Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation, has varying degrees of authority over different transportation modes – from roads, to public transit, airports and rail. However, most of the department’s revenues are sunk into the state highway system, as shown in the illustration below. Years of over-investing in new highways, at the expense of other modes have left […]
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Understanding Changes in Walking and Biking in America’s Cities
With so much information at our fingertips day in and day out, sifting through it for clarity and analysis can be challenging. One of the things we try to do at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin is to shed light on underlying trends and patterns that can help communities make better decisions about design, services, and […]
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Transportation and health: How we travel can keep us fit
For most of us, driving is a way of life. We drive to work, school, grocery stores, restaurants, theaters and even the gym. America’s massive investments in roads and highways have provided us with comfort, access and mobility. These conveniences however, have come at a price. Our auto-centric transportation system has spawned sedentary lifestyles that […]
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Bird, Bike, Bus
One of my proudest accomplishments in 2013 was not always using my car to get to work. I have always been a car person. I grew up in the country miles away from everyone who lived in town. I remember being jealous of friends who could walk or bike to each other’s houses and play. I […]
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Public Space Priorities
In our series on how to measure and interpret the sustainability and livability of our communities, we continue today on the theme of public space priorities. We know that walkability is important and that creating a better pedestrian environment improves the economy and vitality of our communities. Making choices for better walkability also goes hand […]
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Parking Space Or People Space?
As we continue our research into what makes a community healthy, sustainable, and livable, we can use maps and geographic data to reveal new underlying trends and identify areas where our communities need improvement. We are using our home base of Madison, Wisconsin, as our test case, but the types of analysis we are doing […]
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