Dreams for the City

thisbigcity: The Green Lane Project is bringing together six...

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:07:09 -0400

The Green Lane Project is bringing together six U.S. cities – Austin, Chicago, Washington D.C., Memphis, Portland and San Francisco – to build more protected bike trails. We interviewed Martha Roskowski - the project’s Director.

thisbigcity: Want more studies and data on bike lanes improving...

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:32:00 -0400

thisbigcity:

Want more studies and data on bike lanes improving local economies? You got it.

condenasttraveler: Scenes from Chile: Santiago and Valparaiso’s...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:10:56 -0400

condenasttraveler:

Scenes from Chile: Santiago and Valparaiso’s Street Art

smartercities: A revolutionary new traffic system without...

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:16:15 -0400

smartercities:

A revolutionary new traffic system without traffic lights

So cool. Rethinking the “normal.”

nationalgeographicdaily: Quarry Bay, Hong KongPhoto: Romain...

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:11:16 -0400

nationalgeographicdaily:

Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
Photo: Romain Jacquet-Lagreze

wnyc: nycgov: It’s official! New York City’s CitiBike...

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:32:03 -0400

wnyc:

nycgov:

It’s official! New York City’s CitiBike is launching with Annual Members preview week beginning May 27th.

For more visit http://citibikenyc.com

Why isn’t the torrential rain pictured? —A.P.

You’re only a year behind schedule and 3 years behind DC, but I’m excited to find out how this goes.

My favorite skyline!

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:36:15 -0400

My favorite skyline!

"Even if more Americans wanted to cycle to work, the infrastructure isn’t there for them. In the..."

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:54:04 -0400

“Even if more Americans wanted to cycle to work, the infrastructure isn’t there for them. In the U.S., planners and engineers are “incredibly stuck in the last century paradigm of ‘cars are the only transport form that we plan for,’” Colville-Andersen said. “We’ve forgotten that the bicycle used to be a form of transportation.””

- What Americans Don’t Get About Cycling - Business Insider (via zacharyelgart)

I love biking to work/school. I got hooked when I lived in DC which has great biking infrastructure/culture. Now I live in a college town and it’s still pretty easy to bike to campus even though I live 3.5 miles away. Unfortunately there’s no way I’d ever bike to the shopping area since it’s across the interstate, a solid 7 miles from my house and developed in a completely un-bike friendly manner.

Next year I’m moving to a mid-size city that is the example of middle America. However, biking was important enough to me that I looked for places close to school/hospitals/gym/coffee. The infrastructure isn’t great, but I think I can do it. Must keep it up.

$1600 later (and $400 in travel rewards)

Fri, 03 May 2013 01:28:03 -0400

All my plane tickets for the summer are purchased. Now I’ve got to book my hostel for the first couple days and the one day trip to the Elephant Nature Park that I most definitely want to visit. Everything else I’m ok with winging, but I like to know where I will be sleeping upon arrival and I’ve heard that it is a good idea to book the Elephant Nature Park in advance. There are also a few things that I think I need to buy in preparation for my trip, predominantly to help make sure that I am traveling light and can fit everything in a carry on.

Current shopping list includes:
- travel towel
- Nook. I’m going to be living out of a suitcase for 2 months, one abroad and one in California. Given how much I read, I think investing in ultraportable reading material is probably a good idea.
- shampoo/conditioner bars to get around the liquid restrictions
- a new camera. My last one got dropped in the Amazon river (that’s not a joke) and now that I’m traveling again I think it’s time for a new one. Suggestions?
- Maybe a long skirt for visiting temples. I haven’t decided, but I’m tempted to just get a sarong or something when I’m in Thailand. Long skirts aren’t really my style, but either is wearing pants when it’s 90 out.

What are your “must have” travel items?

irishboyinlondon: Momentum Mag: How Bicycles Bring...

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:39:36 -0400

irishboyinlondon:

Momentum Mag: How Bicycles Bring Business

Interesting read!

In the minds of many business owners, though, there’s still a direct correlation between cars and customers. Too often, the opposition to bicycle infrastructure is led by retailers who believe ample car parking space is critical to their customer base. But that belief could be depriving businesses of their best potential patrons: cyclists.

