Sprawl

US history shows spending on infrastructure doesn’t always end well

US history shows spending on infrastructure doesn’t always end well

Over the past two centuries, federal, state and municipal governments across the U.S. have launched wave after wave of infrastructure projects.

They built canals to move freight in the 1830s and 1840s. Governments subsidized railroads in the mid- and late 19th century. They created local sewage and water systems in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and then dams and irrigation systems through much of the 20th century. During World War II, massive amounts of public money were spent building and expanding ports, factories, airfields and shipyards. And after the war, highway construction – long a state and local project – became a federal endeavor.

Many of these projects did not end well. The problem wasn’t that the country didn’t need infrastructure – it did. And the troubles weren’t the result of technical failures: By and large, Americans successfully built what they intended, and much of what they built still stands.

The real problems arose before anyone lifted a shovel of earth or raised a hammer. These problems stem from how hard it is to think ahead, and they are easy to ignore in the face of excitement about new spending, new construction and increased employment.

Kunstler

One of my formally favorite writers, James Howard Kunstler has just gotten weirder and weirder in recent years since the end of the Trump presidency and COVID-19. I used to enjoy his tough analysis of things like suburban sprawl, our tacky inorganic, motoring is everything communities.

He made some good points about peak oil, although once the fracking boom left the world flush with oil he had to search for excuses to explain why oil became so cheap at least temporarily. But since the rise of Donald Trump, he’s gotten all weird, embracing a series of right wing cranks on his blog and podcast show. I can’t imagine a peace or sustainability group inviting him to talk today, compared to even a decade ago when he was a hot commodity.

People change over time, the grow and learn new things. Kunstler ain’t the guy I knew 25 years ago but neither am I. He made his decision on what to focus on but it seems like most of the claims of election fraud or COVID conspiracy is just the world of cranks not a serious or legitimate criticism of problems we all face today.

Spiraling costs at remote industrial park – Investigative Post

Spiraling costs at remote industrial park – Investigative Post

The bill is coming due for putting an industrial park in the hinterlands of Genesee County and the cost to taxpayers is considerable.

The Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park, being built on 1,250 acres in the rural Town of Alabama, flunked the state’s smart growth test when first proposed.

The project’s location rated so poorly that it failed to meet seven of ten smart growth criteria under the state’s own grading system, prompting one good government group to label it a “poster child for location inefficiency.”

Empire State Development Corp. nevertheless approved spending state tax dollars to develop the site, which is bigger than Central Park in New York City and equal in size to 945 football fields.