The Democrats under Chuck Schumer are proposing a big federal infrastructure bill. The Pretender in Chief is also proposing a big infrastructure program funded by tax credits. Both are quite different, aside from the word “infrastructure”, but they are similar in that they are both big programs and both bad policy and both will raise […]
David Fickling at Bloomberg writes: One Big Chinese Lesson for America’s Infrastructure Plan It’s not just about laying down tracks for superfast trains. It’s about letting the public sector benefit from increasing land values. My quotes: Measures to levy fees on the local property owners, such as the special assessment zones used to finance projects like Seattle’s South […]
Now available: A Political Economy of Access: Infrastructure, Networks, Cities, and Institutions by David M. Levinson and David A. King, in paper and PDF. About the Book Why should you read another book about transport and land use? This book differs in that we won’t focus on empirical arguments – we present political arguments. We argue […]
A Pedestrian Bill of Rights (v.0.1) Pedestrians have the right to safely and conveniently walk along and cross any public right-of-way without regards to who they are, with whom they are associating, when or why they are traveling, or where they are coming from or going to. #NoPoliceStops In the event of a conflict with […]
I wrote a piece for the Van Alen Institute: Infrastructure Spending Done Right. This is part of a wider Van Alen Report: America’s Infrastructure, including articles by Nicole DuPuis, The Age of the Smart City, Julian Brave Noisecat: Disruption Beyond Standing Rock, Steven Friess: Lesson’s from Flint’s Water Crisis, and Aaron Betsky: Good Design over Grand […]
In late November, I appeared on NPR Here and Now discussing “The Economics for and Against Trump’s Infrastructure Plan” I thought it went well, so I got a transcript made for another project, so here it is for the record. Speaker 1 is the host Robin Young. It’s rough, because it is spoken rather than written language. […]
A South Korean magazine, Economy Chosun, asked my opinion of the recent Trump plan. Update: This has now appeared in print (in Korean). My answers (in English) below. Questions 1. What do you think about the US President Elect Donald Trump’s $1 Trillion 10-Year Infrastructure Plan? (Is it realistic? Much needed in consideration of the current […]
I know what you are thinking, a Presidential nominee of a once serious political party has proposed to build a wall on the border with a foreign country, and “make them pay for it“. This sounds absurd. It is. It won’t happen. Yet there is infrastructure we can have with no money down. We can […]
In his 1996 State of the Union Address, then President Clinton said twice “The era of big Government is over.” Clearly it was not. While government spending ebbs and flows, big government continues to be a feature of American society. A Political Economy of Access: Infrastructure, Networks, Cities, and Institutions by David M. Levinson and […]
Jim Pethokoukis at AEI writes about what Republican transportation policy should look like. I am glad my ideas are being embraced by both AEI and the Obama administration. University of Minnesota Transportation expert and must-follow blogger David Levinson was recently asked what he would do to help low-income residents if given $1 billion to spend. Now […]
David Levinson, Transportist 
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