Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons^™

The Road Not Taken, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Defends Jacksonville's annexation of its Duval County suburbs, and compares Jacksonville's post-annexation fate with that of less elastic southern cities.

Sprawl, Y'All, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Explains why conservatives should be worried about suburban sprawl.

Circular Logic, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Criticizes cul-de-sacs on the ground that they detract from neighborhood walkability, and proposes a variety of alternatives.

Lots Of It, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Criticizes municipal minimum parking requirements.

Pedestrian Safety Is Not A Tort, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

In recent decades, American state and local highway officials have built wide streets and roads designed primarily to accommodate high-speed automobile traffic. However, such high-speed streets are more dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists than streets with slower traffic, and thus fail to adequately accommodate nondrivers. Government officials design streets for high-speed traffic partially because of their fear of tort liability. An influential street engineering manual, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ “Green Book”, has generally favored the construction of such high-speed streets, and transportation planners fear that if they fail to follow the Green Book’s recommendations, they …

Why Pedestrian-Friendly Street Design Is Not Negligent, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

American streets are typically designed for fast automobile traffic. As a result, those streets are often dangerous for pedestrians.

In part, the anti-pedestrian design of American streets is a result of transportation planners' perceptions of American tort law. In negligent street design cases, courts and juries sometimes rely upon guidelines set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), a national association of government transportation officials. Because AASHTO's street-design rules have historically favored wide streets built to accommodate high-speed traffic, planners sometimes assume that in order to avoid liability, they must do the same.

The purpose of …