Just this summer, the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives did a travel study in Birchard’s neighborhood, the Lower East Side. They found that only a tiny fraction – just four percent – of customers arrived by car. In contrast, 23 percent arrived by bike. A study of travel patterns in the city center of Utrecht in the Netherlands showed similar results: customers on bikes significantly outnumbered those in cars (26 versus 17 percent). Even individual businesses are taking stock of how customers get to their door. The East End Food Co-Op in Vancouver, BC, conducted a survey that showed that 24 percent of its patrons usually pedaled to the store – more than the number of people who drove.

That’s good news, because a growing body of research shows that people who arrive on two wheels have a bigger impact on the bottom line, too. Recent research out of Portland, OR, showed that cycling customers spent more per month ($75.66) than their car-driving counterparts ($68.56) at bars, restaurants and convenience stores. A 2009 study of Bloor Street in Toronto, ON, found that customers who arrive by foot and bicycle visit the most often and spend the most money per month.

So true. When I lived in DC I’d make stops all over town because it was easy.

delightfulcycles: polka dot dress (via We Heart It)

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:18:06 -0400

delightfulcycles:

polka dot dress (via We Heart It)

urbnist: Cyclovia in Bogota I visited Bogota about 2 years ago...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:21:30 -0400

urbnist:

Cyclovia in Bogota

I visited Bogota about 2 years ago and while it’s not a city that has a lot of tourist-y stuff, I enjoyed the couple days we spent there and thought it would be a really great city to live in.

delightfulcycles: green (by 105mm)

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:28:17 -0400

delightfulcycles:

green (by 105mm)

humanscalecities: DETROIT, Mich. — The most segregated city in...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:09:52 -0400

humanscalecities:

DETROIT, Mich. — The most segregated city in America, Detroit’s inner city is almost exclusively black, except for a small Hispanic corner in the southwest called “Mexicantown.” The suburbs like Grosse Pointe, Dearborn, and Ferndale are heavily white.

The red dots show white people, blue is black, orange is Hispanic, green is Asian, and yellow is other, according to maps of 2010 Census data by Eric Fischer.

Read more

Almost all American cities are segregated but this is pretty pronounced.

"There’s a limit to the amount of physical change one person can initiate in a city, but what if..."

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:03:15 -0400

“There’s a limit to the amount of physical change one person can initiate in a city, but what if hundreds of citizens united on the same day? That’s the goal of 100en1día – a social movement from Bogotá which aims to inspire citizen driven change on a significant scale, transforming cities over a 24 hour period.”

- Joe Peach on the transformative movement being launched in cities across the globe. (via thisbigcity)

ilovecharts: Inequality and New York’s Subway [article]

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:32:17 -0400

ilovecharts:

Inequality and New York’s Subway [article]

smarterplanet: The black asphalt roads of urban centres are...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:36:21 -0400

smarterplanet:

The black asphalt roads of urban centres are notorious for soaking up the sun, often helping make cities uncomfortably hot during the summer. However, special piping technology is offering a way to trap this heat and use it elsewhere, potentially transforming urban streets into giant solar collectors. More here.

I love the idea of capturing energy that’s already there.

Why hello there Roosevelt Island.

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:05:03 -0400

Why hello there Roosevelt Island.

Detroit theater built in 1926 now used as a parking garage.

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:06:24 -0400

Detroit theater built in 1926 now used as a parking garage.

citymaus: bike parking at PDX!!! take that, SAN!! and behind to...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:14:54 -0400

citymaus:

bike parking at PDX!!! take that, SAN!!

and behind to the corner right of this is the “bike assembly area”, complete with bikestand, so you can put together your bike and cruise on out to town on the smooth bike path from the airport.

I’m trying to imagine a scenario in which my compulsive over packing would be so limited so as to allow me to take a bike to the airport. I love the idea though, and I definitely applaud those who can just take a backpack with them. I’m packing for a weekend in Chicago and I’m struggling, partly because the weather is so variable this time of year and I know that I need some nicer clothes for the weekend.