It looks like Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes is starting to have an impact, at least in Canada. 

 

One of the things the article talks about is climate change and the powerful effect walkable, transit-friendly cities will have in addressing it.  It got me thinking, though.  For several issues, there are very compelling reasons besides climate change to make key changes to our society and economy that will also help climate change.  For example, most of the things we need to do to address climate change are the same things we need to do for energy independence.  Regarding city design, I think it would be more effective to make the argument for change based on things like the financial health of our cities and reducing dependence on state and federal grants and all the strings that come with them.  It's less of an abstract concept for a lot of people.

 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/evs-cities-climate-column-don-pittis-1.6654675

 

Excerpts:
 

"If we care about climate change, we need to make it easier to walk, cycle or use public transit. Period," said Jason Slaughter, a vigorous critic of automobile-centric urban development, who grew up in suburban London, Ont. Until he got a driver's licence at the age of 16, he said, he was trapped in what he calls a "car-dependent hellscape."...

 

Suburbs don't pay

It is a difficult lesson learned by a number of U.S. cities that have simply run out of money to pay for crucial infrastructure repairs. 

What Stantec's research for the city of Halifax showed, wonderfully illustrated by graphics produced by the urban design group Urban3, is that relatively crowded walkable downtown parts of a city produce huge amounts of tax revenue, whereas suburban low-density areas result in a net tax cost.

 

2 minutes ago, Ethan said:

I'm skeptical of this list, but it's a pretty good article. Worth a read. 

 

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/02/07/americas-most-equitably-walkable-city-is-cleveland/

This might also make sense here.  

Ten years ago, Glenn Beck was warning America about "Agenda 21":

 

On 12/3/2015 at 4:25 PM, taestell said:

 

Maybe you haven't seen very much from the Agenda 21 conspiracy theorists. There are a lot of people who truly believe that any effort to encourage growth in urban areas, add transit options, add bike lanes, or improve walkability are part of a United Nations plot to force people into high-rises in cities and take away personal property rights.

 

Yes, that's totally insane, but there are people that buy it. I was reading through the results of some survey OKI did a few years ago, and I was shocked by the number of people who commented "I do not support Agenda 21."

 

Glenn Beck even published a list of warning words telling people to be wary of any effort that mentions "Parking Policy", "Redevelopment", "Safe Routes to Schools", "Responsible Development", "Traffic Calming", "Livable Communities", "Vibrant Neighborhoods, and, of course, "Mixed Use Development". It's absolutely nutty.

 

Now, conspiracy theorists have latched on to the term "15-minute city" and are claiming it's some vast conspiracy to restrict movement, take away our cars, etc.

 

Same old anti-urban planning conspiracy theories — but now on TikTok!

17 minutes ago, taestell said:

Ten years ago, Glenn Beck was warning America about "Agenda 21":

 

 

Now, conspiracy theorists have latched on to the term "15-minute city" and are claiming it's some vast conspiracy to restrict movement, take away our cars, etc.

 

Same old anti-urban planning conspiracy theories — but now on TikTok!

Where are these people getting the thing about "you can't leave your zone without a permit"? Does that have some sliver of a basis in any sort of reality related to the UK plans?

4 minutes ago, LlamaLawyer said:

Where are these people getting the thing about "you can't leave your zone without a permit"? Does that have some sliver of a basis in any sort of reality related to the UK plans?

 

It comes from some extremist environmentalists proposing "climate lockdowns" that mirror the ones for the virus.  The same thing happens in the other direction, the fringe right comes up with something bizarre and a segment of the left is all over it.

Yeah, except that no extreme environmentalists are actually proposing that. Would love to see a citation if you have one.

 

The conspiracy theories seems to be coming from sources like this site which make completely unsubstantiated claims like:

 

Quote

Under the new rules, your social life becomes irrelevant. By de facto Councils get to dictate how many times per year you can see friends and family. You will be stopped from fraternising with anyone outside your district, and if you want a long distance relationship in the future, forget it, you are confined to dating only those within a 15 minute walk of your house.

