TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES - EDUCATIONAL ARTICLES
How did America's transportation systems become what they are today? What hurdles will need to be overcome to create a more equitable built environment? Read the curated articles below for a more comprehensive view of the world as it stands.
9 Reasons the U.S. Ended Up So Much More Car-Dependent Than Europe
Ralph Buehler of Bloomberg's CityLab writes about the historical decisions that have shaped our transportation network to be what it is today.
The Real Story Behind the Demise of America's Once-Mighty Streetcars
How can a transportation network that spanned 17,000 miles disappear in a matter of decades? Vox's Joseph Stromberg writes about how cars - not consumer choice - killed the streetcar.
How Bikes Helped Invent American Highways
Anyone who says 'bikes don't belong on the road' doesn't understand how roads came to be. Margaret Guroff of "What It Means To Be An American" explains how bikes were instrumental in normalizing paved streets.
A Brief History Of How Racism Shaped Interstate Highways
Noel King of NPR takes on the painful history of how highways were intentionally placed to destroy or separate black neighborhoods.
What Big Oil Knew About Climate Change, In Its Own Words
Was the concept of "Global Warming" born in the 1970s via hippie activism? Nope. Benjamin Franta researched primary documents in which gasoline companies knew the consequences of burning their products as early as 1959.
Why Pedestrians, Cyclists, and Drivers Hate On Each Other
For a more multi-modal world, people will have to consciously identify their biases towards those who aren't using the transportation that they currently are. David Staples addresses the concept of "modal bias".