Dario Hidalgo, director of Research and Practice for EMBARQ (the producer of this blog), met with Bangalore transit officials on improving city bus services. Photo by Kalyan Kanuri.

Welcome back to TheCityFix Picks, our series highlighting the newsy and noteworthy of the past week. Each Friday, we’ll run down the headlines falling under TheCityFix’s five themes: integrated transport, urban development and accessibility, air quality and climate change, health and road safety, and communications and marketing.

Integrated Transport

EMBARQ Director of Research and Practice Dario Hidalgo and an EMBARQ team trained Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation Officials (BMTC) on improving their BIG-10 city bus services.

Ireland’s capital city of Dublin has opted for developing four bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors instead of a previously considered 25-kilometer light rail system.

The three-day Latin American Carbon Forum was held this week in San Jose, Puerto Rico.

A deal was signed on Tuesday to end the 10-week Rea Vaya BRT driver strike. It’s estimated that the strike cost the metro system R25 million (US$ 3 million.)

Washington State’s King County Metro Transit will debut its second of six planned BRT lines this weekend.

The three-day 7th International Congress on Sustainable Transport, hosted by EMBARQ’s Center for Sustainable Transport in Mexico (CTS-México), begins this Tuesday in Mexico City.

Urban Development + Accessibility

The New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that damage caused by Hurricane Irene to a rail line in Orange and Rockland county will cost $50 million to repair.

A new accessible pedestrian crosswalk signal was installed in New York City. Twenty-one city intersections feature these audible signal fixtures, and plans call for 25 more in the coming year.

OPAL advocacy group is challenging current Portland TriMet fare-card policies on grounds of potential economic inequities.

The Earth Advantage Institute, a not-for-profit green building resource, has embarked on an Eco Neighborhoods pilot program to rate and certify the sustainability of neighborhoods. The program is currently accepting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from those interested in participating.

Air Quality + Climate Change

The World Health Organization released the results of a global city air pollution survey, which found that cities in Iran, India and Pakistan are among the worst on the planet for air pollution.

Comprehensive standards for universal electric vehicle (EV) plug-in charging facilities were defined by European automobile manufacturers, with the support of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Sixty clean energy technologies research projects were awarded a combined $156 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

A new, free Dutch iPhone application, “Fueless,” was released, offering users audio and visual feedback while driving to save fuel consumption.

Health + Road Safety

The winners of the 4th Active Cities, Healthy Cities competition were announced this week. The competition, organized by EMBARQ Brazil, recognizes projects that promote health, safety and sustainable approaches to urban living and transportation in Latin America.

Abu Dhabi police announced that the number of pedestrian deaths in the capital city has decreased by a third in the first eight months of this year, as compared to last year.

A subway train collision in Shanghai, China resulted in the hospitalization of 271 individuals. Thankfully, no individuals were killed in the crash.

South African police forces have removed more than 1,500 “un-roadworthy” buses and taxis from country roads in efforts to improve road safety, as part of its National Rolling Enforcement Plan.

Communications + Marketing

Open Streets will be held on State Street in Chicago’s Loop this Saturday, October 1.

The 10th annual Tour de Troit bicycle ride was held in Detroit, Michigan last weekend. The group ride included roughly 4,500 riders and raised funds for city bicycling infrastructure.

The Merseyside, UK transit provider Merseytravel launched the new Walrus transit card, and by doing so, has demonstrated the popularity of transit providers naming fare cards after aquatic animals. As The Transit Wire points out, “Hong Kong has the Octopus, London has the Oyster, Seattle has ORCA, Wellington has Snapper, and San Francisco has the Clipper card.”

CTS-México was chosen as a top 25 finalist in the Iniciativa es México project, which aims to re-organize public transport in Mexican cities. Photo by EMBARQ.

Iniciativa es México (IMx) is a movement that recognizes the power of collaboration in transforming ideas into realities. Originally started in 2010, the project is an online space where more than 47 million Mexican citizens can show their willingness to transform Mexico by voting on projects and ideas that can have a real impact on their daily lives.