 

Of course they don't offer any quotes from or links to official documents that back any of this up, because it's not true.

10 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

The same thing happens in the other direction, the fringe right comes up with something bizarre and a segment of the left is all over it.

Your bOtH sIDeS argument rings hollow, again: 

 

For study 1, our analyses suggested that there was indeed a linear decrease in conspiracy mentality among the left extreme to a value of 3.4 (the break point was determined by the Robin Hood algorithm68) (b = −0.40, P < 0.001, 95% CI −0.46 to −0.33) and a linear increase from there to the extreme right (b = 0.17, P < 0.001, 95% CI 0.10–0.24) (Fig. 3). Likewise, in study 2, there a significant decrease from the left extreme to the break point of 5 (b = −0.28, P < 0.001, 95% CI −0.30 to −0.26), followed by a linear increase (b = 0.16, P < 0.001, 95% CI 0.13–0.18) (Fig. 4).

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01258-7

22 minutes ago, LlamaLawyer said:

Where are these people getting the thing about "you can't leave your zone without a permit"?

 

I found this blog post which seems to be taking these two true ideas:

 

• Some cities have embraced the idea of a "15-minute city" and want citizens to have all of their basic daily needs within a 15 minute walk/bike ride/transit ride from where they live.
• Some cities have certain zones where privately owned motor vehicles are not allowed.

... and combining them into a completely false narrative that everyone is going to be "locked in" to a specific zone in the city and not able to leave.

50 minutes ago, taestell said:

Ten years ago, Glenn Beck was warning America about "Agenda 21":

 

 

Now, conspiracy theorists have latched on to the term "15-minute city" and are claiming it's some vast conspiracy to restrict movement, take away our cars, etc.

 

Same old anti-urban planning conspiracy theories — but now on TikTok!

I am convinced that all modern conspiracy theories are psyops started by those with financial power. 

 

15 minute cities (auto industry, oil/gas) 

they're coming for your gas stove (oil/gas industry)

 

I realize that my belief could also be classified as a conspiracy theory too. 

They're such tropes. It's boring.

On 2/17/2023 at 2:24 PM, LlamaLawyer said:

Where are these people getting the thing about "you can't leave your zone without a permit"? Does that have some sliver of a basis in any sort of reality related to the UK plans?

Probably has some basis in the  Central London "congestion charges" where you have to be permitted to drive in certain places at certain hours.  

Good article by Cleveland's own Angie Schmitt.   More cities are failing to enforce against dangerous driving and pedestrians are dying because of it.

 

Washington, DC has $1 billion in unpaid traffic fines.  They have backed off on enforcement because of concerns about racial equity in traffic stops.  Yet, at the same time, most traffic cameras in the city are in the poorer neighborhoods.  Where's the equity there?  Not wanting to put traffic cameras in wealthier (i.e. whiter) neighborhoods because they might whine and complain? (I will stand behind a long time assertion I've made to others that people don't like traffic cameras because they want to be able to break the law and get away with it).  While the country still has racial equity concerns, and traffic stops have been all too often used as pretext by police, how can local governments be so stupid as not to see blatantly obvious folly in decisions like this?  The result is more innocent pedestrians and others dying under the wheels of people who should have their licenses revoked.


What Can Cities Do About the Most Dangerous Drivers?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-04/how-cities-can-get-the-very-worst-drivers-off-the-streets

 

I look forward to checking this out

 

49 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

I look forward to checking this out

 

 

I love this idea.  I tried playing around with it a bit, and it only works with very specific locations.  I wanted to compare the walkshed of the current Amtrak Station with a hypothetical land bridge adjacent station (meaning you could walk directly onto Mall C instead of having to walk to E 9th or W 3rd).  The closest location to Mall C I could find with a 15-minute walk radius was the Law Offices of Clayton E. Brelo, so I used that.  As expected, it makes walking to Public Square, Tower City, RMFH etc. way easier.  Plus, I think the map undersells how short this walking time would be since Google Maps isn't great at understanding the ability to walk across Public Square and through Tower City.

