In Miami, a Step Forward for Pedestrians
Big news out of Miami last week as the city government approved "Miami 21," which the Congress for the New Urbanism calls "the most ambitious contemporary zoning code reform yet undertaken by a major U.S. city."
October 26, 2009
Mobility as a Basic Human Right
Advocates of sustainable transportation are sometimes charged with elitism and criticized for being out of touch with the mainstream of America. A new exhibit of photographs showing in Los Angeles, "Without a Car in the World: 100 Car-Less Angelenos Tell Stories of Living in LA," graphically makes the point that the people who have the most to gain from effective public transportation and complete streets are hardly the elite.
October 23, 2009
Should Cities Try to Keep Out Big Chains?
Chain stores. Some community activists and urbanists hate them because they can muscle out local businesses that give a neighborhood character (the excellent film Twilight Becomes Night documents this painful loss in New York City).
October 22, 2009
Jaywalking as a Marker of Livable Streets
Today on the Streetsblog Network, a couple of very thought-provoking posts.
October 21, 2009
The Effect of Climate Change on Transport Infrastructure
A sobering post today from the Streetsblog Network on the importance of preparing our transportation system for the effects of climate change. Megan McConville at The City Fix reports on a panel titled "Perspectives on Adaptation to Climate Change," hosted by the Engineers Forum on Sustainability.
October 20, 2009
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Public Spaces
Today on the Streetsblog Network, Portlandize is talking about freedom -- the freedom to move about your community without fear, the liberty to make use of public spaces as a human being, not as the operator of a motor vehicle. It's a post that gets to the heart of the issues we talk about on our blogs every day of the week:
October 19, 2009
Space Hogs Where You Live
It's time for another slide show from the Streetsblog Network. Last time, we asked you for images of bike traffic from around the country. You can see the result here.
October 16, 2009
Michigan Makes Roads Safe for Fuzzy Dice, Not Bikes
From Michigan's M-Bike.org, a story of misplaced priorities.
October 16, 2009
Make Smart Growth Affordable by Building More of It
Today on the Streetsblog Network, we're looking at a post from Kaid Benfield on NRDC Switchboard about smart growth and how to make it more affordable. The answer, in a nutshell, is to build more of it -- and the market tells us the demand is there.
October 15, 2009
Marketing Bike Boulevards to Non-Bikers
Today from Biking in LA, some thoughts on how to sell the idea of bicycle boulevards to non-cycling homeowners:
October 14, 2009