Now that the Vancouver Olympics are over, transit advocates are raving about their record transit ridership and pushing for temporary improvements, such as the streetcar above, to be sustained after the Games. Photo: Stephen Rees, flickr.
Welcome back to TheCityFix Picks, our series highlighting the newsy and noteworthy of the past week. Each Friday, we run down the headlines falling under TheCityFix’s five themes: mobility, quality of life, environment, public space, and technology and innovation.
Mobility
World Streets takes a look at carsharing in Croatia.
New York City’s Department of Transportation has released renderings of a planned segregated bus corridor on 34th Street, the city’s first. The Big Apple’s bus rapid transit corridor takes a hint from the successful designs of Bogota’s TransMilenio bus system.
With the end of the Vancouver Olympics, sustainable transport advocates say the event was a showcase of effective transportation solutions. Meanwhile, London’s mayor is figuring out how to make his city “the best big city on earth” in the lead-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics by creating a more environmentally friendly and accessible transportation network.
New data from the National Household Travel Survey showed that between 2001 and 2009, the share of trips that Americans made in cars dropped by more than four percent, and walking, bicycling and transit trips went up.
Quality of Life
Can we design cities for happiness? Yes.
Gallup ranks the “most obese cities,” finding that nine of the top ten rank in the bottom two-thirds for having a safe place to exercise.
Architect and co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, Andres Duany, has designed a prefabricated shelter that could bring relief to disaster victims in Haiti.
“We’re hurting people’s lives,”said New York State Senator Martin Golden, during a rowdy public hearing about proposed cutbacks to New York City’s transit service. As a result of the public outcry, four people were arrested for disorderly conduct.
Environment
U.S. lawmakers are considering a fuel tax to help boost the domestic transportation sector, as part of an overall plan to make nationwide emissions cuts a reality.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled plans to give hefty reimbursements to U.S. homeowners who make home improvements to conserve energy. The rebates are modeled after last year’s popular “Cash for Clunkers” trade-in program.
U.S. House Republicans introduced a resolution of disapproval on the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
Public Space
Fallen Fruit, an organization that facilitates access to public fruit trees, was turned away from a tree-planting event they had planned in Madrid.
Grist looks at the potential for infill development on existing parking lots.
Washington-area “town center” developments struggle through the recession.
Technology and Innovation
Ford Motor Company announced plans to extend its global electric vehicles program to Europe with five full electric or hybrid vehicles to be introduced there by 2013.
The Obama administration’s $8 billion investment in high speed rail is causing a ripple effect among design and engineering firms.
OneBusAway, a Web-based tool to view real-time arrival information for buses and trains, won the Washington Technology Industry Association’s award for “Best use of Technology in the Government, Non-profit or Educational Sector.“
