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]
Amtrak Crash Shuts Down Northeast Corridor Service on Sunday Morning
An Amtrak train that originated in Boston and headed to Savannah, Ga. struck a backhoe working on tracks about 15 miles southwest of Philadelphia. Two Amtrak construction workers in or near the backhoe were killed; 31 train passengers were injured.
Plans Advance for Orange County Streetcar
The $289 million streetcar would serve the cities of Santa Ana (population 329,00), county seat and second densest in California after San Francisco, and Garden Grove (population 170,000) on a 4.1-mile route. Service could begin 2020.
Hokkaido Shinkansen Now in Service
As of Saturday, Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, was connected to Tokyo by the newest addition to Japan's iconic Shinkansen bullet trains. The 513-mile route includes 33.4 miles in "the world's deepest operational main-line rail tunnel."
Legislature Raises Questions on Draft 2016 California High-Speed Rail Business Plan
Uncertainty as to whether cap-and-trade funding would continue past 2020 and opposition to the initial operating segment leaving out the city of Merced were two issues that arose during a Assembly Transportation Committee hearing of the plan.
Peak Millennial: Looking Past the Numbers
Two articles look at millennials, cities, and the future. "Peak Millennial" refers to the numbers of millennials moving to and from cities. Grist's Ben Adler looks at why urban millennials are moving to suburbs, and what can be done to address it.