The Center for Sustainable Transport in Mexico (CTS-México), a member of the EMBARQ global network (the producer of this blog), is among the top 25 finalists in this year’s competition. The project submitted by CTS-México, “Transformando al Transporte Público,” aims to re-organize public transport and improve quality of life in Mexican cities. CTS-México encourages the development of public policies for sustainable transportation to improve air quality, reduce travel time and improve road safety. The center’s work has contributed to high-profile successes like the formation of public-private partnerships to launch public transit projects, such as Mexico City’s Metrobus, and the establishment of a federal program, known as PROTRAM, that funds transportation projects.

Vote for CTS-México here by registering on the website and selecting Adriana Lobo, the director of CTS-México.

For our friends and supporters around the EMBARQ network, please refer to these dates and times of voting:

Washington, D.C. and Peru: October 2, 11:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
Brazil: October 3, 1:30 a.m. – 3:00 a.m.
India: October 3, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Turkey: October 3, 6:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.

About IMx:

IMx began in the wake of the Bicentennial of Independence and Centennial of the Revolution in Mexico. The project inspired 40 electronic and print media outlets to unite with the intention to celebrate the dynamism and the growing enterprise in Mexico. This assembly of media outlets called on civil society, private companies, academic institutions and citizens to create and vote on ideas and social action projects. These ideas and projects fall into one of five thematic categories: quality of life, community development, environment, governance and accountability; and, justice and human rights.

To date, Iniciativa es México has brought over 60 media outlets to instigate a social transformation in Mexico. The project also mobilized two million people in 2010 through its website and provided 58.5 million pesos (US$4 million) to 50 social initiatives. More impressively, the federal government doubled the amount of funds awarded through the project, which helped the formation of a new partnership between private, public and social groups.

The community-driven art project is meant to confront the negative imagery of informal settlements in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Leonel Ponce.

Dutch artistic duo Haas&Hahn worked with local residents to create a piece of art out of painted favelas, or informal housing settlements, in Brazil. The duo attempted the piece to counter the negative coverage and imagery of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“To Rio’s beauticians, the city’s favelas are disfigurements, unsightly patches of brown that stain the landscape,” says an article in the Art Review. “They disturb the city’s image, not only because of how they look, but because of what they represent. They are the embodiment of Rio’s failure, the consequence of a city’s inability to accommodate all of its citizens, physically and culturally.”

By casting the housing developments as a community-driven art piece, the artists have created a landmark and a monument of inspiration for Rio. Praça Cantão, the duo’s latest favela painting project, spans 34 houses and covers 7,000 square meters. In order to reflect the true spirit of the community, the artists embed themselves into the culture, living in the favelas during the creation of the piece.

“Using a grassroots-based bottom-up approach has proven to be a key factor in the success and final results,” explains an article in the Wooster Collective. “In order to generate support and approval for their activities, the artists always make the favela their home. By spending their time within the local community, they’re able to connect to their surroundings more easily, wining the hearts and minds of people.”

Praça Cantão wrapped up in 2010 but the artists remain active in the art world, exhibiting solo projects.

Read more about the project and the artists here.

Created to fill the need for a secure space of physical activity, the Faxinal Soturno cycleway in Brazil also helps reduce pedestrian crashes.

This post is part of TheCityFix’s series, “CACS Highlights,” introducing the winners of the Active Cities, Healthy Cities (or “CACS,” its acronym in Spanish and Portuguese) competition. These public projects aim to transform the lives of millions of people through building healthy and altruistic communities. Each project will be honored at the 7th World Congress on Sustainable Transport on October 5, 2011 in Mexico City.

A version of this post was originally published by Maria Fernanda Cavalcanti on September 23, 2011 in Portuguese in TheCityFix Brasil.

Driver Education for Youth , the winner in the Road Safety category, is a project that aims to teach the basic principles of traffic education to youth in Cerrito, Argentina, located about 520 kilometers (323 miles) from Buenos Aires. Through contests with age-appropriate questions and answers, the local government works to change on-the-road behavior of citizens.

Students of public and private schools are invited to test their knowledge in a healthy competition on road safety. While students compete among their age group, they learn about proper road and transit etiquette.

Since its inception, the project has reached a high level of popularity in the city, involving not only the youth but also the whole community. Part of the contest also included discussions on the best ways to avoid traffic crashes. According to the project’s organizers, the contest showed an effective response to the attitudes of transit riders and will continue to decrease the number of crashes in the city of Cerritos.

