Safe Roads for Seniors

Keeping Baby Boomers Mobile: Preserving the Mobility and Safety of Older Americans (25 page pdf, TRIP and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Feb. 2012) Also discussed here: Forgive and Forget (Streetsblog, Mar. 5, 2012) And here: Few U.S. cities are ready for aging Baby Boomer population (USA Today-Your Life, Mar. 25, 2012) [...]

Turning Urban Highways into Parks for People

The Life and Death of Urban Highways ( 44 page pdf, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and EMBARQ, Mar. 2012) Also discussed here: Urban Highways Offer Cities New Opportunities for Revitalization (Erica Schlaikjer, The City Fix, Mar. 21, 2012) The report reviewed today summarizes the social, economic and environmental benefits that have resulted from [...]

Where Would Seniors Choose to Live?

Best U.S. Cities for Seniors 2011 (15 page pdf, Bankers Life and Casualty CompanyCenter for a Secure Retirement, Sep. 2011) Also discussed here: Best U.S. Cities For Seniors Not What You’d Expect, Says New Study (Eric Miller, Vox Civitatis: the New Colonist Webog, Dec. 20,2011) The focus today is on a study which ranked 50 [...]

Sustainable Transportation and Mobility for Seniors

Great Ideas for Senior-Friendly Communities (US News, Jan. 12, 2012) Also discussed here: Age friendliness — sounds good, where is it? (Laurie Orlov , Aging in Place Technology, Jan. 14, 2012) And here: Aging in Place:A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices (84 page pdf, Nicholas Farber, JD, and Douglas Shinkle,  National Conference of [...]

A Syndemic Approach to Healthy Sustainable Cities

Built Environment and Public Health: A Syndemic Perspective (17 page pdf, Michael McGeehin, 4th annual summit of the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative, “Incorporating Public and Environmental Health into Sustainable Solutions”, Nov. 8, 2010) The focus of today’s review is on a recent urban summit linking the built environment to health and a presentation that [...]

Turning Parking Lots and Urban Highways into Parks

In Madrid’s Heart, Park Blooms Where a Freeway Once Blighted (Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, Dec. 26, 2011) Also discussed here : Parks in, Cars not out? Is that going to be our future? (World Streets, Dec. 27, 2011) And here: Madrid Rio (8 slides) Today,  the focus is on an article which reviews the [...]

Jane Jacobs and the Sustainable City

Defining principles: Remembering Mrs. Jacobs, The Power of Jane Jacobs’ “Web Way of Thinking” (Michael Mehaffy, World Streets, Dec.23. 2011) Also discussed here: Jane Jacobs Although born as an American and having made significant contributions to the New York City landscape, Jane Jacobs is often fondly viewed by Canadians as one of their own and one [...]

Freeways: divide and pollute cities today – greenspace tomorrow?

Are freeways doomed? -Several cities are tearing down highways, creating bold new public spaces — and building a future without cars (Dream City, Nov. 30, 2011) A number of cities in the USA have seen the light and replaced expensive, ineffective, polluting freeways that divide communities with parks and tourist vistas that unite them. The [...]

Making Paris Mobile in a Cleaner Environment

The greening of Paris ( Manisha Gutman, The Hindu,Feb. 3, 2008) Paris received an award recently for its Mobility Plan which was aimed at replacing its car culture with other and less polluting forms of transportation, including innovative bicycle and car sharing schemes, extensive information communication systems making known the availability of the alternatives and [...]

Do the Suburbs Have a Future?

The Death of the Fringe Suburb (Christopher B. Leinberger, New York Times, Nov. 25, 2011) Today we look at the future of traditional North American cities with sprawling suburbs and large malls that can only be reached by car. Population trends toward an older society, the rise of carbon fuel costs and the desire for [...]

The Greenest American Cities

Top 10 Cities for Green Living (Scientific American, Aug. 16, 2011) A rating of US cities by how well they perform when it comes to living green is the focus of today’s review. The two top cities under each category are shown below. Overall, New York City scored highest, winning the top spot in 3 [...]

Car Dependency and Exclusion from Social Mobility

Transport & Social Exclusion – A survey of the Group of Seven nations (44 page pdf, Summary Report, Editor: Dr Karen Lucas, Transport Studies Group, University of Westminster, the FIA Foundation, Feb. 2004) Today’s focus is on the many ways that the mobility needs of the poor and disadvantaged are met (or not) in G7 [...]

