'It's something urban planners think could work in the United States'

Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

A view of a superblock city street in Barcelona
Superblocks, such as this one in Barcelona, promote more pedestrian traffic and fewer vehicles
(Image credit: David Oller / Europa Press via Getty Images)

'How to transform city streets — without losing your parking spot'

Amanda Shendruk at The Washington Post

More "street space for people means less space for vehicles," but "there's a way to have your park — and parking, too," says Amanda Shendruk. It's "called a superblock — an urban planning concept that is gaining traction throughout Europe." Superblocks "don't aim to eliminate cars; they just make them less important." Taking car spaces "can be a hard sell." But if "we care about the well-being of our communities," city planners "can't stick with the status quo."

Read more

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

'Trump's helicopter did not crash land, but Trump did'

Bill Press at The Hill

It is "tempting to laugh off Trump's helicopter fantasy as a momentary lapse of memory," but it's "much more serious than that and should be taken more seriously for a couple of reasons," says Bill Press. His "phony helicopter tale does not stand alone. It's just the latest in a string of weird comments," so it's "time the media stopped treating Donald Trump like a normal candidate and started portraying him for what he is: An angry old man."

Read more

'We all pay the price for protectionism'

Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux at The Wall Street Journal

"Protectionism and industrial policy misallocate resources and reduce economic efficiency," says Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux. When "firms in a free market produce outputs that consumers won't buy, the money entrepreneurs and investors lose is their own," and when "protectionists and industrial-policy planners make mistakes, they often mask them with more subsidies and tariffs — at taxpayers' expense." In "attempting to answer" the jobs question, it "becomes clear that the new mantra is the same old siren song."

Read more

'The H1-B lottery is too easily gamed. Here's how to fix it.'

Bloomberg editorial board

H1-B visas for educated foreigners are "awarded not by merit but by lottery," but this "random allocation never made much sense," says the Bloomberg editorial board. This lottery has "imposed an inefficient and unpredictable standard that prevents employers from hiring the best candidates." A "better approach would be to scrap the lottery in favor of a merit-based system," while "another option is to prioritize higher-wage earners, who are typically more skilled."

Read more

Justin Klawans, The Week US

Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.