City Life
- Opinion: We Need More Consequences for Reckless Driving. But That Doesn't Mean More Punishmentusa.streetsblog.org Opinion: We Need More Consequences for Reckless Driving. But That Doesn't Mean More Punishment — Streetsblog USA
"Punishment" and "consequences" aren't synonyms — and when we confuse the two, we lose lives on our roads.
- This Neighborhood was supposed to be a Highway
tldw Hamburg wanted to build an urban highway network, but it wasn't complete and they built some nice things in the space left over.
- Half of Uber, Lyft Trips Replace More Sustainable Optionswww.ucdavis.edu Half of Uber, Lyft Trips Replace More Sustainable Options
More than 50% of ride-hailing trips taken by surveyed riders in California replaced more sustainable forms of transportation, found a UC Davis study.
> Published in Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, the study analyzed data collected among riders in three metropolitan regions — the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and Los Angeles and Orange counties — between Nov. 2018 and Nov. 2019. The data set consisted of 7,333 ride-hailing trips by 2,458 respondents. > > About 47% of the trips replaced a public transit, carpool, walking or cycling trip. An additional 5.8% of trips represented “induced travel,” meaning the person would not have made the trip were an Uber or Lyft unavailable. This suggests ride-hailing often tends to replace most sustainable transportation modes and leads to additional vehicle miles traveled.
- Urban Roadway in America: The Amount, Extent, and Value
> We predicted the amount, share, and value of land dedicated to roadways within and across 316 U.S. primary metropolitan statistical areas. Despite the amount and value of land dedicated to roadways, our study provides the first such estimate across a broad range of metropolitan areas. Our basic approach was to estimate roadway widths using a 10% sample of widths provided by the Highway Performance Monitoring System and apply our estimates to the rest of the roadway system. Multiplying estimated widths by segment length and netting out double counting at intersections provided estimates of land area. We also matched roadway segments and areas to existing land value estimates and satellite-based measures of urbanized land. We found that a little less than a quarter of urbanized land—roughly the size of West Virginia—was dedicated to roadway. This land was worth around $4.1 trillion in 2016 and had an annualized value that was higher than the total variable costs of the trucking sector and the total annual federal, state, and local expenditures on roadways. Conducting a back-of-the-envelope cost–benefit analysis, we found that the country likely has too much land dedicated to urban roads.
- Faced With Heavier Rains, Cities Scramble to Control Polluted Runoffe360.yale.edu Faced With Heavier Rains, Cities Scramble to Control Polluted Runoff
To manage contaminated stormwater, Philadelphia went all in on “green” infrastructure, like rain gardens and permeable pavement. But an increase in extreme rain events is spurring other U.S. cities to double down on traditional sewer upgrades that can handle the overflow.
- Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect – how history’s lessons apply to cities todaytheconversation.com Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect – how history’s lessons apply to cities today
As summer temperatures rise, finding ways to build cities that don’t hold in the heat and can provide some cooling is increasingly important.
- In Brooklyn, a New Homeless Shelter Reignites Decades of Racismcapitalbnews.org In Brooklyn, a New Homeless Shelter Reignites Decades of Racism
The fight over the shelter in New York highlights the nation’s failure to address affordable housing.
- Save Our Lakefront Rally draws huge crowd to Redefine the Drive open house, demanding a people-friendly DuSable Lake Shore Drive layoutchi.streetsblog.org Save Our Lakefront Rally draws huge crowd to Redefine the Drive open house, demanding a people-friendly DLSD layout - Streetsblog Chicago
The advocates and elected officials who attended and spoke are upset that IDOT and CDOT's current plan simply rebuilds the 8-lane shoreline highway with no transit lanes.
