And another fabulous TED talk on urban agriculture, can you tell I am excited for the spring? 🙂 Guerilla gardener Ron Finley lives in South Central Los Angeles: the home of drive-thrus & drive-bys. According to Finley, drive-thrus kill more people though, due to obesity & food-related diseases. Some 26.5 million Americans live in food… Read More Los Angeles: urban agriculture and garden graffiti
Leave it to the Danes to prove how much cooler public transport can be than the private car. Probably one of the best commercials out there to advertise public transport, depicting the adventure, the glamour, the impressive views… one can enjoy while riding the bus. Albeit, a Danish friend informed me that while bus transport is widely promoted… Read More Making public transport sexy…
Jason Roberts of Dallas, Texas shares his story on “how to build a better block.” Following a trip to various European cities about 10 years ago, Roberts was struck by the livability of European city streets and public spaces – by bike, by foot, as well as spaces and places for the young and old… Read More Taking over Texas, starting with Oak Cliff: one bike lane at a time
Every day circa 36% of Copenhagen’s population commute to work or school by bike – the city government aiming to get this to 50% by 2015 to (further) reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from daily transport. Already today, roughly 50% of Copenhageners use bicycles on a daily basis for errands or exercise – equating to over… Read More Rush hour in Copenhagen – by bike
For all TED Talk lovers out there, this is a great one. Pam Warhurst of Todmorden, England, discusses “Incredible Edible” – an initiative she cofounded to bring urban agriculture back to towns & cities; this has now spread to 30 cities and towns across England. She describes actions taken in Todmorden (population 15,000) to contribute to… Read More Food: a language linking all urban residents
While Paris is famous for the Louvre & the Eifel Tower, it also has a world-class metro system featuring 300 stations & 16 lines, covering 10Ă—10km of central Paris. What is not accessible by metro, is serviced by bus or bicycle – including Paris’s Velib bike-sharing system, with 200,000 bicycles & 1800 docking stations. There is simply… Read More Paris: public transport and entertainment in one
Short & sweet, but worth watching this short video. Leave it to the Dutch to find fancy new ways to make cycling safer, more convenient – and high-tech. BBC discusses with innovative designers of cycling infrastructure on possible future strategies to increase cycling in the Netherlands (more than current rates!!) Â One of the key messages… Read More Futuristic cycling
The Urban Observer 