Emily's article at Grist on the second day of Verdopolis is now up, and is (of course!) an excellent read. (We linked to her article on day one here.) This time she covers the panel on "The Green City," where the speakers grapple with the difficulty of making built spaces both sustainable and livable. This applies to more than the shape (and insulation levels) of buildings. Transportation must be "livable," too.

"Good transportation design fosters a good attitude in people," Vergara says, and then -- as I'm finding is typical at Verdopolis -- presents an idea that once I've heard it, is so smart it's startling. To sell multibillion-dollar mass-transportation projects, start with the last thing: Design the vehicle. [...]

Cesar Vergara is not giving any ground on the inevitability of the personal car in his vision of the green city."The car of the future is a railroad car," Vergara says, "and there's a bike waiting for you at the other end of the ride."