- Banksy cat removed from billboard as meaning of his London animals revealedwww.theguardian.com Banksy cat removed from billboard as meaning of his London animals revealed
Exclusive: secretive artist trying to cheer up people with pelicans, goat, elephants, monkeys and cat
> Banksy’s hope, it is understood, is that the uplifting works cheer people with a moment of unexpected amusement, as well as to gently underline the human capacity for creative play, rather than for destruction and negativity. > > Some recent theorising about the deeper significance of each new image has been way too involved, Banksy’s support organisation, Pest Control Office, has indicated. ------- > A contractor, who only wanted to give his name as Marc, told PA they were planning to pull the billboard down on Monday and had removed it early in case someone “rips it down and leaves it unsafe”. > > He said: “We’ll store that bit [the artwork] in our yard to see if anyone collects it but if not it’ll go in a skip. I’ve been told to keep it careful in case he wants it.”
See source article for more details and great pics of the current art campaign.
- The transit beat is becoming the climate beatwww.niemanlab.org The transit beat is becoming the climate beat
"A lot of times, people are not drawn in when climate is the top line. So I like to start with [a question like] ‘O.K., what's affecting your daily life?’”
- The Paris Plan for Olympic Traffic? Build More Bike Lanesusa.streetsblog.org The Paris Plan for Olympic Traffic? Build More Bike Lanes — Streetsblog USA
A push to make Paris fully bikable for the Olympics is already paying dividends long before the opening ceremonies.
- West Philly Porchfest: The Battle for Car-Free Streets and Community Celebrationwww.resilience.org West Philly Porchfest: The Battle for Car-Free Streets and Community Celebration - resilience
I first found myself in West Philadelphia in 2019 during Porchfest, an annual music festival that exists because approximately two square miles of Philadelphians collectively decide it should. And so it does, whether the city grants the annually requested street closures or not.
- Where Would the Bay Area Be Without BART?sf.streetsblog.org Where Would the Bay Area Be Without BART? - Streetsblog San Francisco
Answer: up a creek, according to a new study that attempts to quantify BART's significance to the region
- A first-of-its-kind free food market opens in San Francisco: ‘Without this, some of us won’t make it’www.theguardian.com A first-of-its-kind free food market opens in San Francisco: ‘Without this, some of us won’t make it’
At the city-funded D10 Community Market, clients in the Bayview neighborhood can choose their produce instead of being handed a box
- Cars Are Slowing Down in European Citiesreasonstobecheerful.world Cars Are Slowing Down in European Cities
Across Europe, cities are proving that lowering speed limits makes neighborhoods safer and more livable while reducing dependence on cars.
- Undercover Performers Take Over Manhattan Sidewalks: The Mp3 Experiment 18yewtu.be Undercover Performers Take Over Manhattan Sidewalks: The Mp3 Experiment 18
Undercover performers listening to synchronized instructions on Manhattan sidewalks in our annual audio adventure. Full Story: https://improveverywhere.com/2023/10/03/the-mp3-experiment-eighteen/ For our latest mission, thousands of people followed secret, synchronized instructions delivered via h...
Mp3 Experiments feature thousands of people followed secret, synchronized instructions delivered via headphones. This 18th installment features some comments on urban planning.
- Ron DeSantis Doesn’t Like Bike Lanes. Floridians Seem To Agree.www.strongtowns.org Ron DeSantis Doesn’t Like Bike Lanes. Floridians Seem To Agree.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation to accelerate road projects, claiming it will make driving less miserable. However, driving in Florida isn’t miserable because of a lack of roads — it’s miserable because the road network is designed in nonsensical, dangerous ways that increase conges
- The reckless policies that helped fill our streets with ridiculously large carswww.vox.com The reckless policies that helped fill our streets with ridiculously large cars
Dangerous, polluting SUVs and pickup trucks took over America. Lawmakers are partly to blame.
> For half a century, a litany of federal policies has favored large SUVs and trucks, pushing automakers and American buyers toward larger models. Instead of counteracting car bloat through regulation, policymakers have subtly encouraged it. That has been a boon for car companies, but a disaster for everyone else.
- America is full of abandoned malls. What if we turned them into housing?www.vox.com America is full of abandoned malls. What if we turned them into housing?
Converting malls could create hundreds of thousands of badly needed homes.
