silicon Valley and Denver).
3. Transportation needs
• Rethink the public perception about MARTA.
• Bike lanes.
4. Artistic needs
• Someone needs to come up with a vision and plan.
• The city has ultimate leadership on arts initiatives.
• Leverage the talent and infrastructure available to support art and food events.
5. Challenges
• Safety (in the back streets).
• Accessibility (from Airport and other parts of town; for locals and visitors).
• "Do things very well and people will talk about you." - Atlanta's food scenery is quite well developed.
• Value quality of life and improve the work/life balance.
• Atlanta's spread makes it "difficult to make things visible."
• Pursue more "Attractive Development" projects.
• Generate the same "buzz" and goodwill as university incubators and research labs currently do.

YPT with Paul Morris, Atlanta BeltLine CEO

Last week, YPT (Young Professionals in Transportation) hosted a talk with Atlanta BeltLine CEO Paul Morris (picture credit beltline.org).

Here are a few notes I took away:

• "What is the first thing you do when you move in a new home? - You make it yours." We also shape cities to make them ours and project that impression to the world.  
• "You have been selected because you have two ears." Reach out, "inject [yourself]", and listen to the needs of your community.
• Engineers can do great good if given the right problem to solve by their managers.
• On making an impact at NCDOT working on all highway transportation: picked many projects/policies without fear of failure, now the projects have gone far enough that nobody can undo them.
• On the BeltLine reshaping Atlanta: Atlanta's neighborhoods have always been divided by highways, railroads. Some streets that change names one side or the other from an intersection are the remnants of that time. The BeltLine concept cancels these divisions, hence the catch phrase "Where Atlanta comes together."

 More info: here, here, here.

Fw: Forget saving the planet, driving an electric car will save your life

Via Yahoo/The Atlantic

[...] There is one argument for taking action against global warming that has resonated: health. When the Koch brothers and two Texas oil companies bankrolled a California ballot initiative in 2010 to gut the state’s landmark global warming law, billionaire activists activist Tom Steyer and his allies defeated the measure in part by arguing not that it would lead to climate catastrophe but would harm Californians’ health by allowing petroleum giants to pollute while keeping smog-creating cars on the road. A study released this week by the Environmental Defense Fund and the California chapter of the American Lung Association analyzed the impact of California’s cap-and-trade emissions program—which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020—as well as the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which mandates a 10 percent reduction in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 2020.

Continue reading here.

Fw: Advanced Concrete Means Little Maintenance For A Century

(Via LinkedIn and GE)

This article from Txnologist describes a new material for road pavements that requires less maintenance and provides increased rolling performance. The concept and writing is nice. Beware, the comments that follow are pretty retarded.

Fw: Electric Bus Breaks World Record by Traveling 700 Miles in One Day

Via Inhabitat.com and Engadget

Electric buses might get closer to becoming reality in small urban areas. Small cities tend to run fewer bus routes and fewer vehicles, so it would be easier to deploy a small fleet of electric buses and charging stations there.  Benefits are significant in terms of pollution and through a modern image of mass transit systems.

Read more at this link and dream of a future with all electric transit buses. Also, the source Engadget article has a few other topics on climate change, railroad planning, electric bikes and forests.

MARTA increasing Atlanta rail and bus frequencies

After several years of drastic service cuts, MARTA is breathing some new life into its bus and rail system, to the benefit of all Atlanta commuters. On a commuter information screen, starting Monday, rush hour might look as follows from Midtown Atlanta:

• Trains every 5 minutes on main line trunks,
• Trains every 10 minutes in line branches,
• Increased frequency on select bus routes.

These improvements have been expected for a long time. Now it is time to enjoy the ride.

May 5-10: Big Data Week in Atlanta

If you are in Atlanta, don't miss Big Data Week with events featuring speakers from multiple industries and government (including Atlanta Mayor) and around multiple themes such as artificial intelligence, data governance, business intelligence. These concepts increasingly apply to all domains, including energy and transportation. Most events are free with some kind of food and drinks served, so enjoy!

French Press: Truths about Diesel Fuel, Cycling Revives Cities

From Liberation on April 7, 2014, touching on fuels, pollution, and alternatives to restore mobility and livability in cities:

• Truths about Diesel Fuel
• Bicycles to revive cities

(photo credit  Laurent TROUDE, liberation.fr)