Brandon Donnelly — Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly. — Page 261

According to Bloomberg Green , there are now at least three car manufacturers -- Tesla, Hyundai-Kia, and GM -- with electric vehicles that (1) have a range greater than 300 miles (480 kilometers) and (2) cost less than the average price of a new vehicle in the US (which is currently around $47,000). This means that we are now approaching price parity:

This is an important adoption milestone, even if it does, at this point, feel totally expected. The International Energy Agency (IEA) is forecasting full price parity by 2030. But in my mind, I'm already done with ICE vehicles. When I bought my current car over 6 years ago, I knew it would be the last internal combustion engine I ever own.

Earlier this week, Oklahoma City Council approved plans for the 1,907-foot-tall Legends Tower. If built according to these plans, it would become the 5th tallest building in the world and the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Currently, the tallest building in the US is One World Trade Center at 1,776 feet (581 meters). This is a symbolic height meant to reference the date of the Declaration of Independence.

To be even more specific, though, the Legends Tower wasn't approved at 1,907 feet. As I understand it, it was approved with with an unlimited height. Meaning, if the developers wanted to go even taller in the future, they could.

This is sort of unique. Usually when a new by-law/ordinance is passed, it includes a maximum height in feet/meters. In this case, I guess they'll just use an infinity symbol and call it a day.

Here are some quotes from Dezeen :

"AO is delighted that the Oklahoma City Council has approved the development team's request for unlimited height for the Boardwalk at Bricktown," said AO.

"We are grateful that the City Council has embraced the vision of Matteson Capital and the entire design team to transform the city into a global destination."

The obvious question is "will this get built?" And I don't know the answer to that. But I do think that infinity is just as symbolic as 1,776 feet.

I know that many of you already know this, but it's pretty remarkable what Paris has been able to achieve over the last 10 years :

Paris has  closed more than 100 streets  to motor vehicles,  tripled parking fees  for SUVs, removed roughly 50,000 parking spots, and constructed more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of bike lanes since Mayor Anne Hidalgo took office in 2014.

The result is that, according to city officials , air pollution in the capital has declined by about 40% since 2011. And bicycle usage has increased by some 70% -- this is since 2019.

Now, Paris does happen to be blessed with a dense urban fabric. But that doesn't necessarily mean that this transformation was simple or easy. The difference is will. Most Parisians seem to support these actions.

So the next time you're stuck in traffic and cursing some scapegoat, maybe consider what you would be willing to do to dramatically reduce traffic congestion. Would you be open to radical change in your city?