Author Archives: Steve Miller

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: Three Choices, None Simple

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Steve Miller

There can be no question about the transformative power of today’s metropolitan economy.  Major cities around the country hope to ride the wave of the growing financial, research-based, and digital business sectors.  City leaders are doing what they can to make the place attractive to exploding numbers of higher-income young professionals these firms employ as […] Continue reading →

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ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Steve Miller

Public Health has its origins in catastrophe, the realization that if an out-of-the-ordinary pestilence is suddenly sickening large numbers of people there must be a general cause rather than individual failures.  In contrast to Medicine, which traditionally is about treating an individual’s existing disease, Public Health seeks to keep large groups from getting sick.  In […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Public Health, Road Design, TRANSPORTATION HEALTH and SAFETY, Walking | Comments Off on ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Steve Miller

Public Health has its origins in catastrophe, the realization that if an out-of-the-ordinary pestilence is suddenly sickening large numbers of people there must be a general cause rather than individual failures.  In contrast to Medicine, which traditionally is about treating an individual’s existing disease, Public Health seeks to keep large groups from getting sick.  In […] Continue reading →

Posted in news, Public Health, Road Design, TRANSPORTATION HEALTH and SAFETY, Walking | Comments Off on ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s now semi-official – everyone agrees that the MBTA needs both reform and revenue.  No one says (publicly) that the current T and Commuter Rail budget is too big for its mission.  And that’s where the agreement ends – with the question of what is the MBTA’s mission, vision, and values:  what exactly are we […] Continue reading →

Posted in Government Reform, MassDOT Transformation, news, transit, Transit & Livability | Comments Off on THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s now semi-official – everyone agrees that the MBTA needs both reform and revenue.  No one says (publicly) that the current T and Commuter Rail budget is too big for its mission.  And that’s where the agreement ends – with the question of what is the MBTA’s mission, vision, and values:  what exactly are we […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Government Reform, MassDOT Transformation, transit, Transit & Livability | Comments Off on THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Steve Miller

Having a vision of the kind of city you want is an essential foundation for purposeful and effective governance.  Some cities do a coherent overall process, such as Somerville’s SomerVision or Boston’s forthcoming Imagine Boston 2030.  Cambridge has constructed its vision together piecemeal, through policies around a variety of quantitative and qualitative issues.  In either […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety, Walking | Comments Off on QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Steve Miller

Having a vision of the kind of city you want is an essential foundation for purposeful and effective governance.  Some cities do a coherent overall process, such as Somerville’s SomerVision or Boston’s forthcoming Imagine Boston 2030.  Cambridge has constructed its vision together piecemeal, through policies around a variety of quantitative and qualitative issues.  In either […] Continue reading →

Posted in news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety, Walking | Comments Off on QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Steve Miller

Every street should be safe for walking and bicycling.  This is an essential component of the Complete Streets design philosophy that has emerged in recent years as the “new normal” for roads – although the gap between policy and practice often remains wide.   Because the core issue is mobility, Advocates compliment this “everywhere for everyone” […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Steve Miller

Every street should be safe for walking and bicycling.  This is an essential component of the Complete Streets design philosophy that has emerged in recent years as the “new normal” for roads – although the gap between policy and practice often remains wide.   Because the core issue is mobility, Advocates compliment this “everywhere for everyone” […] Continue reading →

Posted in news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

OUT OF THE SNOW, INTO THE PARKING MESS

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Steve Miller

Parking is a problem. When it snows it’s a nightmare. We start looking around, getting frustrated, maybe nasty. There seem to be parking spots everywhere except where we want to go. Parking is the explosive trap door of community transportation meetings – anything that reduces the number of spots anywhere evokes outcry. This winter’s climate […] Continue reading →

Posted in Boston Transportation, Commentary & Analysis, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, parking | Comments Off on OUT OF THE SNOW, INTO THE PARKING MESS