Newsroom

Mar 2, 2011

“To stay ahead the Washington area must think regionally.” That was the headline of a recent piece by Lisa Rother in the Washington Business Journal on the region’s future. As the headline indicates the piece is a call for unity which is necessary in a region composed of two states the District and 21 local governments.

Mar 1, 2011

Joel Kotkin is an author and scholar on urban land-use issues and a supporter of the proliferation of automobile-oriented sprawl an unsustainable pattern of development. This often places his priorities counter to those of Region Forward. However in a recent piece for Metropolis Magazine Kotkin makes a case that we here at The Morning Measure can agree with: premier cities need to be more inclusive and provide greater opportunities for advancement.

Feb 28, 2011

From debating the merits of skyscrapers to debating how to best allocate funds as austerity grips local state and federal leaders we’ve covered a lot of topics lately at The Yardstick and it’s been awhile since our previous post round-up so here are some of the highlights of topics covered in January and February:

Feb 25, 2011

There’s an ad campaign that’s been running on the New York City Subway for awhile featuring somewhat grotesque images of liquid fat being poured into common sugary drinks like soda and “fruit” punch. The message is purposefully graphic to get the point across: obesity is a major problem and simply cutting out these empty calories is a good start to shedding excess weight.

Feb 24, 2011

We know that Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker gets Region Forward and its emphasis on building walkable sustainable communities with access to transit. He talked about it back in December. Now he’s apparently backing up that talk with action.

Feb 23, 2011

On February 23, 2011, residents, governmental representatives, and private sector representatives from Northern Virginia, primarily from Arlington and Fairfax Counties, attended a COG Helicopter Community Forum. This event was a follow up to two previous meetings on helicopter noise, a September 22, 2010 public forum and a November 30, 2010 briefing for local elected officials by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Feb 23, 2011

Pursuing sustainability is a major goal of Region Forward as well as of the President and many leaders in Congress. Policy decisions regarding land use/development and energy creation/consumption will determine whether meeting that goal will become a reality.

Feb 22, 2011

Last week The Morning Measure looked at President Obama’s proposed budgets for transportation and energy . Overall those two areas of the budget are increasingly focused on providing more targeted funding going to areas that are expected to reap returns through increased competitiveness in the future (funding for quicker more reliable passenger rail and research in clean energy for example). With economic growth one of the Administration’s primary goals this is a good strategy. A recent ​

Feb 18, 2011

Ed Glaesar Harvard economist and well-known urban thinker has a new book out that’s getting a lot of attention especially considering its subject matter. I mean seriously who would have thought that urban planning would get a segment on The Daily Show ? The book is called Triumph of the City and in it Glaesar argues that the city has returned to its place as the center of economic activity in the U.S. at precisely the same time that megacities around the world such as Mumbai and Shanghai a

Feb 17, 2011

Metro is an indispensable asset to our region. It provides an environmentally sustainable alternative to auto transport and helps alleviate some of our region’s infamous traffic congestion. Metro provides an important physical connection between the three major parts of metro Washington – Virginia D.C. and Maryland. And it really needs money.