- Iowans were fooled by a prank to make a busy area of Des Moines... walkableody.sh v16-webapp-prime.us.tiktok
Iowas were fooled by a prank to make a busy area of Des Moines... walkable
- How Does Paris Stay Paris? By Pouring Billions Into Public Housingwww.nytimes.com How Does Paris Stay Paris? By Pouring Billions Into Public Housing
One quarter of residents in the French capital live in government-owned housing, part of an aggressive plan to keep lower-income Parisians — and their businesses — in the city.
- Can Cities Drive SUVs Off Their Streets?reasonstobecheerful.world Can Cities Drive SUVs Off Their Streets?
From parking fees in Paris to registration fees in Washington D.C., forward-thinking cities are slapping heavy penalties on heavy vehicles.
- How Many People Does Car Culture Kill, Exactly?usa.streetsblog.org How Many People Does Car Culture Kill, Exactly? — Streetsblog USA
One in 32 people die from crashes, car-related pollution, and car-related lead exposure every year. But even that number doesn't tell the whole story.
- Pedestrian safety and crosswalks: Recent researchjournalistsresource.org Pedestrian safety and crosswalks: Recent research
What the research says about the characteristics of unsafe traffic intersections and crosswalk designs that can improve pedestrian safety.
- The obscure but extremely important battle over building codeswww.volts.wtf The obscure but extremely important battle over building codes
In this episode, Huffington Post reporter Alexander Kaufman traces the recent history of US building codes, a surprisingly compelling and twisty tale of efforts at reform meeting stiff resistance from builders and natural gas companies.
- "The Motorist Won" - Art project emphasizing the absurdity of car-centric designwww.scalefulness.com scalefulness
Kyle Branchesi is a designer and artist looking at the extent of AI and generated imagery as a medium of political discourse of ordinary life.
- Why electric bikes actually give more exercise than pedal bikeselectrek.co Why electric bikes actually give more exercise than pedal bikes
Believe it or not, electric bikes offer more exercise than pedal bikes on average. That fact might sound strange (and...
- After Shutting Down, These Golf Courses Went Wild: Most defunct golf courses get paved over, but a number are getting transformed into ecological life rafts for wildlife, plants — and people.www.nytimes.com After Shutting Down, These Golf Courses Went Wild
Most defunct golf courses get paved over, but a number are getting transformed into ecological life rafts for wildlife, plants — and people.
- Hoboken Celebrates 7 Years Without A Traffic Deathpatch.com Hoboken Celebrates 7 Years Without A Traffic Death
The mile-square city's Vision Zero safety initiatives are working, Hoboken's mayor said.
- From Montreal to Berlin, Cities Aim to Stay Open 24 Hourswww.bloomberg.com From Montreal to Berlin, Cities Aim to Stay Open 24 Hours
Forget last call: In a push to bolster nightlife, cities are changing laws to keep bars, restaurants and transit systems operating round-the-clock.
- State funding could be withheld from Colorado cities that don’t tie housing to transit under new affordability pushcoloradosun.com State funding could be withheld from Colorado cities that don’t tie housing to transit under new affordability push
House Bill 1313 is a key piece of Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ plans to address the state’s housing shortage and combat climate change.
- How Parking Reform Is Helping Transform American Citiese360.yale.edu How Parking Reform Is Helping Transform American Cities
In cities across the U.S., planners are pushing to eliminate mandates requiring parking spaces in new buildings. The reforms — along with banning street parking or adding meters — help to reduce car dependency, create public and green spaces, and lower housing costs.
- New York Port Authority moves ahead with $10B replacement of Midtown's miserable bus terminalgothamist.com Port Authority moves ahead with $10B replacement of Midtown's miserable bus terminal
The project will take at least eight years to complete, officials said.
- 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design
I found this today going through papers and reports about the cognitive effects of nature themed stimuli. Some of these design patterns aren't within our control, but some of them are very accessible and might be interesting to folks looking to make smaller adjustments in their surroundings for mental health benefits.