Honorable Mentions under Road Safety

Five additional projects received honorable mention in the category of Road Safety:

• Urgent Life—Porto Alegre, Brazil

The Urgent Life project, through the efforts of the Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga Foundation, promotes a set of projects that aim to raise awareness and humanize traffic. The Foundation’s mission is to mobilize society to change traffic behavior through educational and cultural work. The Foundation also works to promote the appreciation and preservation of life. Learn more about the program here.

• Road Safety Week—Asuncion, Paraguay

Road Safety Week, a project planned by Asuncion National Road Safety, comprises a set of strategies and actions to reduce crashes on roads in Paraguay, with the participation of governmental and private institutions and other segments of society. The mission of the National Road Safety Plan is to articulate, coordinate and promote a set of strategies and actions to reduce fatal crashes, disabilities and negative economic impacts caused by traffic crashes.

• Faxinal Cycleway—Faxinal Soturno, Brazil

The bike path in the municipality of Faxinal Soturno was inaugurated in 2007 to fill the need for a secure space for physical activity and also to connect the Village Green Roof to the downtown area. The construction of the 1.8-kilometer (1-mile) path drastically brought down the number of pedestrian crashes at the site, which is known for its dense pedestrian and cyclist traffic. Learn more about it here.

• The Trap—Sao Paulo, Brazil

The creators of Trapa (Pacific Transit) chose a simple and entertaining way to draw people’s attention to their behavior in traffic. Three individuals, each dressed in black and white and carrying banners, provide a theatrical performance on the duality of human behavior. The project that has been taking place on the streets of São Paulo since 2010 mixes improvisation with good humor to convey a message of respect and tolerance in transit. Learn more here.

• Suitcase of History—Valinhos, Brazil

The Mala Project is a channel used for traffic education. In April 2009, teachers of 4th and 5th year students in municipal schools decorated pieces of luggage with themes that refer to human-conscious behavior, both on the part of pedestrians and drivers. Inside the luggage were hundreds of books on the subject and each luggage traveled among the 19 municipal schools. Read more here.

Living Cities works to link private capital with innovation in cities. Photo by Evan Leeson.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its establishment, Living Cities hosted panel discussions on Tuesday on leadership, innovation and problem-solving mechanisms in urban areas.

Living Cities was established in 1991 by philanthropists and corporate leaders who believed that real change in cities can only come from “intentional and sustained collaboration between the private, public and philanthropic sectors.” Living Cities is comprised of the 22 largest foundations and financial institutions in the world.

Initiated under the auspices of such leadership and initially called the National Community Development Initiative (NCDI), the organization has since catalyzed $16 billion in urban investments. The group works to connect private funding to ensure metropolitan prosperity and provide opportunities for underprivileged communities.

Part of its work consists of initiating transit-oriented developments in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Living Cities worked with officials in 12 regions hit the hardest by the housing crisis to implement transit-oriented developments that can stabilize neighborhoods.

The organization also works on issues covering green jobs, housing, education and neighborhood stabilization. Learn more about its work here.

Yesterday’s panel was streamed online and the following panel discussions were shown:

Living Cities Today & Tomorrow: A Conversation with the Living Cities Board: Our economy, our government, our country are undergoing enormous and disruptive changes. Living Cities Board Members – the leadership from some of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions – will discuss how the organization has evolved to meet the changing needs of low-income people and why a more collaborative approach, coupled with innovative investment models, has the potential to re-engineer America’s cities.

Interview with Stephen Johnson, Author, Where Good Ideas Come From: Steven Johnson has introduced concepts such as the “adjacent possible” and written extensively on cities as the perfect petri dish for innovation. Paula Ellis, Living Cities Board Member and VP of Strategic Initiatives at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, will interview Mr. Johnson, challenging him and us to think about and invest in urban innovation differently.

Integrating People, Place and Opportunity: An Inside Look at the Integration Initiative: In October 2010, Living Cities launched The Integration Initiative, an $85 million effort which supports cities that are harnessing existing momentum and leadership for change, overhauling long obsolete systems and fundamentally reshaping their communities and policies to meet the needs of low-income residents. One year into this initiative, hear from leaders driving the work on the ground and national funders about results to-date, early lessons-learned, and next steps both locally and nationally.

