Bigger, Patrick, and Nate Millington. “Getting soaked? Climate crisis, adaptation finance, and racialized austerity.” Nature and Space, vol. 3, no. 3, 2020, pp. 601-603. Sage Journals, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2514848619876539?casa_token=MqqRuTPKwn0AAAAA:TYs9SaR1UnGvP98-Se7M4ckw97gaursfdHOkdGc8l465lFZtAHxzHOiBxMHBZaqoBLKFbouH4sip. Accessed 29 April 2023.
Explanation: The purpose of this piece is so that we can see a comparison of the relationship between climate change policies and adaptations with how it disproportionately affects certain communities. The journal discusses the distribution of climate adaptation finance and how it prioritizes market based solutions rather than social welfare programs. This is a big problem for the marginalized community as they are heavily targeted with these policies and the authors argue for reinforcements. This work is written for a scholarly audience, so those who are interested in the topic and it focuses on policymakers and activists. The strength of this is that the authors provide detailed analysis of their arguments and support it with a couple of different scholarly sources. I think the only weakness of it would be that since it is catered to a certain audience, those who aren’t familiar with the political economy would be confused or find it difficult to follow along.
Boddupalli, Sreekar Shashank, et al. “Maintrainenance: Keeping Heavy Rail Maintenance on Track.” Transportation Research Record, vol. 2673, no. 7, 2019, pp. 192-203. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0361198119827533?casa_token=cgv9E66ogMkAAAAA:Qq1bWlyHSBjeHy727HpZfIxD7XhPNfCRAEpONrvObbIHzblFLhum8JbgtbEc2tIXojChyNRfw5yY. Accessed 29 April 2023.
Explanation: This piece discusses the challenges and highlights of a couple of different rail services in the United States. The authors provide insightful details between how each different rail service does well while simultaneously identifying some of their challenges or what they need to fix as a way to improve overall. The article mentions the importances of consistent maintenance and how it affects heavy rail infrastructures, and highlights risks with inconsistency or late maintenance. This all has to do with funding and labor shortages in the different systems because by comparing these factors, the intended audience which could be engineers, policymakers, or planners can learn more about the safety and reliability of heavy rail infrastructure.
Brachfeld, Ben. “Transit fare could shoot over $3.50 without new funding from Albany: MTA.” amNewYork, 30 March 2023, https://www.amny.com/transit/transit-fare-spike-without-new-funding-mta/. Accessed 29 April 2023.
Explanation: This piece provides insight into the potential fare hikes for the MTA system because of the current circumstances with the subways and buses. It also explores the challenges with funding the MTA. The article addresses the overall shortfall of funding and how it has and will continue to impact ridership and service. Additionally, it mentions alternative sources of funding like congestion pricing and other streams of revenue. This piece is intended for the general public because it is a news site provided for anyone but more specifically, it is aimed for bus and subway riders, policymakers, and other experts of the system. What’s good about this article is the explanation and general overview of the information which ensures that people new to the topic will also understand.
Kim, Elizabeth, and Phil Corso. “Adams pushes back on Hochul’s plan for city taxpayers to pay an extra $500 million for MTA.” Gothamist, 1 February 2023, https://gothamist.com/news/adams-pushes-back-on-hochuls-plan-for-city-taxpayers-to-pay-an-extra-500-million-for-mta. Accessed 29 April 2023.
Explanation: The purpose of this work is to report on Eric Adams’ opposition to Governor Hochul’s proposal for New York City taxpayers to contribute additional funds for the MTA. The article talks about Adams’ stance on the issue and why he disagrees with Governor Hochul’s plan .This highlights the concern that it would cause more burden on the city taxpayers and also overviews Hochul’s proposal. The work audience for this article is for locals including politicians and citizens. This provides relevance because the topic of additional funding has different perspectives and this one supplies us with the direct perspective of Eric Adams and alternatives. However, this article does show bias based on the reporting as it favors Adams’ perspective and lacks a bit of information from opposing viewpoints.
Ley, Ana. “New York City Braces for an M.T.A. Budget Disaster, Again.” The New York Times, 15 August 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/nyregion/mta-nyc-budget.html. Accessed 29 April 2023.
Explanation: This piece explores and analyzes the impacts of the pandemic on New York transit. It aims to investigate the factors that have led to the decline in ridership and financial challenges. The article goes in depth about the extent of the pandemic’s impact on the MTA by stating how it contributed to the sharp drop in ridership. It gives insight on how this has resulted in more financial hardships for the system and includes the potential implications for the future. The target audience would be anyone interested in the transportation topic, urban planning, and people who want to know more about the effects of the pandemic on New York City. This may only appeal to a certain audience but it is highly relevant to the topic of the pandemic’s impact on the transit system as it raises more awareness towards the consequences. This article is unique because it includes a thorough examination of the topic and includes data and statistics and even expert opinion on the issue. Though, there might be some bias here and there on the reporting and may need aid from additional sources.
Tankus, Nathan. “THE DECLINING QUALITY OF THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY.” John Jay’s Finest, 2019, http://jjay.cuny.edu/sites/default/files/contentgroups/office_studentresearch_creativity/34th_jj_finest_2019_0.pdf#page=44. Accessed 29 April 2023.
Explanation: The purpose of this work is to focus on the overall decline in New York City’s MTA subway system over the past few decades. The article helps people understand the background of the system including how it started, what it did wrong, and how we find potential solutions for future improvisations. The author discusses the decline of the subway by using different data and historical examples to back up his arguments. He states how this is all a result of chronic underfunding and mismanagement. The intended audience is for those who are interested in the transportation system and infrastructure like NYC residents, policymakers, and concerned transportations experts.
