From HOT lanes to a hot year and from fights over parking to fights over supreme court decisions, here are some of our more popular articles from the year
People (or Bots) Read These Articles This Year
Selling Our Souls (and Train Cars) to Amazon
Weekly Links: Our incentives to lure the company included Amazon-only MARTA rail cars and renaming streets after Amazon products. Plus:
1.) Atlanta plans to combat minimum parking requirements, something that should unite the left and right; and
2.) How NIMBYism and anti-density movements are eerily similar to voter suppression efforts.
Ice Displaces Water, So Melting Ice Won’t Cause Oceans to Rise
Weekly Links: water does expand when it freezes, but this theory is missing some critical facts. Plus, the Supreme Court isn’t buying the argument that advertising toxic substances is a protected speech under the 1st Amendment. And, more parking is needed for the Olympics, so Tokyo’s famous fish market has to go.
Atlanta’s Livability Score Plummets Due to Riots
This week, a global livability study says Atlanta fell in the rankings due to riots. Ah…okay. Also, as part of the ongoing Amazon charade, Atlanta will apparently offer the company $1 billion in incentives to locate their HQ2 campus in the downtown gulch. And Atlanta officials are finally treating public signs like works of art that actually try to inform people of rules.
Booting is Confusing, Unfair, and Counterproductive
Business owners have a legitimate interest in maximizing the number of people who can use their parking spaces. Immobilizing improperly parked vehicles in those spaces is a poor way of addressing the issue and masks the overall need for better land use policy.
You Don’t Own That Parking Spot in Front of Your House
Throwing eggs and leaving angry notes are just a couple ways people have shown their dissatisfaction with someone parking in front of their house on a public street. These actions come despite the angry note leaver or egg thrower having no legal right to the parking spot. While parking restrictions may be necessary in some situations, burdensome auto abandonment laws and inappropriate restrictions could raise rents and create more trouble.
As Young People Make Their Voices Heard, College Republicans Take a Stand on Climate Change
This week, College Republicans join other young Americans in the quest to get politicians to confront urgent problems. Also, trailer parks can teach us something about good urban planning, Atlanta gets serious about transit, and a beautiful video showing the impact of light pollution on the night sky.
Live Free or Park in Reverse
To start off, we should address one of the claims by Eugene: that the state of New Hampshire should not be in the business of telling people what to do because its motto is “Live free or die.” Although clearly intended to be humorous, Eugene’s interpretation of the motto is philosophically lacking. Freedom is not always encouraged by doing whatever you want whenever you want.