 

 

Think Americans don't like being car-free? Well, Americans are moving to Irsina, Italy. Here's what a two people think about being car-free there:
“I love how there are no cars in Irsina" and “My mother-in-law wasn’t excited at first about the idea of a village without cars, but now she has more fun here than in the US,”

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/irsina-basilicata-italy-americans/index.html

Great satire from Jason Slaughter at Not Just Bikes:

 

 

I was walking down Euclid Ave in Cleveland at lunchtime today, and to get around some construction blocking the sidewalk I walked in the street -- I had missed a cone-and-tape walkway that went into the street and was temporarily being blocked by some construction equipment.  There wasn't any traffic in sight so I was just cautiously walking around the cones keeping an eye on the maneuvering equipment.  Security guard yells at me for being in the street.  "You're in the STREET, man.  Get out of the street!  You're going to get hit. Come back here and wait and go through this walkway." 

 

I was struck by two things.  One, there were no cars in sight.  So there was no way I was in any imminent danger of getting hit.  And Euclid has a center median, so I had a refuge just one lane over had I needed one.

Two, the implicit and all-too-common assumption that "Streets are for Cars" (ONLY), which brings the further implication that getting hit by a car would be the pedestrian's fault.  No assumption of any obligation on the part of the driver to avoid hitting pedestrians. Felt like he was saying a driver would have a RIGHT to run over anyone who dares to "invade" cars' space on the street.

 

No offense to the security guard, but he should visit a European city like Palermo that lacks crosswalks (or drivers obeying pretty much any traffic rules other than "don't hit the pedestrians").

On 5/31/2023 at 3:17 PM, Foraker said:

I was walking down Euclid Ave in Cleveland at lunchtime today, and to get around some construction blocking the sidewalk I walked in the street -- I had missed a cone-and-tape walkway that went into the street and was temporarily being blocked by some construction equipment.  There wasn't any traffic in sight so I was just cautiously walking around the cones keeping an eye on the maneuvering equipment.  Security guard yells at me for being in the street.  "You're in the STREET, man.  Get out of the street!  You're going to get hit. Come back here and wait and go through this walkway." 

 

I was struck by two things.  One, there were no cars in sight.  So there was no way I was in any imminent danger of getting hit.  And Euclid has a center median, so I had a refuge just one lane over had I needed one.

Two, the implicit and all-too-common assumption that "Streets are for Cars" (ONLY), which brings the further implication that getting hit by a car would be the pedestrian's fault.  No assumption of any obligation on the part of the driver to avoid hitting pedestrians. Felt like he was saying a driver would have a RIGHT to run over anyone who dares to "invade" cars' space on the street.

 

No offense to the security guard, but he should visit a European city like Palermo that lacks crosswalks (or drivers obeying pretty much any traffic rules other than "don't hit the pedestrians").

 

Does he realize that he has no authority to tell you "come back here" unless he has a badge?

On 9/16/2022 at 12:27 PM, Cleburger said:

Spotted in Nasvhille, one of America's thriving "boom towns" with little public transit options.   Here they just put up warning signs that pedestrians should be more responsible for their actions. 

 

 

 

Columbus uses two similar but less prejudicial signs at many of its intersections

 

One, for drivers stating "turning vehicles yield to pedestrians"

 

And the other for pedestrians warning "watch for turning vehicles"

 

One of my pet peeves: You cannot make eye contact with many drivers because of the tinted windows.  You cannot even see that there is a driver in there sometimes.  Then, if they don't use turn signals, you have no idea if they see you or are about to turn an run you over. 