Can Simulation Modelling Steer Us toward Sustainability?

Virtual Sustainability (16 page pdf, Sims Bainbridge, W. Sustainability 2010, 2, 3195-3210, Sep. 30,2010) Models simulating  the ways that people interact with the natural world and themselves have long been used to create scenarios that allow environmental and economic policies to be tested. The World 2 model was developed Jay W. Forrester in 1970, using [...]

Greenest Cities in the U.S. and Canada

US and Canada Green City Index – Assessing the environmental performance of 27 major US and Canadian cities (71 page pdf, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Siemens, July 2011) Today’s review article comes from the Economist which assessed over two dozen cities in the US and Canada in terms of performance under [...]

Zero Energy Houses and The Cube Project

The Cube Project   The focus of today’s review is a Zero Energy House conceived in the UK, suitable for one person (but can be scaled up for larger homes or buildings). In addition to generating zero waste and energy self-sufficient, it can produce  £1000 per year by feeding unused electricity from solar panels back [...]

Resilience, Intensification and Sustainable Cities

Cities in search of resilience (Phil McDermott, Cities Matter, Feb. 3, 2011)   Today’s review comes from Auckland, New Zealand, just after its major earthquake and the earthquake and tsunami which affected much of northern Japan. Both events had major destructive impacts on cities in these countries despite advanced disaster preparativeness. One thinks of New [...]

Does Cycling in Bad Air Outweigh the Benefits of Exercise?

Cycling: Health Benefits and Risks (1 page pdf, Panis LI, Environ Health Perspect, March 1, 2011) A new look at and discussion about cycling and its positive benefits, such as fitness and Life Expectancy (LE), and negative factors, such as injury from accidents and impacts from air pollution, is the focus of today’s review. For [...]

Making Transport Sustainable in Cities

Our Cities Ourselves- the future of transportation in urban life (52 page pdf, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy/ITDP, Jun. 26, 2010) The report being reviewed today provides a pathway toward sustainable transportation over the next two decades, using examples from various cities around the world to demonstrate in words and pictures what is needed- [...]

Global City Indicators

The Current Status of City Indicators – Discussion Paper (72 page pdf, World Bank, Dec. 8, 2006)     The World Bank discussion paper reviewed today describes the development of an indicator data base in 2008 for cities of the world which can be used to monitor progress on such as the Millennium Goals. The [...]

Designing Liveable Cities

Cities for People (44 min video, Creating Tomorrow’s Liveable Cities- Urban Planning in Cold Climates, Economist Conferences, London, UK, Jan. 19, 2011) Also discussed here: Designing Streets as Public Places in Cold Climates (50 min video, Montreal Urban Ecology Centre, Feb. 16, 2010) Prof. Gehl leads us around the world pointing out the special features [...]

Smart Growth, Driving Less and Cleaner Air

Growing Wealthier -Smart Growth, Climate Change and Prosperity (98 page pdf, Center for Clean Air Policy, Jan. 2011) Also discussed here: Growing Wealthier (Summary) (4 page pdf, Center for Clean Air Policy, Jan. 2011) Key Quotes: “Transportation-related activities account for 71 percent of US oil consumption38 and nearly one-third of annual CO2 emissions in the [...]

Making Sense of Urban Complaints from 311 Calls

What a Hundred Million Calls to 311 Reveal About New York (Wired, Nov.1, 2010) Also discussed here: The Future of Sustainable Urban Mobility: Switch to IT Networks (The City Fix, Dec. 9, 2010) New York City, like many other large cities, has a special number (311) for its citizens to register complaints – at a [...]

Slums and Urban Sprawl

Image via Wikipedia State of the World’s Cities 2010/2011 – Bridging the Urban Divide (224 page pdf, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, 2010) Also discussed here: Cities at Their Best and Worst (The Pump Handle- a water cooler for the public health crowd, Dec. 6, 2010) Key Quotes: “Over the past 10 years, the proportion [...]

Future Urban Energy Use – One Scenario for the USA

A Sustainable Energy Scenario for the United States: Year 2050 (31 page pdf, Sustainability 2010, 2(12), 3650-3680, Nov. 26, 2010) Today’s review article looks at what scenario might emerge over the next 40 years as a result of action taken to make the US sustainable from an energy and climate change perspective  and what this [...]

