for billions of years since the outset of time/ every single one of your ancestors survived...

[jen_chan13]

"For every doctor working at [the medical center] there are three people making less than $50,000 a year who come from 140 countries and speak 100 languages. Where are they going to live? How are they going to get to work?"
-Rollin Stanley, AICP, in the article "The Upsizing of White Flint" by Andrew Ratner in this month's Planning magazine.

Comments

[zaphod_groupie]

Some additional context would be helpful to fuel a discussion, but going on the assumption that the quote refers to the Texas Medical Center and Houston's piss-poor excuse for mass transit, all I can do is throw my hands up and say "THIS

[jen_chan13]

Yes, I should have given some context: the quote came from an article about affordable housing programs, which brings up the broader issues of balanced economies, cost of living, urban vs. suburban living, etc

[jen_chan13]

Sorry, above when I said mass transit I was generally referring to light rail and related systems. Bussing is also a form of mass transit, which happens to function on the roads that are already installed. But those buses ain't cheap to buy or feul, and again, the only source of revenue to make up the loss is ridership fares. And even worse, bus routes are hugely inefficient and inconvenient for the riders - a twenty minute drive from home to work might take as long as an hour and a half by bus and foot, and that's assuming you don't miss the most timely bus and end up on the wrong side of the schedule.

But bus transit is logistically cheaper than rail transit, because it doesn't require any new infrastructure installation, except for the benches and signs on the sidewalks.