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

In advance of Earth Day on Sunday, April 22, the U.S. Federal Transit Administration launched a new website, FTA and Earth Day, to highlight the agency’s work to improve energy security and protect the environment.

Next week is the Second Annual SIBRT Congress of Best Practices in Latin America, bringing together the managers of 29 of the largest public transportation agencies in Latin America to exchange ideas and experiences on the key issues facing the development and growth of integrated transport systems and bus rapid transit (BRT).

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar announced new funding of €11.8 million (USD$18.9 million) for more than 100 transport projects to improve road, bus, cycle and pedestrian infrastructure in the Dublin area.

Urban Development and Accessibility

A public exhibition of design concepts for the U.S. National Mall began on April 9, revealing plans for public spaces near the Capitol, Washington Monument and Constitution Gardens. Organizers are seeking public comments to help select a winner for each site in May.

Southern Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state capital Porto Alegre will launch about 110 million reais (US$59.6 million) for urban mobility works by June.

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) unanimously adopted a 25-year Sustainable Communities Strategy, relying on increased investment in public transit and more walkable, transit-accessible land use patterns to reduce pollution while conserving farmland and natural areas.

Air Quality and Climate Change

Chicago won the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Committee’s annual Sustainable Community Award, for its multi-stakeholder approach to implementing the Chicago Climate Action Plan.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized standards to reduce air pollution associated with oil and natural gas production.

Health and Road Safety

The number of fatal traffic crashes in 2011 has been reduced by 50 percent along the Narol-Naroda corridor of Ahmedabad’s Janmarg bus rapid transit (BRT) system, according to a new study by the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University.

In an effort to improve road safety, Chicago’s Board of Aldermen passed a controversial ordinance that would allow speeding enforcement cameras to cover up to half the city and charge violators with tickets of up to $100.

Communications and Marketing

A new public service announcement, directed by Lee Doig of Let it Rain Films, calls on the national government to “make South Africa accessible to all,” with a particular emphasis on providing transit infrastructure for disabled people.