Recent Posts by Ben
How Global Policy Does (and Does Not) Account for Walking and Cycling
How Global Policy Does (and Does Not) Account for Walking and Cycling
This series, supported by the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations, discusses walking and cycling in cities with a special focus on low- and middle-income countries. Walking and cycling are getting more and more attention in wealthy cities, as ideas about ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/embarqbrasil/8122907233/in/album-72157650005725397/
4 Steps to Promote Safer Speeds that Save Lives
This week is UN Global Road Safety Week, focused on the theme “Slow Down, Save Lives.” WRI works to make cities around the world safer and more sustainable by implementing street design and regulations that reduce vehicle speeds while supporting walking and ...
The Need for Safe Speeds: 4 Surprising Ways Slower Driving Creates Better Cities
The Need for Safe Speeds: 4 Surprising Ways Slower Driving Creates Better Cities
This week is UN Global Road Safety Week, focused on the theme “Slow Down, Save Lives.” WRI works to make cities around the world safer and more sustainable by implementing street design and regulations that reduce vehicle speeds while supporting walking ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/embarqbrasil/16632866924/in/album-72157649821619334/
5 Key Lessons from 10 Cities at Transforming Transportation 2017
In January, at Washington D.C.’s Transforming Transportation, representatives from ten global cities gathered to share how they are fighting the unacceptable level of traffic deaths in their cities. While they may differ in many ways, the cities share a common ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/120167116@N06/13105187084/
Bigger Isn’t Always Better: Narrow Traffic Lanes Make Cities Safer
In Beijing, Chennai and Fortaleza, the rate of fatalities from road crashes is more than 15 deaths per 100,000 residents. What do these cities have in common? They have traffic lanes wider than 3.6 meters (11.8 feet). A long-standing belief ...
Driverless Vehicles: Safe Speeds Ensure Safety For All
Driverless Vehicles: Safe Speeds Ensure Safety For All
The coming of autonomous vehicle technology shows great promise for eliminating traffic deaths and serious road injuries. They could also make life a lot easier, but only if they are done right. Reducing traffic fatalities will depend on how cities ...
Public Space in Cities – What’s the Measuring Stick?
Public Space in Cities – What’s the Measuring Stick?
The famed American landscape architect and Central Park designer Fredrick Law Olmsted said that parks are the “lungs of the city.” However, many cities around the world—from growing Addis Ababa to sprawling Mumbai and dense Sao Paulo—currently lack adequate public ...
7 Proven Principles for Designing a Safer City
7 Proven Principles for Designing a Safer City
Traffic accidents kill more than 1.2 million people every year, nearly the same amount that die from HIV/AIDS. But there’s an undervalued approach to making the world’s roads safer—good urban design. While most traffic safety initiatives tend to focus on ...
Seoul, Korea Children's Road Safety
Designing Safer Cities for Children
When you consider the global statistics, it’s no surprise that this year’s U.N. Global Road Safety Week focuses on children’s safety.  According to a 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) report, 21 percent of all road traffic-related fatalities worldwide were among ...
London and congestion charging
Pricing congestion to invest in sustainable transport: lessons from London
In 2003, London adopted a program of congestion pricing that now places a roughly $17 (£11.50) daily fee on motor vehicles entering central London. The effort was expected to reduce car traffic, air pollution, and emissions in the area, and ...
Active transport and SDGs
Why are the two most sustainable forms of transport missing from the UN Sustainable Development Goals?
Walking and cycling may be the two most basic modes of transport, but they may also be the most promising for a sustainable future. In a car-filled world, it’s the people who use their own two feet or two wheels that ...
2015 World Bicycle Forum
Want a cycling city? Design for traffic safety
Two weeks ago, the World Bicycle Forum in Medellín, Colombia brought together more than 4,000 attendees from across the globe to discuss the challenges and opportunities of urban cycling. Many have praised the event for its ability to bring a ...
As motorcycle fleets grow in cities worldwide, governments must prioritize improving street design and alternative mobility options to slow the rise in motorcycle crashes. Photo by Frank/Flickr.
Growing motorcycle use creates a global safety challenge
Cities worldwide face the pressing challenge of growing motorcycle fleets and remarkable increases in related traffic fatalities. With streets ill-prepared and motor-bikes whizzing in every direction, the scene might best be described as urban transport anarchy. The problem is especially ...
Despite daunting challenges, rapidly urbanizing Asian cities have a range of options to improve road safety and save lives. Photo by Ashok/Flickr.
Safer cities for the Asian Century
With the next few decades expected to witness to Asia’s swift rise in economic and political influence, the eyes of the world have focused on Asian cities as the engines of this growth. Last month’s Asian Development Bank Transport Forum ...
New York City’s Vision Zero approach to road safety makes streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists and serves as a best practice for cities around the world. Photo by Moe_NYC/Flickr.
How advocacy creates safer streets and saves lives: A Q&A with Paul Steely White
TheCityFix recently interviewed Paul Steely White – Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives – regarding the organization’s role in successfully advocating for New York City to adopt a “Vision Zero” approach to road safety. First adopted in Sweden, Vision Zero is ...
Right Menu Icon