Can We Create More Meaningful City Rankings?
They seem to be coming out at an ever-increasing pace: rankings of cities and nations based on how livable they are, or how bicycle friendly, or how green and happy,
put together by various advocacy groups, think tanks and magazines. The
media loves to pick these up, and let's face it, they're fun. But as
Alex Steffen points out in a post today on WorldChanging, they can sometimes be counterproductive.
July 17, 2009
Car-Sharing and the Case for a “Low-Car Diet”
Anyone who makes any effort to live more sustainably has been there
-- facing the accusation that what you're doing isn't enough. That
you're compromising, and that your willingness to deviate from a purist
approach invalidates your efforts. Sometimes these accusations come
from within. And sometimes they make you want to give up. It's the old
problem of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.
July 16, 2009
In Flint, Trying to Reinvent a Shrinking City
Yesterday on the Streetsblog Network, we looked at the concept of "resilient cities" -- an idea that some of our commenters on Streetsblog NY and Streetsblog LA sites frankly weren't buying.
July 15, 2009
Cities Must Become More Resilient to Survive
The idea that cities are greener than suburbs
has gotten a lot of attention lately. But a recently published book
argues that in a future of diminishing resources, cities themselves are
going to have to become much more efficient and inventive if they are
to be sustainable -- indeed, if they are to survive at all.
July 14, 2009
Warning: Windshield Perspective Hazardous to your Health
Over the past couple of months, we've been following a story in
Savannah about a crackdown on jaywalking -- a crackdown prompted by the
death of a tourist who was hit by a car on Oglethorpe Avenue in the
city's historic district. Streetsblog Network member Sustainable Savannah has done a great job of articulating why the jaywalking ticket blitz was an inappropriate and ineffective response to the problem of unsafe streets.
July 13, 2009
All Aboard the Great Streetcar Debate
Streetcars provoke strong emotions in transpo geeks. A recent post on Human Transit called "Streetcars: An Inconvenient Truth" precipitated a very informed and sometimes heated thread of discussion on the relative virtues of light rail vs. bus rapid transit (a mode that got its moment in the limelight just this morning).
July 10, 2009
Making Climate Change Part of the Local Transpo Debate
As the leaders of the G-8 meet in L'Aquila, Italy, to discuss how to tackle climate change on the global level, we bring you a report from Streetsblog Network member GreenCityBlueLake about a victory on the local level in Ohio.
July 9, 2009
Riding the Broadband Superhighway to Work
This morning, I'm making use of a mass transit system while sitting at my desk at home.
July 8, 2009
Clicking to Connect with Government and Get Things Fixed
An update today from Design New Haven, the excellent Streetsblog Network member that has been promoting the use of SeeClickFix. This rapidly growing service
gives citizens a way to document problems in the public space, and back
in March the issue getting the most attention in New Haven was the
dangerous situation that exists for cyclists on US Route 1 at the
Tomlinson Bridge, where a railroad grade crossing has caused multiple
bike crashes.
July 7, 2009
Paying for a More Comfortable Transit Ride
Today on the Streetsblog Network, we bring you some reflections on commuter comfort from network member Cap'n Transit.
As he points out in a post called "Many Segments of the Population Are
Too Old for This Shit," a lot of people are put off of certain modes of
transit because of the perception -- and often the reality -- that they
are crowded and uncomfortable (yes, New York subway, we're looking at
you).
July 6, 2009