Urben Field Notes

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San Francisco’s old housing policy regime was a world-historical failure. What comes next?
The city is stepping into the urban planning unknown, with the rest of California following close behind.
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Benjamin Schneider
10
The future of transit in LA, explained
LA is America's 21st century transit laboratory. Here's the good, the bad, and the weird.
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Benjamin Schneider
2
October 2023
America's Unsung Rail Renaissance
High-speed rail is a ways off, but vastly improved conventional rail is right around the corner. Let us count the ways.
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Benjamin Schneider
2
September 2023
The Magic of Electrified Trains
Electrified Caltrain service will finally demonstrate the benefits of this proven technology to American cities
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Benjamin Schneider
3
The State-Sanctioned Urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
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Benjamin Schneider
August 2023
A Robotaxi Regulation Wishlist
The decisions San Francisco and California make now will have a tremendous precedent-setting impact.
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Benjamin Schneider
5
July 2023
Enough with the feel-good architecture
It’s time to get real about the complexities and compromises inherent to city building.
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Benjamin Schneider
June 2023
Robotaxis and the case for public policy accelerationism
Could this disruptive technology force a reckoning with the role of cars in cities?
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Benjamin Schneider
2
California is on the brink of a transportation nightmare
Will California leaders follow New York’s lead and fund transit? Or will the Golden State give up on urbanism?
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Benjamin Schneider
1
May 2023
A Genealogy of Gentrification
First-wave gentrifiers defined gentrification. We’re still stuck in their semantic trap.
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Benjamin Schneider
April 2023
What's holding America's freeway removal movement back?
Despite winning federal favor, freeway removal projects still face hurdles at the local level
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Benjamin Schneider
March 2023
Austin's light rail system starts to take shape
The city has big transit ambitions, but will they be canceled out by a similarly large freeway expansion?
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Benjamin Schneider
© 2023 Benjamin Schneider
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