Essential City + Tech Stories: 7.7.22

5 Stories You Need to Know

Jul 7, 2022

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Now onto today’s edition!

Last week’s most popular stories:

🥇 Axios: Ride-sharing and e-scooters are growing twice as fast as mass transit

🥈LinkedIn: Whatever the future holds …..

🥉 Amogy: Amogy Raises $46 Million in Funding to Accelerate the Commercialization of its Ammonia-to-Power Technology Across Heavy Duty Transportation

Essential City + Tech Stories: 7.7.22

The Washington Post: Supreme Court limits EPA's power to combat climate change
Fortune: Redfin's chief economist says the housing market correction has begun—and things are going to get worse before they get better
The Guardian: Amazon: e-cargo bikes to replace thousands of van deliveries in London
Bloomberg CityLab: Does the White House Need a ‘Zoning Czar’?
Octopus Energy: Octopus Energy Launches Electric Vehicle Business in Texas with New Leasing Service

The Washington Post: Supreme Court limits EPA's power to combat climate change

Another big decision by the Supreme Court happened last week. This time it limits the EPA’s ability to take on climate change:

“The Supreme Court on Thursday sharply cut back the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to reduce the carbon output of existing power plants, a blow to the Biden administration’s plans for combating climate change…
“Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible ‘solution to the crisis of the day,’ ” Roberts wrote, referring to a court precedent. “But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme.”

Fortune: Redfin's chief economist says the housing market correction has begun—and things are going to get worse before they get better

Some of the nation’s hottest housing markets are showing signs of cooling down:

“Areas like Sacramento and Austin are seeing prices fall after those migration destinations saw increased demand and prices. Metros in Utah saw biggest price drops, according to a report by Redfin. Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden each had over 40% of homes for sale experience a price drop in May, though their median sales prices were still an increase from May 2020.”

The Guardian: Amazon: e-cargo bikes to replace thousands of van deliveries in London

Hopefully a sign of things to come from Amazon:

“The online retailer is opening its first “micromobility” hub in Hackney, east London, which – along with an existing fleet of electric vehicles – will contribute to 5m deliveries a year across about a 10th of the capital’s ultra low emission zone postcode districts. The bikes will be operated by a variety of partner businesses, not directly by Amazon, it is understood.
Amazon plans more such delivery hubs around the UK this year as part of its efforts to cut its carbon emissions. The company was named as the partner for a cargo bike and on-foot delivery hub in the City of London’s London Wall car park in 2020, but that project has yet to come to fruition.”

As the company has expanded its services its continued to add to congestion in cities, and by transferring the load to bikes, this could help ameliorate the issues.

Bloomberg CityLab: Does the White House Need a ‘Zoning Czar’?

While the Biden administration has done some work on housing (namely fighting for more money for housing efforts), Kriston Capps at Bloomberg examines if the administration should look to fight exclusionary zoning:

While details remain to be seen, it’s already clear that the task before the administration is daunting. Unlike other circumstances that make housing scarce, like the labor shortage, zoning is a structural problem, one that might require deep-state thinking (and multiple presidential administrations) to solve. What the plan could use is a single bureau that will outlast Biden’s time in office — a top administrator responsible for tackling a challenge that touches virtually every city and county across the country.

Octopus Energy: Octopus Energy Launches Electric Vehicle Business in Texas with New Leasing Service

“Renewable energy retailer Octopus Energy U.S. announced the launch of Octopus Electric Vehicles (OEV), its new business line that will accelerate accessibility and adoption of EVs and smart charging. OEV’s inaugural product is EV Concierge, the first-ever integrated demand response EV leasing plan offered by an energy retailer. With EV Concierge, Octopus Energy will not only help customers lease an EV of their choice, but also seamlessly integrate smart charging and billing into their existing energy plan.”