John Hamilton

Oakland celebrated improvements to Lake Merritt in style on June 9th, closing the streets ringing the city's historic centerpiece to cars--and opening them to cyclists, joggers, skaters, street performers and families. The 3.3-mile Ciclovía-style event coincided with the dedication of Lake Merritt Boulevard, a multimillion dollar project that has brought bike and pedestrian improvements to the lake's southern flank, along with a sparkling new amphitheater, a four-acre park, and a restored estuary connection to the San Francisco Bay.

Some 40,000 people flooded downtown Berkeley on a brilliantly sunny day in October, as the city became the latest in the San Francisco Bay Area to host a "Sunday Streets" event.  Organizers closed 17 blocks of Berkeley's Shattuck Avenue to cars––and opened them to pretty much everything else. Cyclists pedaled, hula hoops turned, children frolicked, climbers scaled a mobile rock wall, and musicians inspired scores to break out in dance.  Families took leisurely strolls through streets transformed, while restaurants in North Berkeley's "gourmet ghetto" turned a brisk business.  Residents surveyed a demonstration "parklet" that could soon see Berkeley parking spaces transformed into temporary green spaces, and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition showcased plans for a major upgrade to the city's bicycle network at Hearst Avenue.

A generation ago, nearly half of all U.S. kids walked or bicycled to school. Today, less than fifteen percent do, with the majority arriving at school in private automobiles. It’s no coincidence, then, that studies show more than a quarter of San Francisco’s children are overweight. But a new program hopes to change that trend, while reducing greenhouse gas pollution and increasing fun.

Born in the streets of Oakland, scraper bikes have become so much more than just a colorful trend of tricked-out bicycles. Scraper bikes have become an Internet phenomenon via YouTube, a practical means of greening urban space, a social movement, and a rallying cry for young people organizing against violence in their community.