The MPO Mystery: Who Really Runs Your Region? (And Should We Be Asking?)

The Invisible Hand of Regional Planning

Ever wondered who really shapes the future of your region? Who decides where the new highways go, where the transit lines might extend, how federal infrastructure dollars get spent across sprawling metropolitan areas? Chances are, you haven't heard of them. Meet the Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO. These somewhat obscure entities are responsible for regional-level planning in pretty much every major metropolitan area across the US. Think of them as the invisible hand guiding the development of entire regions, especially in areas where city boundaries blur and multiple municipalities sprawl across a shared economic and geographic space. MPOs are tasked with tackling regional challenges that transcend city or county lines – transportation, economic development, environmental planning – all the big-picture stuff that shapes our daily lives and the economic fortunes of our region. They wield enormous influence over the direction of regional growth, impacting everything from commute times to housing patterns to job access. But here’s the rub, the question that’s been nagging at me lately: who are these MPOs, really? And are they… democratically accountable to the people whose lives they so profoundly affect? Because, spoiler alert: the answer might be… complicated, and maybe even a little bit unsettling.

Bulldozing Paradise: Why Le Corbusier's Urban Dreams Became Our Urban Nightmares

By Limongi - originally uploaded to :en at en:File:Monumental axis.jpg, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5921507

The Specter of Plan Voisin and the Modernist Menace

Ah, Le Corbusier. Just the name conjures up images of… well, depending on your urban planning sensibilities, either gleaming white towers of modernist aspiration or soul-crushing concrete slabs of dystopian despair. Let’s be honest, for many of us in the “lived experience” trenches of modern cities, it’s often the latter. And to truly grasp the sheer, unadulterated audacity of Le Corbusier, one need only conjure up Plan Voisin: his little weekend project to, oh, you know, just bulldoze most of historic Paris and replace it with a grid of identical, gleaming skyscrapers set in… parks. Paris! Destroyed! Replaced with… that? Who was this joker? All joking aside (though, frankly, the temptation to relentlessly mock is strong), Le Corbusier was, undeniably, a hugely influential figure in 20th-century urban planning. He popularized the “tower in a park” concept, penned the urban planning manifesto “The Radiant City,” and left an architectural and planning legacy that, to put it mildly, is… complicated. While his intentions were, perhaps, noble (efficiency! hygiene! order!), the practical outcomes of his modernist vision have often been, well, urban planning nightmares. Let’s delve into why Le Corbusier’s “urban dreams” so often became our urban realities, and why, in many ways, we’re still grappling with the consequences.

Unlock Downtown: From Office Park to Neighborhood – Reimagining the Heart of the City

The Daytime Downtown Dilemma

Gaze upon the American downtown skyline. Majestic office towers pierce the sky, monuments to commerce and industry. But stroll those downtown streets after 6 pm, especially outside of a precious few urban meccas like New York or San Francisco, and you’ll often find… crickets. Vast stretches of parking lots shimmer under sodium lights. Perhaps a few lonely condo towers stand sentinel, often perched atop their own multi-story parking garages, feeling oddly… suburban, despite their urban address. For all their supposed centrality, many American downtowns feel strangely isolated, daytime-only zones, places to work, not to live. They’re seldom, if ever, thought of as neighborhoods. But should they be? Could they be? Because beneath the glassy facades and concrete canyons lies an enormous, often untapped potential: the potential to transform these sterile office parks into vibrant, vital, and legitimate neighborhoods, the true heart of the city, day and night. Let’s unlock downtown, shall we?

