Photo by Bob Jagendorf on Flickr.

An economist puts forward a strong argument on why it doesn’t make sense to say that we should just let middle-of-the-country places that are struggling economically die off, Donald Trump has named a Secretary of Transportation, and Volvo just finished building the world’s longest bus. Read about this, and more, from world of transportation, land use, and other related areas!

Leaving places behind doesn’t pay: When it comes to places that are struggling economically, like Rust Belt cities, most economists would tell you that the solution is to let them shrink and for the people there to go somewhere else where they’re more likely to thrive. Some would argue, however, that this is problematic both because it ignores the people who stay in struggling places and because there are wide-ranging benefits of keeping these places alive. (Vox)

The DOT goes back to the future: Donald Trump will nominate Elaine Chao to be the next Secretary of Transportation. She was the DOT’s deputy secretary in 1990, and while working in the George W. Bush administration (as the Secretary of Labor), she praised public transit and said we don’t necessarily need more highways, though she also fought raising the transit subsidy for Labor Department employees. There’s reason to think she’ll be pro-ridesharing services (for better or for worse) and pro-coal. (Slate, GovEx, Americans for Tax Reform, Lexington Herald Leader)

A really, really big bus: Volvo has built the world’s largest bus. According to the company, the bi-articulated vehicle can carry 300 people and has a length of 98 feet. It was built in Brazil for bus rapid transit projects in the country. (Economic Times Auto)

Amazon is the new Walmart: One of every two dollars spent online goes through Amazon.com, meaning the company has an even bigger effect on the economy than we might have thought. At the local level, Amazon’s expansion has meant the extraction of $613 million in subsidies for building new facilities around the country, but those haven’t exactly added up to jobs for local economies, as 149,000 retail jobs have been lost in the last 11 years. (Institute for Local Self Reliance)

“Mega regions” in the US: Using data about how we commute, researchers have created new maps of US “mega regions.” Mega regions have become a major topic of discussion as separate cities in close proximity to each other become more economically and physically connected. With census tracks and commute data, an algorithm was created to show how the United States has 50 of these regions. (National Geographic)

Quote of the Week

“Here’s the hard message for Portland and Seattle and every other city growing like this. If the next 200,000 people come here, and we’re planning for us to be a city of 850,000 people … they’re not going to be able to bring their cars and live like we did 20 years ago. In fact, most of us are going to have to drive a lot less. The streets aren’t going to get any bigger. They are going to be walking, they are going to be riding their bikes, they are going to be riding the transit system.”

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales on the need to put together a new zoning code that allows more people to live in the city. (My Northwest)