Train Talk
May 21st, 2009 Chris
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The Infrastructurist and Michael Dukakis talk trains:
It’s a chicken and egg thing. If you build first-class rail-based public transportation systems, over time you’ll get the kind of cities you want. Boston was in bad shape in the 60s when we were having this ten year debate over the so-called master highway plan. We were doing the same thing as everyone else, building highways and inviting people to leave town. Well, today Boston is arguably the most successful city in the country. Why? Because we stopped building highways. Admittedly we had a subway in place. But it was in terrible shape. This isn’t complicated: fixed rail produces dense, walkable cities. Highways produce sprawl. Take your pick.
