Category: Urban Systems

Why Metro Systems Can Make Themselves More Resilient to Pandemics by Being Less Dependent on Rider Fees

Why Metro Systems Can Make Themselves More Resilient to Pandemics by Being Less Dependent on Rider Fees

Why Metro Systems Can Make Themselves More Resilient to Pandemics by Being Less Dependent on Rider Fees

12/13/22

“Why can metro systems make themselves more resilient to pandemics by being less dependent on rider fees?”

Charging rider fees is a common funding mechanism for metro systems. But being too reliant can cause lead to revenue shortfalls during pandemics. One way to increase resilience against these events is to shift the funding basis away from rider fees. This way transit companies are not beholden to the presence of riders. This is Why Metro Systems Can Make Themselves More Resilient to Pandemics by Being Less Dependent on Rider Fees.

Why Rider Fees-Dependent Metro Systems Suffered Greatly During the COVID Onset

Why Rider Fees-Dependent Metro Systems Suffered Greatly During the COVID Onset

Why Rider Fees-Dependent Metro Systems Suffered Greatly During the COVID Onset

12/12/22

“Why did rider fee-dependent metro systems suffer greatly during the COVID onset?”

Metro systems are funded through a variety of mechanisms. Charging riders a fee is one of these. If a system bases a sizable portion of its revenue on these fees, then a dip in ridership can cause significant financial harm. When the COVID pandemic started, people stopped using transit en masse. This made metro systems dependent on rider fees such as Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART) to lose revenue drastically. This is Why Rider Fees-Dependent Metro Systems Suffered Greatly During the COVID Onset.

New Metro Train Car Design

New Metro Train Car Design

New Metro Train Car Design

12/11/22

“How do metro organizations design new transit cars?”

Metro organizations work on updating their transit cars when the time comes for it. The entire phase begins with New Metro Train Car Design. New cars are designed for system needs and capacities, looking over variables such as speed, aerodynamics, cost, and rail system. The design phase will set the tone for the rest of the project.

New Metro Train Car Testing

New Metro Train Car Testing

New Metro Train Car Testing

12/10/22

“How do metro organizations test new transit cars?”

The state of the art of metro cars advances each year. To keep up, metro transit organizations new to bring new train cars into their fleets. However, they must be tested to ensure they work as intended. This process can include wind tunnel testing, HVAC system checks, propulsion calibration, and more. New Metro Train Car Testing is a vital part of making transit systems as safe and efficient as possible.

Why the U.S Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 Was Racist

Why the U.S Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 Was Racist

Why the U.S Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 Was Racist

10/09/22

“Why was the U.S Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 racist?”

In 1956, the United States Congress passed the Federal Highway Act. This act allocated 25 billion USD for the design and construction of 66,000 km (41,000 miles) of the interstate highway system with a timeframe of 10 years. Since highways cut off and pollute surrounding neighborhoods, these highways were routed through neighborhoods of color (especially Black majority ones) to keep the residents segregated and disenfranchised. The impacts can still be seen to this day, where wall-like highways surround Black and Brown neighborhoods such as West Oakland. This is Why the U.S Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 Was Racist.

Water Rights

Water Rights

Water Rights

12/06/22

“How do some governments determine who was a right to water?”

Who has the right to use water can be a contentious question. Whoever controls water can determine if it’s to be used for agriculture, industry, recreation,  preservation, and more. To conceptualize this, many governments have codified Water Rights into their laws. Water rights determine the right of a user to use a body of water. Different water rights systems in the United States include riparian, appropriative, and pueblo rights.

Louisiana Water Body Ownership

Louisiana Water Body Ownership

Lousiana Water Body Ownership

12/04/22

“What determines if a water body in the U.S state of Louisiana is public or private?”

Louisiana was a French and Spanish colony until it entered the United States in 1812. Before this time, all navigable water bodies were deemed to be for the public’s benefit. Once it became a state, all water bodies that were navigable by 1812 were still considered public property, but water bodies that became navigatable after were now considered private. This is what determines Lousiana Water Body Ownership.

Why Climate Migration Planners Can Learn From Earthquake Disaster Response Experts

Why Climate Migration Planners Can Learn From Earthquake Disaster Response Experts

Why Climate Migration Planners Can Learn From Earthquake Disaster Response Experts

12/03/22

“Why can climate migration planners learn from earthquake disaster response experts?”

Climate migration planners are always looking for ways to better assist communities with responding to environmental disasters. One group of professionals who have been working on this problem for a long time are earthquake disaster response experts. These people have had to find out how to accommodate sudden influxes of refugees when infrastructure is severely damaged, whether it be in Nepal or Greece and Turkey. This is Why Climate Migration Planners Can Learn From Earthquake Disaster Response Experts.