Irvin Dawid discovered Planetizen when a classmate in an urban planning lab at San Jose State University shared it with him in 2003. When he left San Jose State that year, he took with him an interest in Planetizen, if not the master's degree in urban & regional planning.
As a long-time environmental activist, he formed the Sustainable Land Use committee for his local Sierra Club chapter and served six years on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Advisory Council from 2002-2008. He maintains his interest in air quality by representing Sierra Club California on the Clean Air Dialogue, a working group of the Calif. Environmental Dialog representing business, regulatory and public health/environmental interests.
Major interests include transportation funding, e.g., gas taxes, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees, road tolls and energy subsidies that lead to unlevel playing fields for more sustainable choices.
He hails from Queens (Bayside) and Long Island (Great Neck); received an AAS in Fisheries & Wildlife Technology from SUNY Cobleskill and a B.S. from what is now Excelsior College.
After residing for three years on California’s North Coast, he’s lived on the San Francisco Peninsula since 1983, including 24 years in Palo Alto. Home is now near downtown Burlingame, a short bike-ride to the Caltrain station.
He’s been car-free since driving his 1972 Dodge Tradesman maxi-van, his means to exit Long Island in 1979, to the junkyard in 1988.
Major forms of transportation: A 1991 'citybike' and monthly Caltrain pass, zone 2-2. "It's no LIRR, but it may be the most bike friendly train in America."
Irvin can be reached at [email protected]
Fatal Combination: Hot-Air Balloons and High-Tension Power Lines
Sixteen people enjoying a hot-air balloon ride in Central Texas early Saturday morning lost their lives in a fiery death after the balloon came into contact with high-tension power lines, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Miami's Downtown Train Hub Begins to Take Shape
Construction of MiamiCentral, an 11-acre plot in downtown Miami that will house the city's station for Brightline higher-speed train service and related transit oriented development, is well underway. Train service begins next summer.
Vanpooling the Green Way
Vanpooling in a gasoline powered vehicle is heavily polluting, according to Green Commuter, a new car share and vanpooling service that rents all-electric vehicles, such as the Tesla Model X.
Disabling Red Light Cameras Increases Traffic Fatalities
A new study shows what happens when cities remove red light cameras, which have become targeted by many motorists and eliminated by at least 158 cities. Fatal crashes increased 30 percent compared with area cities that kept the controversial cameras.
Houston Micro-Condo Development Now to Include Hotel
A New York City micro-unit developer had hoped to sell 550 micro-condos to millennials and empty nesters. The project is being redesigned to reduce the number of micro-condos and add a hotel.