The Atlanta BeltLine, dubbed, the country’s “most ambitious” or “best” smart growth project is, obviously, a big project. It involves re-purposing a 22-mile rail corridor to include new forms of public transit (streetcars or light rail connected to MARTA at a number of locations), trails for walking and bicycling, and a number of parks, all around the center of Atlanta. The city is putting $2.8 billion (yes, billion) into it and there is a ton of private investment going in as well.
Most Walkable Cities in U.S. (2011 Voting in Progress)
I love writing on walkable cities. Have you noticed? I’m not the only one, though. There are huge communities and organizations of people working on that one particular issue. There’s also a great website, Walk Score, that ranks cities on their walkability (which I’m frustrated to find out is still not a word according to my Google Chrome spell checker).
Walkable & Livable Communities Institute {Green NGO Highlighted}
There are so many great non-profit organizations (aka non-governmental organizations or NGOs) out there that I thought I might start a series highlighting some of these great NGOs. The first one I’m highlighting is one a friend recently directed me towards — the Walkable and Livable Communities Initiative.
7- to 14-Year-Olds Get Chance to Design Their “Dream Streets” in UK
Streets should be child-friendly, don’t you think? I certainly think so, and so does Sustrans, a sustainable transport charity based in the United Kingdom. Sustrans has launched a competition for primary and secondary school children (7- to 14-year-olds) that has them designing their “dream streets.”
10 Most Climate-Ready Cities in the U.S.?
Boyd Cohen, Ph.D. recently came up with a methodology to rank large cities in the U.S. based on how much they are preparing for or trying to counter climate change. He then went on to create and publish a top 10 list of the most “climate-ready” cities. While I think the term “climate-ready” is sort of a mistake, since he focuses more on efforts to stop climate change not adapt to it (which is what I would assume “climate-readiness” would be about), I think the overall idea and methodology looks great.
New Bike-Sharing Program in Wrocław, Poland! {Videos & Pictures}
I’m a bicycle lover. In particular, I’m a huge proponent of bicycling for transportation purposes. Bicycles are super efficient (perhaps the most efficient transportation option out there), meaning they are very environmentally friendly and also save you and the city a ton of money. They are also a ton of fun to ride, good for your health, good for your mind, and highly accessible. But, in some cases, using your own bike for transportation purposes is impractical. For, this reason, from the first time I heard about bicycle sharing programs (like the huge one in Paris, Velib), I fell in love with them.
Transportation in India {CrAzY Video}
I’ve had this sitting in drafts for 3 months now — somehow unable to get to it every week. But I’ve saved it all that time to cover on here because it’s so amazing.
7 Things I Loved about Living & Bicycling in Charlottesville, Virginia
OK, wrapping up this series (until I have another city to write about,.. and I may soon), here are 7 things I loved about living and bicycling in Charlottesville, VA.
15 Things I Loved about Living & Bicycling in Groningen (the Netherlands) +25 Pictures
I meant to complete this “things I loved about living & bicycling in ________” series before National Bike Month ended, but it didn’t happen and, anyway, bike month should be every month! Here’s the second-to-last post of the series….
I lived in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands for 5 months in 2007. With a bike commute rate of about 50-60% and about 2/3 of inhabitants, in total, using the bike from time to time, Groningen is a top-notch bicycle city. It has been named Bicycle City of the World on more than one occasion and the following are probably the main reasons why.
7 Things I Loved about Living & Bicycling in Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, & Redwood City, CA
Following up on my posts about what I loved about living and bicycling in Sarasota, FL and Chapel Hill-Carrboro, NC, here are 7 things I loved about living and bicycling in Northern California. In the middle of graduate school, I lived in Sunnyvale for a summer, worked in Redwood City, and did most of my grocery shopping in Palo Alto. So, despite being 3 different places, they were sort of one place to me and I’m combining them all for this.