Ideas, inspirations and discussionson creating better, smarter cities

Walk To School? Bike? Not 87% of American Kids

What kind of world have we made when our families won’t let our kids walk or bike to school? Danger, fear, obesity, dependency.

The Success of Regulation–Salmon in the Willamette!

This morning on my commute into work I looked over the Willamette River and saw what to many Portlanders isn’t such an unusual sight–people fishing for salmon. And soaring above them a pair of ospreys, or fish hawks.

Restoring Nature One Yard At A Time

Urbanization doesn’t have to mean the loss of viable habitat for wildlife. Vast amounts of metropolitan areas are thinly settled, with single family homes on big lots — space for re-creating native habitat. In the Portland, Oregon region, the Audubon Society of Portland, Columbia Land Trust and Friends of Tryon Creek have teamed up to create a unique Backyard Habitat Certification Program. You can do it, too! Read on…

The Empire of the Auto: mini-documentary from Santiago Chile

Empire of the Automobile is a mini documentary made by BiciCultura of Santiago Chile. Includes the interesting data that recent studies by the Chilean Environment Ministry found that 70% of noise in Santiago is caused by traffic. And that more deaths come from auto-originating pollution than from traffic crashes (about 4,000 per year).

And Now, Everything You Need to Know About Urban Mobility–in Spanish!

¡Échale un vistazo!

The National Movement to Tame Parking

“Reform is not only adopting good policies but also repealing bad policies. Requiring all buildings to provide ample parking is one such bad policy that cities should repeal.” Portland is going backwards by considering resurrecting the bad policies of the past and is out of touch with national trends. What our neighborhoods need is not more government-mandated, expensive and unneeded off-street parking; rather, we need an intelligent approach to managing cars, including charging for on-street parking…

The Cost of Fossil Fuels and some light ahead

Two articles in today’s NY Times highlight the challenge and promise of changing our energy mix.

China is in the midst of its worst air pollution crisis, with images reminiscent of 1950s Pittsburgh, when the noontime sun disappeared regularly in the dark cloud of smog.

While in the US, the tax credit for alternative energy being restored in January has led to a resurgence in wind energy projects. The US still lags most of the industrial world in its percentage of energy produced with non-carbon sources but a recent report done in New York state lays out a viable path for virtually 100% renewable energy there by 2050. The study authors noted:

“We must be ambitious if we want to promote energy independence and curb global warming,” said study co-author Robert Howarth, a Cornell University professor of ecology and environmental biology. “The economics of this plan make sense,” said Anthony Ingraffea, a Cornell engineering professor and a co-author of the study. “Now it is up to the political sphere.”

Urban Reconstruction: the living side of things

The Portland region is one of the few in the US that is actually increasing its urban tree canopy. Trees are making a difference in air quality, temperature, stormwater and beauty. How did this happen? Surprise, it was citizens taking action to make a difference…

Obesity: Not a #firstworldproblem anymore

Once considered the disease of the affluent, obesity and its attendant dysfunction is spreading across the world. The culprits? Nike jumps into the fray in a big way, find out more…

Hey Fatso!

Who has a fat butt?
Time to look in the mirror and take responsibility for our carbon excesses.

Some would say that we shouldn’t have to cut fossil fuel use to reduce carbon emissions until every country commits to doing the same. But what would you think if you knew that those countries suffering most from severe climate disruption aren’t causing the problem? Countries in the tropics and the global south produce relatively little carbon yet are suffering severe flooding, water shortages and catastrophic storms…
Country size represents total carbon emissions. Source: Worldmapper.org