Newsroom

May 6, 2011

We’ve got a short but fun Global Fridays piece today on the little heard of topic of personal rapid transit or PRT (a topic which is likely little heard of unless you’re a transportation dork like some of us). The inspiration for this post is found across the pond at London Heathrow Airport in the UK which this week began passenger trials for its PRT service connecting passengers from parking areas to terminals.

May 5, 2011

While we’re sure most of our readers have already signed up for Bike to Work Day 2011 if you haven’t had the chance you can go ahead and register now . Bike to Work Day has grown from a small event with a few hundred participants when it began over a decade ago to a region-wide event in which over 9000 people took part last year. Surely the program’s expansion into more parts of the District Maryland and Virginia was a catalyst for some of that growth but a general momentum in favor of bikin

May 4, 2011

Arlington County Board Member Jay Fisette, who is also Chairman of COG’s Climate, Energy, and Environment Policy Committee was joined by John Mataya, COG Regional Planner, on Bruce DePuyt’s NewsTalk program on NewsChannel8 to discuss Green Building Trends, a recently released report by COG on the progress the region is making towards adopting green building.

May 4, 2011

A COG Forum brought together representatives from local governments, utilities, and electric vehicle suppliers to discuss how local governments in the region can plan for and encourage the use of electric vehicles. Falls Church Vice Mayor David Snyder and other forum participants were interviewed by News Channel 8 and WUSA9.

May 3, 2011

Despite the market demand for transit-oriented mixed-use development and the multiple studies that prove that location decisions have the greatest impact on a building’s environmental footprint Congress and certain federal agencies appear to be disregarding those significant pieces of information.

May 3, 2011

Stuart Freudberg, Director of COG’s Department of Environmental Programs, was invited by The Washington Post to participate in a live online Q&A on April 28 to discuss environmental issues and the progress metropolitan Washington is making in terms of sustainability.

Apr 29, 2011

President Obama wants to double America’s exports over the next few years. Given our massive trade deficit that’s probably a good goal. However there’s one thing we shouldn’t attempt to export: bad planning.

Apr 27, 2011

When most people think of green buildings they envision slick new buildings such as the National Association of Realtors building near Capitol Hill. Others might imagine more specific features like composting toilets and passive heating which can be found at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation headquarters. However some of the most sustainable green buildings bear few of these more glamorous green building hallmarks (advanced window glazing and shade louvers for example).

Apr 26, 2011

There is a vein of criticism of the urban planning field which argues that planners should get out of the way and stop trying to make people conform to what they perceive as the best land-use and transportation policies (i.e. mixed-use sustainable development near transit).

Apr 22, 2011

As Europe continues to innovate in the high-speed rail sector building ever quicker and more sustainable trains and prioritizing high-speed rail as the preferred method of travel across the continent the U.S. continues to stumble along with insufficient investment and low prioritization.