Several rural communities across the United States avoid the high cost of repaving roads by ripping them up. Photo by ben matthews :::
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: mobility, quality of life, environment, public space, and technology and innovation.
Mobility
Next American City presents the various sustainable transportation projects across the United States highlighting those in the works in New York City and Washington D.C.
This week brought the announcement of the locations of D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare stations; the Transport Politic compares the new system with those of Montreal and Paris.
The United States Federal Transit Administration released the National State of Good Repair Assessment this week revealing that over $75 billion dollars of investment would bring “the nation’s rail and bus transit systems into a state of good repair.”
Greece can’t get a break – whenever reform is mentioned the national railway system chugs along to “I think I can’t, I think I can’t!”
Quality of Life
From D.C. to Moscow, this summer has been a scorcher across the whole globe. Beyond the sweat, individuals are increasingly suffering poorer air quality conditions.
Hard economic times mean longer commutes, less time with family, and weight gain, according to this MSNBC report.
Environment
While the climate bill floundered in the U.S. Senate, China has declared that it will begin carbon trading and it’s not a moment too soon with emissions possibly reaching nine billion metric tons by 2030.
A new study shows smog only worsening in California cities which, if not dealt with, could lead to a loss of federal funds for maintenance and road projects.
Public Space
Berlin’s shuttered Tempelhof Airport has become a massive public park that rivals New York City’s Central Park – minus the water features, manicured grounds, and walking paths.
As costs of repaving roadways rise, some rural areas in the United States choose to revert to gravel than raise taxes to meet the expensive price tag.
Cities across the United States are eyeing airports as potential multi-modal transportation hubs, according to this USA Today article.
Technology and Innovation
Abogo launched this week! The online carbon impact tool allows users to see the calculated cost of transportation for urban and rural areas across the United States.
“Wait a sec! Who’s behind the wheel?” The answer is no one as the longest-ever test drive from Italy to China began this week. So who’s going to put in the gas?
