City Invincible

France’s Alstom (an engineering company) unveiled the AGV (Automotrice Grande Vitesse or high-speed railcar) train on Tuesday. The AVG, which reaches 223.7 miles per hour, can travel 1,000 miles in three hours. Alstom’s Executive Chairman, Patrick Kron, says this begins “a new stage in the competition with the airlines.”

The AVG upgrades train efficiency as well. According to Reuters, “Rather than having a powerful locomotive at the front or back, the AGV uses motors located beneath the train” increasing both passenger sizes and space from older models. The AVG is also uses about 15 percent less fuel than its competitors.

Sources: France unveils super-fast train and France’s Alstom launches faster high-speed train

Detroit is ranked #1 in the Forbes Misery Measure according to the article “America’s Most Miserable Cities.”

Forbes, which created a Misery Measure for the study, included factors like unemployment, taxes, weather, pollution sites, commute times, and crime to rank America’s most miserable places. New York City was surprisingly fourth on the list, thanks to amazingly high taxes and housing costs, and Philadelphia ranked fifth.

According to the article:

The biggest surprise on our list is Charlotte, N.C., which is ranked ninth. Charlotte has undergone tremendous economic growth the past decade, while the population has soared 32%. But the current picture isn’t as bright. Employment growth has not kept up with population growth, meaning unemployment rates are up more than 50% compared with 10 years ago. Charlotte scored in the bottom half of all six categories we examined. It scored the worst on violent crime, ranking 140th.

Source: America’s Most Miserable Cities

The New York Times has reported on the near completion of Crossroads, a 125 resident homeless shelter in East Oakland, California that, “may be the only ‘green’ homeless shelter built from the ground up.”

According to the article “A Shelter Is Built Green, to Heal Inside and Out” it has, “a solar-paneled roof, hydronic heating, artful but practical ceiling fans, nontoxic paint, windows that can be opened to let in fresh air, and desks and bureaus made from pressed wheat.”

This $11 million building shows it’s possible to construct low-income housing that surpasses the private market in innovation and design.

Source: A Shelter Is Built Green, to Heal Inside and Out