Reclaiming the Dream: The Real American Dream, and Why Cynicism Misses the Point

By Bachrach/Globe archives - Original publication: boston globeImmediate source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/04/16/what-man-behind-american-dream-really-meant/uni438RcM82Y3QDnkwRz5H/story.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46455705

Confessing Cynicism and the "Madison Avenue" Dream

Okay, confession time. I’m a cynic. There, I said it. For a long time, one of my prime targets for cynical side-eye has been the “American Dream.” Because, let’s be honest, the version of the American Dream that’s been relentlessly marketed to us for decades feels… well, a bit hollow, doesn’t it? The house in the suburbs, the two cars in the driveway, the perfectly manicured lawn, the 2.5 kids (where does that half-kid even live?). It all smacks of… Madison Avenue, doesn’t it? Like some cleverly crafted ad campaign designed to sell us more stuff, convincing us that happiness comes pre-packaged in a suburban box, and that “success” is measured in square footage and horsepower. For years, I’ve just shrugged it off as vapid consumerism masquerading as national aspiration, a dusty relic of the postwar boom, utterly irrelevant to the complexities of the 21st century. But then… I did a little digging. And I stumbled upon something that made even my cynical heart do a double-take.

Cities and Your Wallet: Is Urban Living Actually a Financial Power Move?

Challenging the "Affordable Suburbs" Narrative

"Move to the exurbs! It’s… affordable!” That’s the siren song of suburban sprawl, promising more house for your buck and a financial fresh start. But does the math really add up in favor of suburban bliss? Sure, the allure of lower taxes and sprawling lawns sounds appealing, but when you dig deeper, does exurban “affordability” hold its ground as financial wisdom, or is it merely a clever marketing ploy? As we crunch the numbers, a surprising truth emerges: urban living might just be the financial power move you've been overlooking. Could those pricey urban apartments and bustling city streets be secretly building your wealth, not draining it? Let’s grab our metaphorical calculators (and maybe a stiff drink, because economics) and dive into the surprising financial advantages of urban life.

Cities as Rx: Is Urban Living Actually Good For What Ails You? (Spoiler: Maybe.)

Challenging the Suburban Health Ideal

Ah, the exurbs. Picture it: sprawling lawns, hushed cul-de-sacs, the gentle hum of… lawnmowers. For decades, this has been sold to us as the holy grail of healthy living, the idyllic landscape for raising families, escaping the "stress" of the city, and generally achieving peak wellness. Fresh air! Green space! The sweet, sweet sound of… nothing much happening! But let’s pause for a moment and ask: is this exurban ideal actually… healthy? Or is it just really good at marketing itself as such? Because when you actually drill down, peel back the layers of carefully manicured lawns and perform a good old-fashioned health check, a rather surprising picture emerges. Could it be… dare we whisper it… that cities, those dens of iniquity and… walkability, might actually be good for what ails you? Could urban living, with all its hustle and bustle, offer a surprisingly potent prescription for modern maladies like social isolation, sedentary lifestyles, and the creeping existential dread of beige-ness? Let’s dive in, scalpel in hand (metaphorically, of course, unless you’re into urban surgery blogs), and see if cities are truly the health elixir we’ve been overlooking.

The Bike Lane: Separate and Unequal – A Painted Path to Second-Class Citizenship

The Illusion of Progress

Oh, bike lanes! Hark, a victory for urban cyclists! Behold, the painted path to freedom! For decades, we poor, vulnerable cyclists were forced to bravely mingle with the roaring metal beasts of automobiledom, forced to "share the road" (as if we had a choice!). But then, a glorious dawn! Bike lanes arrived in our fair cities, lauded as a monumental leap forward, a dedicated space just for us! Finally, we had our own special little stripe of asphalt! Except… if you’ve actually dared to pedal down one of these much-celebrated “bike lanes,” the rosy picture starts to… well, deflate faster than a cheap tire on a pothole. Because the uncomfortable truth is, these much-hailed bike lanes are often less a pathway to cycling paradise and more a painted path to second-class citizenship, a separate and unequal space that highlights just how deeply entrenched car-centric thinking remains in our urban planning. Let’s peel back the glossy veneer of bike lane boosterism and examine the reality: are bike lanes really helping cyclists, or are they just a feel-good gesture that distracts from the fundamental changes truly needed to make our streets safe and equitable for everyone?