News, Views and Analysis from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments
Bay Area media is dissecting Plan Bay Area 2050, a vision for policies and investments to make the nine-county region more affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and economically vibrant, which was approved by the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission last week.
The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Thursday evening adopted Plan Bay Area 2050 and its associated Environmental Impact Report. The unanimous votes by both boards cap a nearly four-year process during which more than 20,000 Bay Area residents contributed to the development of the new plan.
Drone operators may get more freedom to buzz around during night hours under a plans announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Monday. Read More
Strained infrastructure, safe transportation, sea-level rise, bike access – all Bay Area issues. They are also issues for one of the favorite vacation destinations for Bay Area residents: Maui. Read More
April's Map of the Month from MTC and ABAG Executive Director Steve Heminger looks at the predicted impact of the Census Bureau's recent decision to include a citizenship question on response rates to the 2020 Census. From the Executive Director's latest report to the MTC Commission and ABAG Executive Board: April’s Map of the Month recently was featured in a post from CityLab and highlights potential issues with the Census Bureau’s recent decision to include a question about citizenship in the upcoming 2020 Census. Though the issue of adding this question to the census largely has been Read More
Here’s a question only a policy wonk could love: Should a performance target be achievable or aspirational? In other words, should it be based on current trends, or on desired outcomes? That question is at the heart of a position paper now circulating for review by MTC’s partners, stakeholders and the public. Read More
The U.S. Census Bureau today released their 2017 local population estimates and – as usual – there’s a smorgasbord of fascinating data on where and how the U.S. population changed between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017. From the press release: The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area’s 146,000-population increase last year was the most of any metro area and Maricopa County, Ariz., saw a population increase of nearly 74,000 — the most of any county last year — according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 1, 2017, population estimates released today. The statistics provide population Read More
Last week's Joint Venture Silicon Valley's annual State of the Valley Conference featured a panel entitled What's Holding Us Back? – a look at the twin transportation and housing challenges facing Silicon Valley and the Bay Area as a whole. MTC and ABAG Executive Director Steve Heminger and moderator Russell Hancock, Joint Venture's CEO, opened the conversation with an initial focus on the transportation side of the ledger. They were later joined by Carol Galante, Donald Terner Distinguished Professor in Affordable Housing & Urban Policy and director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation Read More
The Bay Area economy has mostly had a good run since the dark days of the Great Recession (although the benefits have been uneven and not without their complications). For all the hype about the latest tech boom and the length of the current expansion, however, many key regional economic measures had not surpassed records set during the dot-com era nearly two decades ago. New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (via FRED) indicate this is starting to change, though. To wit: most key urbanized areas (or MSAs) in the region are at or near record low unemployment levels. As shown in the Read More
