All posts by 4thandcentral

UrbanABQ is the brainchild of Tim T. and Dan M., two dedicated urbanists from Albuquerque, NM. They have both traveled extensively, observing the good, the bad and the ugly sides of urban form and development. Together, with help from many community members, they are developing a vision for a stronger and better Albuquerque, an UrbanABQ.

UrbanABQ Asks: What Questions Do YOU Have About Healthy, Equitable Urbanism?

Flyer for the event
Flyer for the event

On the evening of Thursday, December 1st, UNM professor Michaele Pride spoke at the Hotel Andaluz as a part of the “UrbanABQ Presents” speaker series. This event was co-sponsored by the City of Albuquerque Economic Development Department.

The topic of the talk was “Healthy, Equitable Urbanism” and the audience was exposed to a variety of best practices from around the world on how to make cities more livable places using a variety of methods.

Click here to read more!

6 Positive Projects from 2016 & A Look Ahead

Written and Edited By Members of the UrbanABQ Collective and Better Burque

Check out BetterBurque.org for in-depth, Albuquerque-focused articles about bicycle and pedestrian safety, infrastructure and more! 

MLK looking east at the Edith intersection. Though there are still issues with some of the intersections along the corridor, the changes have overall created a vastly improved cycling environment.
MLK looking east at the Edith intersection. Though there are still issues with some of the intersections along the corridor, the changes have overall created a vastly improved cycling environment.

A Series of Predictions

In late 2014, we wrote an article called “A Great 2014 + The 2015 Forecast,” which can be found HEREThat piece covered positive changes that happened over the previous year and investigated some things we wanted to see happen in 2015.

Much of what we wanted to see in 2015 didn’t happen … until this year, 2016. In fact, most of the items on that list have become a reality in the last couple of months! So, we decided it was time for an update on the update:

Recent Positive Happenings:

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TAKE ACTION: Email Your City Councilor and/or Speak at City Council on Monday

– By Leila Salim, Michael Vos, Dan Majewski and other members of the UrbanABQ team

March 17, 2016

yes art now single template

On Monday, March 21, beginning at 5 PM, there will be a City Council vote on Albuquerque Rapid Transit. 

We have been told that this could be the vote that makes or breaks the project. We have also been told that City Council has been receiving primarily negative feedback on the project.

This is our deciding moment.

Have you been sitting on the sidelines? Have you been unable to attend meetings or unable to articulate your support for the project?

Make your voice heard!

Click here to read more!

In Defense of ART – A Response to Save Route 66 Central’s Open Letter

By Dan Majewski

Edited by Jessica Carr, Chad Gruber, Leila Salim, Michael Vos and other UrbanABQ team members

February 21, 2016

Preface

 As of Tuesday, February 9, the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project, otherwise known as ART, was approved for $69 million in federal funding from President Obama’s annual budget. This budget has not yet been approved by Congress so the funding is not guaranteed. However, there is a very good chance this funding will be approved and allocated, based on similar projects being approved in the past.

Regarding opinions in the community around this project, attendees were surveyed at a recent public meeting. The results were split in three ways with “38 percent of [the] 134 citizens who were polled — out of 247 who packed the rehearsal hall for the meeting — [saying] they don’t support the project, compared to 30 percent who said they do ‘very much’ and 57 percent who said they desire improved mass transit in the corridor.”

An Open Letter from Concerned Citizens

At the end of January Save Route 66 Central, the foremost antagonist in the effort to bring bus rapid transit to Albuquerque, published a critique of the city’s newest plan for the project. The entire letter can be found at this link.  

save rt 66 webpage
Click here to read the entire letter pictured above

We would like to say, in short, that this letter is well-thought-out. It is filled with ideas that could be successful if implemented in conjunction with the ART project. Unfortunately, the letter is also filled with misinformation and other data taken out of context.

Click here to read more!