In the Netherlands, every year the ‘Orange Fund’ organizes a set of national volunteer days; this year they fell on 15 and 16 March 2013. Thousands of organizations all around the country in need of some extra help sign up. This day, called NL Doet, has become the largest voluntary action in the Netherlands. It… Read More Rain, snow or shine – to the (urban) farming fields we go
In Zurich, most citizens hop on their bikes at least two times a week and it is quickly becoming another one of Europe’s cycle cities. Some people, it seems, don’t want to hop off their bikes – not even when enjoying a cup of coffee. So this city, with a great cafe culture and blossoming… Read More Zurich: drive-in cafe for the urban cyclist
I spent Easter weekend in the lovely city of Salzburg, Austria – Mozart’s birthplace, the setting for the Sound of Music and famous for its ancient Hohensalzburg Castle dominating over the city. With a four-day holiday weekend for Easter, it seemed like the perfect getaway. Besides, we were trying to escape the unseasonably cold spring in the Netherlands; however,… Read More Salzburg: rich in history, culture – and bicycles
As spring and summer again approach the Northern Hemisphere, here’s a fun idea for a picnic, party and bike – all in one. Shared on Bike Bistro‘s page with credit to Fat City Cycles – but originally of Swedish design – this bike combines a picnic basket, stereo system, air pump and other gadgets into one bike. Perfect… Read More Parks, bikes & picnics – all in one
Former mayor of Curitiba, Jaime Lerner is a city evangelist. For Lerner, the city is not a problem; it’s a solution. An architect and urban planner by training, he brought many innovative strategies to his Brazilian hometown of Curitiba during his terms as mayor (1971–75, 1979–84 and 1989–92). The now famous bus rapid transport system… Read More Curitiba: visions of a better city & creative solutions to get there
Copenhagen competes for one of the world’s most bikable – and livable – cities; but it wasn’t always that way. Like many cities in post-war Europe, as cities were rebuilt, bike lanes were taken over by the car. It wasn’t until the oil crisis of the 1970s and the start of the environmental movement that people started… Read More Copenhagen: taking back the city | car-free streets & slow speed zones
In modern cities we often forget the intricate relationship between urban and rural areas for the numerous resources we take for granted, including food. Every day, enough food has to be brought in, sold, cleaned, cooked and disposed of for circa three meals a day/ inhabitant. In a city the size of Amsterdam (population 820,000)… Read More Amsterdam: historic connections between food & cities
It’s mid-March, although with snow and frost in Northern Europe, you can’t really tell. Still, as the days get longer, the birds return and the crocuses pop out of the thawing ground; spring is in the air. Store windows change their displays to spring clothes or BBQ grills, but I have become occupied with a… Read More Urban permaculture & balcony compost
Good news for public transport/ bicycle planners – and certainly for our public health and environmental challenges like climate change. According to a graphic found on Visual.ly (see below) it looks like young people in the United States are less keen about the car than former generations – preferring instead the bike, the bus or by… Read More America’s young people: drive less and bike more
Broken glass in the bike lane, a flickering public light fixture or an overflowing waste bin? (Or here in Amsterdam… litter in the canals.) Dislike! Such are the problems of urban living… sigh. But they don’t have to be. Thanks to a new ICT (information communication technology) innovation called PublicStuff, citizens can interact directly with local authorities… Read More Talking cities: ICT tools for better urban environments
The Urban Observer 