Recent Posts by Coby
Transforming Transportation 2015 is inviting YOU to become a presenter. Share your big ideas for sustainable mobility and urban development in smart cities. Photo by Onny Carr/Flickr.
Call for submissions: Pitch your ideas for smarter mobility and urban development
Editor’s note: The submission period has now closed. We invite you to register to attend Transforming Transportation 2015 here.  Do you have big ideas for “what’s next” in sustainable mobility and urban development? It’s time to put them to the ...
This zebra directing traffic is not a joke. It is one of hundreds of city employees saving lives while making streets in La Paz, Bolivia friendlier for pedestrians. Photo via oneillinstituteblog.org.
Friday Fun: Dancing zebras for safer streets
The streets of La Paz, Bolivia present severe risks for pedestrians. The country’s capital faces rising demand for cars, and has inadequate traffic signs and universally accessible pedestrian infrastructure. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the traffic fatality rate ...
Though progress has been made, cities worldwide must continue to implement universal design solutions that make transport services accessible for disabled persons. Photo by Igor Schutz/Flickr.
How cities can provide universally accessible mobility services: A Q&A with Tom Rickert
TheCityFix recently interviewed Tom Rickert – Founder and Executive Director of Access Exchange International – to learn more about how cities can improve mobility for disabled persons. Access Exchange International was founded in 1990 to promote accessible public transport for ...
Wi-Fi is becoming increasingly prevalent on transport systems, and could help shift users away from private vehicle use and towards mass transport. Photo by Jens Schott Knudsen/Flickr.
How providing Wi-Fi can increase mass transit ridership
The global rise of smartphone usage has a number of implications for mass transit. It enables ridesharing – a service quickly emerging in cities worldwide. It can improve predictability of transport services through real-time tracking and crowdsourcing apps. It can ...
Would you be more likely to bike if the hills in your city had bike escalators? Photo by Miljøpakken/Flickr.
Friday Fun: Uphill cycling a breeze thanks to this city's bike escalator
Do steep hills prevent you from biking? They don’t have to. The city of Trondheim, Norway, has demonstrated an original way to promote cycling: make uphill biking easy. Called the “Trampe CycloCable,” this 130-meter bike lift pushes cyclists using a ...
Would you be happier commuting on a bike path floating on London’s Thames River? Photo by Chris R/Flickr.
Friday Fun: Is the future for London’s cyclists on the river, the street, or both?
TheCityFix recently examined some of the most innovative bicycling infrastructure projects in cities worldwide, but a recent proposal for an eight-mile floating bike path on London’s River Thames might top these in originality. The “Thames Deckway” would cut through the heart of the ...
Urbanism Hall of Fame: Ken Livingstone makes congestion pricing and transit integration work in a megacity
Urbanism Hall of Fame: Ken Livingstone makes congestion pricing and transit integration work in a megacity
This is the fifth entry in the Urbanism Hall of Fame series, exclusive to TheCityFix. This series is intended to inform people about the leading paradigms surrounding sustainable transport and urban planning and the thinkers behind them. By presenting their many ...
A new way to encourage pedestrians not to cross in the face of oncoming traffic: entertain them. Photo via smart/Youtube.
Friday Fun: A dancing traffic signal creates pedestrian-friendly streets in Lisbon
If your ‘Don’t Walk’ traffic signal was replaced with a dancing stick figure, would you be less likely to impatiently cross the street on a red light? At a busy intersection in Lisbon, smart switched the traditional crosswalk symbol with ...
The People’s Climate March – expected to be the largest climate march in history – will bring together a diverse coalition of citizens worldwide to urge leaders to make strong commitments to curb climate change at the UN Climate Summit. Photo by Justin Swan/Flickr.
Citizens worldwide calling for bold action on climate change at People’s Climate March
Update: 9/22/2014: The People’s Climate March on Sunday, September 21, 2014 included more than 400,000 participants in New York City alone, making it the largest climate march in history. In total, 160 marches occurred globally with another 2,800 solidarity events in 166 countries. Organizers plan to continue these ...
By supporting active transport, planners can limit road crashes and help people to incorporate healthy physical activity into their commute. Photo by Shreyans Bhansali/Flickr.
By the numbers: Sustainable mobility improves health and road safety
Claudia Adriazola, Health and Road Safety Director for EMBARQ – producer of TheCityFix – spoke with David Thorpe of the Sustainable Cities Collective about challenges, trends and best practices in sustainable transport and road safety. Among other topics, Adriazola and ...
Rapid urbanization has led to sprawl in cities worldwide, reshaping urban geographies and challenging city governments to plan for growing populations. Photo by Omar Bárcena/Flickr.
Friday Fun: Watch urban growth unfold in these amazing visualizations from cities worldwide
The NYU Stern Urbanization Project has created a number of fascinating time-lapse videos showing urban land use in different cities from the 1800s through to 2000. These videos strikingly depict the well-evidenced trend of urban growth, both in population and ...
New research from EMBARQ can improve planners’ understanding of how to design safer intersections for pedestrians. Photo by Nicolae Duduta/EMBARQ.
Understanding how intersection and signal design impact pedestrian behavior
Pedestrians hit by vehicles when crossing on red are 56% more likely to be severely injured than those crossing on green. While crossing on red is often assumed to be mainly an issue of poor individual pedestrian behavior, recent research ...
Medellín’s Metrocable is the centerpiece of an inclusive urban upgrading strategy that has improved mobility and economic opportunity, while reducing violence in disadvantaged areas. Photo by Gabinete/Flickr.
Medellín Metrocable improves mobility for residents of informal settlements
In 2004, Medellín – the second largest city in Colombia – introduced the Medellín Metrocable system to connect low-income residents to public transport. As the world’s first modern urban aerial cable car transport system, this innovative addition to Medellín’s existing ...
São Paulo has improved sustainable mobility through new bike and bus lanes, a revised master plan, and an innovative approach to support developers creating mobility solutions. Photo by Stanley Calderelli/Flickr.
São Paulo wins 2014 City/State MobiPrize by empowering citizens and fostering innovation
The city of São Paulo has won the 2014 Enterprising City/State MobiPrize following its support of user information and public participation platforms to advance sustainable transport solutions. MobiPrize was launched in 2012 by the University of Michigan SMART (Sustainable Mobility ...
Streetcars are one of multiple public transport options for cities to consider when investing in sustainable urban mobility. Photo by Sean Davis/Flickr.
Are streetcars worth the investment?
The Economist recently argued that streetcars are “a waste of money,” citing their high capital costs and inefficiencies as a means of transport. Others have argued that streetcars can be a catalyst for creating dynamic, vibrant urban environments. Both arguments ...
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