US still moving briskly in the wrong direction - sprawl accelerates in Austin, TX

bizjournals.com : "And downtown Austin is indeed a more popular place to live than ever. However, contrary to the popular narratives, Redfin Corp. finds that Austin homebuyers are actually moving farther from the urban core, rather than closer to it. That's bad news for traffic, which is cited as one of Austin's biggest problems."

Atlanta sprawl fueled by racism

A post-automobile world?: "“The white people in the suburbs saw MARTA as a way for black people to come to their counties, and they didn’t want it,” Atlanta Magazine writer Doug Monroe told the HPR. The common refrain among suburbanites was that MARTA stood for “Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta,” he said."

Georgia newspaper calls for more public transit, fewer studies

Editorials | valdostadailytimes.com: "Leaders don’t like to talk about poverty in their community. 

Let’s be honest, we have significant poverty in our city and metro area.  

Affordable public transportation provides an essential service, especially for those trying to climb out of poverty who may not have other means to get to work, doctor’s appointments or take care of other family needs. 

Pretending this problem does not exist does not make the problem go away. 

Funding a massive public transportation system is daunting, and frankly is probably not possible. 

A public-private partnership, or even a partnership with Valdosta State University, is far more attractive than a government-run system that would not operate efficiently and could be a black hole in the budgets of local governments. 

The pilot shuttle program, however, has demonstrated that an expanded, permanent, shuttle-type service could have a significant positive impact on the community. "

Before business relocates, they ask, "got transit?"

Ketron pitches mass transit bill: ""That sends a message to the rest of the world that we're open for business," said Ketron, who noted that industries want to know that sufficient mass transit is available before they bring operations and jobs there. "We don't want Austin, (Texas), to get ahead of us, and I think that's who we're competing with.""

Want millennials? Got #transit?

pilotonline.com: "They gravitate toward urban living that is walkable, bikeable and has easy public transportation. More than two-thirds of millennials place high-quality transportation in their top three concerns when evaluating where to live, according to the Rockefeller Foundation. Three-fourths expect to live in a place where they will not need a car."

Uber teams with Florida city on public transit test

Daily Mail Online : "Altamonte Springs has budgeted $500,000, partly from local businesses, for a year-long study during which it will pick up 20 percent of all Uber rides in city limits, and 25 percent for those to or from its SunRail station.

"It is infinitely cheaper than the alternatives," said Martz, whose city has a population of about 43,000 and median income of $50,000. "A mile of road costs tens of millions of dollars. You can operate this for decades on $10 million.""