Dynamic Collaboration, Cities & the Future: A Moderated Conversation: A keynote speech by the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan, will be followed by a roundtable discussion bringing together an unexpected mix of leaders to identify and discuss the emerging trends and innovations that will be crucial for cities over the next 20 years, the new problem-solving mechanisms that are needed, and the respective (and evolving) roles various sectors must play.

Public spaces, like this one in Mexico, have an important role in building and improving community. Photo by Dani Simons.

This post is part of TheCityFix’s series, “CACS Highlights,” introducing the winners of the Active Cities, Healthy Cities (or “CACS,” its acronym in Spanish and Portuguese) competition. These public projects aim to transform the lives of millions of people through building healthy and altruistic communities. Each project will be honored at the 7th World Congress on Sustainable Transport on October 5, 2011 in Mexico City.

A version of this post was originally published by Maria Fernanda Cavalcanti on September 26, 2011 in Portuguese in TheCityFix Brasil.

The projects of the fourth edition of the Active Cities, Healthy Cities contest show us that it is possible to transform the lives of people through simple actions. In the Public Space category, the initiatives that stood out by popular vote have a common strong message. This message is supplemented with the understanding that engaging communities brings about positive change more actively and more thoroughly.

The winning project, the City Street in Canoas (RS), is a true example of the power people have in the construction of public policies. The initiative organizes and implements face-to-face conversations with the city’s mayor every weekend. Every Saturday, the mayor and his team move into one of four regions of the province to hear complaints and suggestions from communities, opening public dialogue.

The meetings are always in different neighborhoods, parks and squares, fulfilling the social function of public spaces. People who participate in the discussion fill out a form stating their claims, which are then forwarded to the mayor. The entire process is recorded, ensuring transparency of action.

The City Street project is quickly becoming popular, with the last meeting including 11,500 attendees.

Honorable Mentions under Public Space

Six additional projects received honorable mention in the category of Public Space:

•  Regaining the City—Colima, Mexico

The Planning Institute of the City of Colima (IPCo) decided to put pen to paper and draw its population. The project works to illustrate community suggestions to reorganize public space. The community relies on the assistance of technical experts, allowing a form of shared governance. Thus, people become the protagonists of both physical changes and the public policies of Colima. Read more here.

• Ideas Bank—Santa Maria, Brazil

Brazil’s Ideas Bank listens and sympathizes with all people on issues of architecture and urbanization. The goal of the project is to provide all citizens with a decentralized channel, where they can continuously participate in the construction of Santa Maria through participatory planning. Communities can also join the virtual channel through the project’s website.

• Sustainable Tourism Heritage Cities—Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico

Santiago de Querétaro is one of the most visited cities in Mexico, but the huge influx of tourists is not necessarily helping the quality of life in the city center, or the cultural heritage of the community. To ease the stress of tourism on the community, the government developed a more sustainable tourism plan in the region, giving new life and energy to the city center. Today, the same area is considered to be one of the best parts of the city, with excellent quality of life.

• Green Apples—Cochabamba, Bolivia

The Green Apples project is a joint effort of the Gaia Pacha Foundation and several local institutions. This project invites all cultural centers, institutions and foundations to be promoters of behavioral change on environmental issues in their respective neighborhoods. Thus, each organization is responsible for community awareness on topics relating to environmental conservation and preservation.

• Paseo de la Sexta—Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala

Paseo de la Sexta seeks to implement new strategies for community intervention in the implementation of public spaces within the city.  The capital’s municipality seeks to influence a positive environment in order to improve current conditions and promote opportunities that can generate local investment. This specific project is a walk with diverse routes and itineraries that helps to develop tourism in the region. The tour is a true exchange of culture with close to 190,000 visitors per week.

• Integra Colony—Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay

The town of Colonia de Sacramento works to integrate the residents of rural areas with the dynamism of urban life. In order to accomplish this, the city is implementing, with assistance from the Federal Government and the European Union, 18 Centers for Rural Development. These bases are strategically placed along the route of rural schools to assist in the development of local communities.