Not Just Bikes just dropped another great video. I love his sarcasm and appropriately blunt tone:

 

 

The sarcasm is a little too grating for me at times but he nails all the points really well

Every time NJB drops a video, he nails it.  This one is about a 6-week experiment reducing through traffic on a road through the heart of Amsterdam:
 

 

Speechless

https://x.com/VeganBrisket/status/1713271776887583198?s=20

 

Great video about Montreal, which is often touted as having pedestrian/cycling infrastructure that is as good as any European city. Jason Slaughter does a great job of showing the good and bad.  Montreal is better than most North American cities, but it still isn't as good as the best cities in Europe:
 

 

8 hours ago, gildone said:

Great video about Montreal, which is often touted as having pedestrian/cycling infrastructure that is as good as any European city. Jason Slaughter does a great job of showing the good and bad.  Montreal is better than most North American cities, but it still isn't as good as the best cities in Europe:
 

 

Nice!  @gildoneDid you catch his dig about Philadelphia shortly before the 38 min mark.   Maybe that all that surprising to me since I live in Philly region.      

Edited December 26, 20231 yr by DO_Summers

23 hours ago, DO_Summers said:

Nice!  @gildoneDid you catch his dig about Philadelphia shortly before the 38 min mark.   Maybe that all that surprising to me since I live in Philly region.      

Yeah I did. 🙂

The Congress for a New Urbanism will be holding its annual conference in Cincinnati this year on May 15-18 at Cincinnati Union Terminal.  The organization Strong Towns (www.strongtowns.org) will have a presence there).  Word is, the conference will fill up fast:
https://www.cnu.org/cnu32

Edited January 27, 20241 yr by gildone

Going car-free has financial, mental, and physical health benefits. These people in Philadelphia got rid of their cars and haven't looked back.

 

https://www.inquirer.com/business/get-rid-of-car-sales-ownership-philadelphia-20240209.html

 

America Walks calls for a moratorium on new highways/lane-miles. They have drafted a letter/petition.  Dozens of organizations have signed on so far:

 

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/02/06/freeway-fighters-stop-the-highway-expansion-madness-new-coalition-demands

 

These are only some of the signatories:

 

Edited February 9, 20241 yr by gildone

Atlanta City Council passes ordinance prohibiting drive-thrus, drive-ins near BeltLine

Jason Dozier, one of the sponsors behind the legislation highlighted pedestrian safety as the primary reason for the ordinances.

 

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/atlanta-city-council-ordinance-drive-throughs-drive-ins-gas-stations-beltline/85-8da0b560-db38-48c0-803d-46319e1d18a7

 

"The Natural Resources Defense Council just released Act Locally, a resource document to help guide states to federal funding sources for infrastructure projects, and is asserting that there is nearly $3 trillion available, if you know where to look."

 

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2024/02/15/new-nrdc-study-urges-states-to-get-creative-with-their-finances-and-invest-in-walking-biking-and-transit

A detailed, 5-year longitudinal study looks closely at reforms meant to encourage walking & biking in London. Health benefits outweighed costs by 10 to 1. For the most intensive interventions -- Low Traffic Neighborhoods -- it was 50:1 or even *200:1*.

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140524000173

On 1/27/2024 at 2:18 PM, gildone said:

The Congress for a New Urbanism will be holding its annual conference in Cincinnati this year on May 15-18 at Cincinnati Union Terminal.  The organization Strong Towns (www.strongtowns.org) will have a presence there).  Word is, the conference will fill up fast:
https://www.cnu.org/cnu32

Curious if any UO folks are going?

@JYP^

@OH_Really said: "Curious if any UO folks are going?"

Would love to but can't get away. Plus, I don't relish the prospect of a 4-hr drive to get there. 

On 3/19/2024 at 2:25 PM, OH_Really said:

Curious if any UO folks are going?

I get a report every week showing who is attending. A few UO people are registered already, but there have been no @ColDayMan sightings so far. 😆

Early bird registration ends on April 5th. You can register here. The hotel block at the Netherland Plaza is almost entirely booked up. There is a discount for registering for both CNU and StrongTowns, which will also be at the Netherland Plaza the day before. 

