Recent Posts by Noah
Happy Trails
Happy Trails
Three months ago we launched TheCityFix DC, the first local blog in TheCityFix’s network. It’s been quite a lot of fun writing for it but, as they say, all good things must come to an end. It’s finally time to ...
Bringing SeeClickFix to D.C.: Join Us!
Bringing SeeClickFix to D.C.: Join Us!
TheCityFix DC talks a lot about how we’d like to see D.C. change. We’re also committed to making sure that your voices get heard. That (and the similar names!) is why we’ve teamed up with SeeClickFix to try and spread ...
Immigrants and the Future of Sustainable Transportation
Immigrants and the Future of Sustainable Transportation
Joel Kotkin and his website New Geography can be frustrating—Kotkin can be an apologist for sprawl—but they can also be invaluable. That latter quality was on full display today in Prof. Ali Modarres’ expert breakdown of census data showing that ...
Le Corbusier's Revenge
Le Corbusier's Revenge
Conventional wisdom on urban history states a few things exceedingly clearly. Perhaps the most axiomatic belief about cities is that brutalist architecture is not only ugly but thoroughly destructive. Boston’s City Hall Plaza is perhaps the most loathed example in ...
Returning to Gentrification's Forgotten Block
Returning to Gentrification's Forgotten Block
Alex Block has a response up to my Gentrification’s Forgotten Block series (here, here and here) over at his very, very good blog, The City Block. It gets a lot right and a lot wrong, so I want to respond ...
Union Station Bike Station Good for Existing Riders, Symbolism
Union Station Bike Station Good for Existing Riders, Symbolism
To let us know that it was moving forward on its Bicycle Transit Center  near Union Station, DDOT updated its Facebook account with a set of new pictures. New media! The station is looking like it’s nearing completion; installation of ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 3: Conclusion
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 3: Conclusion
Having already discussed the specific sites of the Government Printing Office and the Gales School, it’s now time to step back and look at the ecology of the entire block of G Street NW, between North Capitol and Massachusetts. Taken ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 2: Gales School
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 2: Gales School
In part one of my series on G Street, I discussed the Government Printing Office and the paradoxes that putting light industry in an office district creates for urbanists. In this section, I will discuss the Gales School. Again, the ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 1: The GPO
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 1: The GPO
Between North Capitol and Massachusetts Avenue, G Street NW is a block of urbanist paradox. Two sites, the Government Printing Office and the Gales School, pose difficult to answer questions about the proper place for older, grittier urban uses in ...
Purple Line to be Light Rail
Purple Line to be Light Rail
Gov. O’Malley has made his decision on the Purple Line: it’ll be light rail, as has been increasingly clear over the last couple of months. TheCityFix has been an advocate for high-quality bus rapid transit in the past, but let’s ...
Prince George's County: Sprawl, Not Metro Access, Is Biggest Problem
Prince George's County: Sprawl, Not Metro Access, Is Biggest Problem
Over at Greater Greater Washington, David Alpert is arguing that Prince George’s County isn’t building enough transit-oriented development around its Metro stations. In his words, “Prince George’s County is completely failing to take advantage of its existing Metro infrastructure.” The ...
Zipcar Gets Some Competition
Zipcar Gets Some Competition
[/caption Via Eric Britton’s World Streets, Dave Brooks is writing about the new wave of carsharing businesses that are entering the market. Depending on your perspective, the companies coming onto the market are either completely unlikely, or entirely obvious. Namely, ...
Seeing Cities as Islands and What Cars Are Good For
Seeing Cities as Islands and What Cars Are Good For
The Mother Nature Network has a slideshow up showing seven car-free cities around the world. What’s interesting is that the majority are tiny islands and heavily reliant on the tourist industry. The largest “city,” Venice, is just a lot of ...
Use SeeClickFix to Send Your K Street Comments
Use SeeClickFix to Send Your K Street Comments
Following up on my earlier post about the K Street Transitway, you can also express your support for the K Street Transitway using SeeClickFix. SeeClickFix is a website that allows you to publicly map problems in your city that need ...
Critical K Street Transitway Needs Your Help
Critical K Street Transitway Needs Your Help
It’s sometimes said that the stimulus bill was the first transportation bill. That’s basically correct; you can’t go anywhere in the transportation world without hearing how a given project was, will be, or hopefully might be a stimulus grant recipient. ...
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