FIRST SUBURBS IN THE NORTHEAST AND MIDWEST: ASSETS, CHALLENGES, AND OPPORTUNITIES

This article examines the decline of first suburbs, the older inner-ring suburbs closest to cities that grew up before or immediately after World War II. As families leave these areas for the expanding outer suburbs, the tax base shrinks and poverty and failing schools result. Inner suburbs lack the sophisticated governmental structures of cities to combat these problems, and without a shift in investment policies, first suburbs will continue to suffer

FIRST SUBURBS IN THE NORTHEAST AND MIDWEST: ASSETS, CHALLENGES, AND OPPORTUNITIES

This article examines the decline of first suburbs, the older inner-ring suburbs closest to cities that grew up before or immediately after World War II. As families leave these areas for the expanding outer suburbs, the tax base shrinks and poverty and failing schools result. Inner suburbs lack the sophisticated governmental structures of cities to combat these problems, and without a shift in investment policies, first suburbs will continue to suffer

Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America

Analyzes data on metropolitan areas' transit systems, including access, rush hour service, and percentage of high- and low-skill jobs reached in ninety minutes. Explores implications for investments and land use, economic development, and housing policy

The Intersection of Place and the Economy

Examines urban demographic shifts; links between built environments and economic trends of globalization and production of tradable goods and services, technological innovation, and a low-carbon imperative; and policy implications for sustainable growth

Congestion Pricing in the United States: Principles for Developing a Viable Program to Advance Sustainability and Equity Goals

There is no silver bullet to fix the woes of urban mobility and access, but congestion pricing is a proven, viable, and effective tool. Charging a fee for the parts of the roadway network used the most during the busiest times of day reduces demand. The charges incentivize travelers to switch to other modes of transportation, seek alternative routes, or travel at other times. The charges can help to reduce negative effects of traffic such as air pollution, carbon emissions, road damage, and traffic crashes.This report seeks to accelerate the development of congestion pricing programs in the U.S. that advance sustainability and equity goals. The report is intended for elected officials, civic leaders, advocates, and agency professionals in cities and metropolitan regions. The principles outlined in this report illustrate key concepts, discuss challenges, and share examples and emerging best practices

Saving Time and Making Cents: A Blueprint for Building Transit Better

Cities, states, and metropolitan areas across the United States are looking to invest in a range of public transit projects in order to connect people to jobs and economic opportunity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and shape development patterns.  According to one estimate, the United States invested about $50 billion in new transit projects in just the last decade.1 These include underground subways in Los Angeles, commuter rail lines along the Front Range near Denver, a streetcar in downtown Atlanta, light rail lines in suburban Phoenix, and bus rapid transit in Richmond, Virginia, among many others.While these projects are as diverse as the country itself, they all have one thing in common: increased scrutiny over their costs and timelines to build. A few very visible projects have reinforced the narrative that rail transit investments have systemic issues that are endemic to the United States.This all begs the questions: Is this true? If so, why? And what should we do about it?These are precisely the questions Eno set out to answer through this research, policy, and communications project to analyze current and historical trends in public transit project delivery. We convened a set of advisors and conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders to understand the drivers behind mass transit construction, cost, and delivery in the United States. A comprehensive database of rail transit projects was created and curated to compare costs and timelines among U.S. cities and peer metropolitan areas in Western Europe and Canada. Through this quantitative and qualitative approach, we developed actionable recommendations for policy changes at all levels of government as well as best practices for the public and private sectors

Fueling Transportation Finance: A Primer on the Gas Tax

This report is about a study of the collection, allocation, and use of federal and state taxes on motor fuels the “gas tax”

State of Metropolitan America: On the Front Lines of Demographic Transformation

Examines 2000-09 demographic and economic trends and highlights five new realities: growth and outward expansion, population diversification, aging, uneven higher educational attainment, and income polarization. Analyzes national and regional challenges

TMEM97 and PGRMC1 do not mediate sigma-2 ligand-induced cell death

Abstract Sigma-2 receptors have been implicated in both tumor proliferation and neurodegenerative diseases. Recently the sigma-2 receptor was identified as transmembrane protein 97 (TMEM97). Progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) was also recently reported to form a complex with TMEM97 and the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor, and this trimeric complex is responsible for the rapid internalization of LDL. Sigma-2 receptor ligands with various structures have been shown to induce cell death in cancer cells. In the current study, we examined the role of TMEM97 and PGRMC1 in mediating sigma-2 ligand-induced cell death. Cell viability and caspase-3 assays were performed in control, TMEM97 knockout (KO), PGRMC1 KO, and TMEM97/PGRMC1 double KO cell lines treated with several sigma-2 ligands. The data showed that knockout of TMEM97, PGRMC1, or both did not affect the concentrations of sigma-2 ligands that induced 50% of cell death (EC50), suggesting that cytotoxic effects of these compounds are not mediated by TMEM97 or PGRMC1. Sigma-1 receptor ligands, (+)-pentazocine and NE-100, did not block sigma-2 ligand cytotoxicity, suggesting that sigma-1 receptor was not responsible for sigma-2 ligand cytotoxicity. We also examined whether the alternative, residual binding site (RBS) of 1,3-Di-o-tolylguanidine (DTG) could be responsible for sigma-2 ligand cytotoxicity. Our data showed that the binding affinities (K i) of sigma-2 ligands on the DTG RBS did not correlate with the cytotoxicity potency (EC50) of these ligands, suggesting that the DTG RBS was not fully responsible for sigma-2 ligand cytotoxicity. In addition, we showed that knocking out TMEM97, PGRMC1, or both reduced the initial internalization rate of a sigma-2 fluorescent ligand, SW120. However, concentrations of internalized SW120 became identical later in the control and knockout cells. These data suggest that the initial internalization process of sigma-2 ligands does not appear to mediate the cell-killing effect of sigma-2 ligands. In summary, we have provided evidence that sigma-2 receptor/TMEM97 and PGRMC1 do not mediate sigma-2 ligand cytotoxicity. Our work will facilitate elucidating mechanisms of sigma-2 ligand cytotoxicity