We have 31 tours, and 5 are sold out. Lots of cool things are planned!

Business owners are buying into a bogus myth about driving

by David Zipper

Jun 11, 2024, 4:30 AM PDT

 

Facing a barrage of criticism following her 11th-hour turn against congestion pricing in Manhattan, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul held a hastily planned press conference last Friday evening — not a time when politicians tend to spotlight issues they’re glad to talk about. Trying to justify her about-face, she invoked Manhattan merchants fearful that congestion pricing would cripple them by deterring suburban patrons unwilling to pay a $15 weekday toll on vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.

 

Small business owners are “deathly afraid that they’ll lose their customers who may come in from places like New Jersey,” she said, mentioning Comfort Diner, Townhouse Diner, and Pershing Square, whose owner is apparently “very happy” with her decision to slam the brakes on congestion pricing. Answering a question from the press, she added, “I encourage you to go to the next diner with me … watch the people come over and thank me.”

 

Hochul’s claims drew eyerolls from those wondering how many people were using a car to reach diners in the densest, most transit-rich county in the country — particularly Pershing Square, which is across the street from Grand Central Station. Transportation outlet Streetsblog accused the governor of “plutocratic populism” — deferring to the preferences of the affluent over the public interest — while a Gothamist reporter who visited all three of the restaurants spoke with one owner who vehemently denied ever discussing congestion pricing with her.

 

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/354672/hochul-congestion-pricing-manhattan-diners-cars-transit

You live longer and healthier in walkable neighborhoods...

 

Why southern Europeans will soon be the longest-lived people in the world

Diet and exercise, but also urban design and social life

https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/06/20/why-southern-europeans-will-soon-be-the-longest-lived-people-in-the-world

On 6/22/2024 at 8:39 AM, KJP said:

You live longer and healthier in walkable neighborhoods...

 

Why southern Europeans will soon be the longest-lived people in the world

Diet and exercise, but also urban design and social life

https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/06/20/why-southern-europeans-will-soon-be-the-longest-lived-people-in-the-world

The article is behind a paywall.  While I felt a lot better and had a much easier time maintaining my weight while living in a walkable community overseas, why do they particularly call out "southern" Europe? 

 

Climate Change is not going to be kind to southern Europe, by the way.  https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/14/europe/europe-heat-wave-italy-cerberus-climate-intl/index.html

This was just last year -- 104F with no AC would really suck.  What's that going to be in another decade? 

23 hours ago, Foraker said:

The article is behind a paywall.  While I felt a lot better and had a much easier time maintaining my weight while living in a walkable community overseas, why do they particularly call out "southern" Europe? 

 

Climate Change is not going to be kind to southern Europe, by the way.  https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/14/europe/europe-heat-wave-italy-cerberus-climate-intl/index.html

This was just last year -- 104F with no AC would really suck.  What's that going to be in another decade? 

I assume it's related to the Blue Zones analysis.

1 hour ago, Dev said:

I assume it's related to the Blue Zones analysis.

Which -- emphasis on "southern" Europe or climate change?  🙂

On August 11, Not Just Bikes is going to release its next video on YouTube (It was released on Patreon today).  This one is going look at fire departments and how they have become an impediment to safer streets:

Walking may not be illegal in America, but too often it's d@mn-near impossible 

 

 

"Our results show that beyond a certain point, increases in car dependence yield a decrease in people’s satisfaction with life."

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214367X24002175

So many Americans struggle to imagine life that doesn't revolve around cars or consider the upsides. Reminds me of the David Foster Wallace line about a fish that passes other fish and says "hey, how's the water?," to which one replies, "what the hell is water?"

 

How extreme car dependency is driving Americans to unhappiness
A car is often essential in the US but while owning a vehicle is better than not for life satisfaction, a study has found, having to drive too much sends happiness plummeting

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/29/extreme-car-dependency-unhappiness-americans

What an exceptional country we live in...