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Do you want a say in infrastructure projects in your city? Crowdfunding can allow citizens to turn creative, sustainable projects into reality. Photo by David Berkowitz/Flickr.
Friday Fun: You, too, can build a sustainable city through crowdfunding
Here at TheCityFix, we love exploring the latest, most breathtaking innovations in sustainable urban development. And for good reason! Measures like São Paulo’s citizen hackathons, Medellín’s aerial cable cars, glow-in-the-dark road markings, and Hamburg and Helsinki’s plans for car-free mobility ...
Governments can improve the livelihoods of female street vendors by creating safe public spaces and supporting member-based groups of informal workers. Photo by Jeff DeMaria/Flickr.
Recognizing the role of gender in the informal urban economy
The informal economy is often referred to as the “shadow economy,” a glaring indicator of its absence from the eyes of policymakers. As discussed on TheCityFix, street vendors are frequently ignored in surveys of jobs and economic productivity, despite their ...
Ljubljana recently won the European Green Capital 2016 Award based on its comprehensive approach to sustainable development, which has transformed urban life in the past decade while minimizing the city's environmental impact. Photo by Rhobinn/Flickr.
Sustainable development and integrated planning mark Europe’s new green capital
Ljubljana, Slovenia has won the 2016 European Green Capital Award, given annually by the European Commission to cities that set an example of sustainable urban development best practices. With an ambitious sustainability plan and that has led to significant improvements in the ...
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 ...
Do you enjoy your commute? Innovative bike infrastructure can make cycling a fast, fun transport option. Photo by Justin Swan/Flickr.
Friday Fun: Cycling innovations make bikeable cities worldwide
Instead of sitting in gridlock on a busy road at 8:30 am, imagine cycling safely in dedicated lanes for a quick, pleasant commute. Many cities around the world are making investments that will give residents a faster, safer cycling experience ...
Car-sharing is beginning to take hold in Chinese cities, and can help reduce car ownership, congestion, and air pollution. Photo via gaoloumi.com.
Car-sharing grows in China as an alternative to vehicle ownership
China’s increasing overall wealth makes it unlikely that the country’s growth in car ownership will stop any time soon. However, severe air pollution and traffic congestion have led several large Chinese cities to take action to stem the rising tide ...
Both public and private sector investments play an important role in supporting sustainable urban mobility and minimizing the costs of private automobile use. Photo by Mariana Gil/EMBARQ Brasil.
What does public and private sector investment in transport look like?
Congestion, high levels of air pollution, and traffic crashes are consequences of a culture of investment that has focused for decades on the automobile. These externalities can cost up to 10 percent of a country’s GDP, and the world’s vehicle fleet is ...
Erik Vergel-Tovar, 2014 Lee Schipper Scholar
Building for BRT: A Q&A with 2014 Lee Schipper Scholar Erik Vergel-Tovar
Erik Vergel-Tovar, no stranger to TheCityFix, is a PhD candidate in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he researches the rich relationship between bus rapid transit (BRT) – a ...
Madeline Brozen, 2014 Lee Schipper Scholar. Photo via Madeline Brozen.
Who are our streets for?: A Q&A with 2014 Lee Schipper Scholar Madeline Brozen
Madeline Brozen is a Program Manager within UCLA’s Complete Streets Initiative and a recipient of the 2014 Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship. Her research focuses on urban design policy, with an emphasis on how cities can shift from car-oriented streets to ...
By prioritizing sustainable transport solutions, Beijing can shift away from car culture and improve quality of life for its rapidly growing population. Photo by Philip/Flickr.
The making of a livable city: Inspiration for a sustainable, healthy Beijing
Each year, 440,000 people move to Beijing in search of economic opportunity and better lives. Their rural to urban migration is a driver of economic growth, part of a larger plan to catalyze economic development through urbanization across China. However, ...
Personal rapid transit could help cities reduce car use and support sustainable transport. Photo via Treehugger.com.
Friday Fun: Can personal rapid transit replace 90% of cars on the road?
Sustainable urban mobility can come from multiple sources. Personal rapid transit (PRT) combines public transport with personalized routing. Though their designs vary, PRT systems generally consist of four- to six-passenger pods that are autonomously controlled while traveling along guide-ways. Instead ...
Caption: Cities can dramatically improve street vendors’ livelihoods by providing sufficient space and infrastructure for vending. Photo by Prasanth Chandran/Flickr.
Making space for street vendors: Towards equitable urban development
As previously discussed on TheCityFix, informal street vendors in cities around the world experience daily challenges to their economic livelihoods. For example, street vendors are perceived to be detrimental to city life, unhygienic, noisy, and to obstruct smooth flow of ...
Transport demand management strategies help wane commuters off the private car and make sustainable transport alternatives more viable, easing congestion and improving quality of life in cities. Photo by Mariana Gil/EMBARQ Brasil.
People-oriented Cities: Smarter driving, smarter cities
The “People-oriented Cities” series – exclusive to TheCityFix and Insights – explores how cities can become more sustainable and livable through transit-oriented development (TOD). The nine-part series addresses different urban design techniques and trends that reorient cities around people rather ...
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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