There is a new PBS series airing and its timing couldn't be better. Blueprint America takes an in-depth look at our countries crumbling transit and infrastructure and what's being done to drag our fossil fuel gorging culture into the 21st century. Far from your typical didactic PBS fare, this series explores our checkered transit history (tearing out urban streetcar systems in favor of cars and highways) and current efforts to jump start high-speed rail projects around the country. We hear so much about "transit orientated development" but it doesn't have much resonance unless your a city planner or property developer. This show will change that and show how efficiency and prosperity can go hand in hand.
If you live Downtown, your already transit orientated by nature of being in a city. What's exciting in San Francisco is that construction on our high-speed rail line will begin soon with the impending demolition of the TransBay Terminal. Once clear, the site will be excavated for construction of the "train box" that will sit below the eventual TransBay Tower.
While I'm geeking out on planning things, I should also tell you about an organization called America 2050. From their website:
"A national initiative to meet the infrastructure, economic development and environmental challenges of the nation as we prepare to add about 130 million additional Americans by the year 2050."
By 2035, two million of those Americans will be living in the Bay Area. The Downtown skyline may fill in faster than we thought.
Monday, February 8, 2010
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