Friday News Digest

As I prepare to walk out the door for a winter getaway with my family (although we do call it "spring break" here -- not sure why), I'm likely going to have to forsake the News Digest this week. My flight leaves in just ten hours and at some point I need to sleep a little and then pack my bags. I'm kind of disappointed too because the news this week was a treasure trove of riches for us to chat about. I'll try and do a catchup upon my return.

I can report with certainty that Monday's post will be the finale, finale, finale of the series we've been doing this year on the comparison between the old block and the new. Monday you will get "From the Mayor's Office (Part 3)", which I promise to make into a great podcast sometime soon. Then we get on to new things. Not sure what yet....that is what vacation is for.

I do want to share two things though before signing off. In response to Monday's post on the institutional malpractice of the engineering profession's continued embrace of the "forgiving design" approach to local roads and streets, I received a number of emails from people who said they were civil engineers. I'm going to share one quote (not including the name because I don't have permission and I doubt the individual is up this late to even ask).

I am sometimes embarrassed to be part of a profession that waited 40 to 50 years for research on whether or not their Forgiving Highway theories actually worked... and then, it wasn't the industry itself that explored the topic. It is almost criminal to think about how many people have died based on an untested application of Freeway Theory to urban streets.

Wow. I totally agree.

Finally, my friend George Linkert shared the following video on Facebook this week. I first saw this clip and heard Neil DeGrasse Tyson utter this statement on a National Geographic Channel show and it made me weep like a baby. They have added some cheesy background music very unnecessarily in this video, but is is still worth listening to. "Many people feel small because they are small and the universe is big, but I feel big."

The universe is in us. Peace to you all. Be back with you soon.

Planning to be in L.A. for the APA conference in April? Live in the Anaheim area? Are you a fan of Strong Towns and Walt Disney? As a fundraiser for Strong Towns, we are providing a special opportunity for six people to get a "planner's tour" of Disneyland. See the Happiest Place on Earth through the eyes of Strong Towns. Click here for more information and to register. This is going to be a really fun time.