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| April 14 · Issue #81 · View online |
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Hey urbanists, Uber released its S-1, giving us a better look at their financials and business practices — and people have definitely taken notice of some insidious behavior. Vox also had a great series this week on Barcelona, recapped below. Plus, Bird hiked its rates, Ford’s CEO admitted they were overambitious on AVs (VM and Waymo have made similar admissions), Canada has warmed 1.7ºC, and Hudson Yards benefited from a program that was supposed to help “distressed” neighborhoods. Have a great week! — Paris
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Uber’s S-1 filing was published earlier this week as it prepares to go public. I haven’t had time to go through the document yet since the end of the semester is taking up nearly all of my time, but plenty of others have. This is some of what they found:
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Revenue growth has stalled and losses surged in Q4 2018.
- Uber explicitly identifies public transit as competition: “we can continue to grow the number of trips … and replace personal vehicle ownership and usage and public transportation one use case at a time.”
- Uber is mainly still working on autonomous vehicles because its competitors are, not because it thinks they’ll replace a lot of trips. Though if the day comes when AVs get used in high numbers, it will make drivers angry and come with high capital and operating costs.
- Uber’s culture, its designation of drivers as contractors, the crimes committed by drivers, and airports are among the listed risk factors.
- Uber says it has 3.9 million drivers, which would make it the world’s largest employer… if they were employees
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25% of Uber trips came from just five cities: NYC, LA, SF, London, and Sao Paulo. 15% came from airports.
- Uber is fighting regulations in US and abroad, including lobbying against government action to reduce emissions
- “The S-1 notes New York’s recently implemented taxi regulations — which limit the number of new rideshare drivers, and implement minimum per-mile and per-minute rates — as examples of how new regulations in its major markets can adversely affect its business.”
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Vox’s David Roberts went to Barcelona to learn about the city’s experiment with superblocks and how it’s trying to reduce car use by providing people with more public space and transport alternatives. He details what he learned in a five-part series:
- Barcelona is packed with cars and their associated ills: air pollution, noise, and a bad urban heat island effect. In response, it’s begun taking back road space with a series of “superblocks.”
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What are superblocks? What happened when the first ones were put in? And what lessons do they hold for future superblocks?
- How Barcelona plans to address the transportation network and the threat of gentrification (+ some really nice maps)
- Superblocks present a vision for the post-car city with less car space and more space for residents, but the plan could be under threat is mayor Ada Colau isn’t reelected in May
- An examination of whether superblocks could work in U.S. cities, and how their ultimate goal is democratic control of urban space
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Transit Bikes and scooters
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The connection between cheap flights, the convention industry, & Airbnb gentrification ought to be discussed more. For example, air travel to SF increased 50% from 2008 to 2018 while hotel room supply is only up ~10%. Thread 1/
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Cars and roads Climate change 💰 Climate change debates ignore the cost of inaction. A new report says reducing emissions could save the U.S. $220 billion/year by 2090. Flooding and drought 🇮🇷 Flooding in Iran has hit 1900 communities and US sanctions are blocking financial aid. Mike Pompeo blamed Iran’s “mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness” — hypocritical from a US official. |
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Suburbs 📖 Amanda Kolson Hurley’s ‘Radical Suburbs’ presents an alternative history of suburbs to show they’re not just a post-war phenomenon for middle-class white people. Read an excerpt. 🇬🇧 The U.K. suburb “is confusing, makes walking inconvenient and unpleasant, suffocates local shops and makes public transport unviable” Other great reads 🚄 California’s high-speed rail is far from dead. Northern California Regional Director explains where it goes from here. |
Blast from the past: How NYC demonized people for crossing the street
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