Roadside Traffic Pollution

Image via Wikipedia Roadside Air Worst in 5 Years – Renew AQO Retire Euro II Buses (Friends of the Earth- Hong Kong, Nov. 26, 2010) Also discussed here: Hong Kong roadside air pollution hits record high (Guardian, Sept. 8, 2010) Although the review article today focuses on Hong Kong, there are parallels to the health [...]

The Cleanest (and Dirtiest) Cities in the World

Most “Global” Cities Aren’t the Dirtiest (The City Fix, Feb. 9, 2009) Also discussed here: Global Cities Index (Foreign Policy, Oct. 15, 2008) And here: Quality of Living worldwide city rankings 2010 – Mercer survey (Mercer, May 26, 2010) What makes a large city sustainable and clean is the focus of today’s review article. Key [...]

Health and Urban Poverty

Meeting the Health Challenge of Urban Poverty and Slums (62 minute streaming video, Woodrow Wilson Center, Jul. 20, 2010) Also discussed here: Urbanization and Health: challenges and promises (23 slide pdf, Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program, Jul. 20, 2010) Today’s review article looks at the health challenges of the urban poor, noting [...]

Bright Green Cities

“We don’t know yet how to build a society which is environmentally sustainable, which is shareable with everybody on the planet, which promotes stability and democracy and human rights, and which is achievable in a time frame necessary to make it through the challenges we face. We don’t know how to do this yet [but [...]

Four Issues that Really Matter

Four Issues that Really Matter (32  slideshow) “Environmental Commissioner of Ontario’s presentation on the four pressures on public decision-making that will shape events in the coming decades: climate change, peak energy, biodiversity loss and water shortages” All four impact urban sustainability in general

Sustainable Consumption

Image via Wikipedia The Role of Formal and Informal Forces in Shaping Consumption and Implications for Sustainable Society: Part II (20 page pdf, Sustainability 2010, 2, 2573-2592, Aug. 10,2010) The search for a sustainable, pollution-free city must address the issue of consumption of goods and what gives rise to it. The article reviewed today looks [...]

Smarter Choices for Less Car Use

The Effects of Smarter Choice Programmes in the Sustainable Travel Towns: Summary Report (55 page pdf, Transport for Quality of Life Ltd, Feb, 2010) The study reviewed today has some very interesting statistics on the results of a “Smarter Choice” program implemented in three UK towns to reduce car use. The greatest reductions came from [...]

Environmental Sustainability without Economic Growth?

Image via Wikipedia Energy, Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability: Five Propositions (26 page pdf, Sustainability 2010, 2(6), 1784-1809, June 18,2010) This article addresses 5 propositions that are counter to those assumed widely. The point made, especially in the 4th one, is that a broader definition of sustainability must go beyond (and may even lessen the [...]

Health Impacts of Air Pollution and Stress

Image via Wikipedia Stress and the City: Measuring Effects of Chronic Stress and Air Pollution (1 page pdf, Environ Health Perspect 118, 01 June 2010) Key Quotes: “epidemiologic evidence that chronic stress may alter respiratory responses to air pollution“ “social stres­sors (such as poverty and violence) and environmental exposures (such as traffic-related pollution) may be [...]

Is Access to Transportation a Basic Human Right?

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Accessibility (Streetsblog, June 11, 2010) Also discussed here: Mobility as a Basic Human Right (Streetsblog, Oct. 23, 2009) And here: Driving is a Privilege; Accessibility is a Right (A Place of Sense, June 11. 2010) The demand for transportation leads one to ask if mobility is a basic human [...]

How Useful are Ecological Footprints?

A Review of the Ecological Footprint Indicator—Perceptions and Methods (49 page pdf, Sustainability 2010, 2(6), 1645-1693, June 7, 2010) The Ecological Footprint has been used to assess the state of the world and compare countries, regions and cities as to the impact of resource consumption on the environment. Advocates have attempted to use the footprint [...]

Population Forecasts and Urban Planning

Image via Wikipedia More stuff that matters: the population forecast (The Dead Horse Times, June 2, 2010) This article, while focussed on land use planning in Portland, has broader implications for quality of life and the environment as applied to other cities where population growth is expected. Key Quotes: “Of all the documents and data [...]

The Worst Environmental Impacts in the World

Image via Wikipedia Evaluating the Relative Environmental Impact of Countries (16 page pdf, PLoS ONE, 1 May 2010) This is Environment Week in Canada and we have picked a report that highlights the relative state of the environment world- wide. This article provides highlights of the impact on the environment in various countries using a [...]

Ecological Citizens

Ecological Citizens Identifying Values and Beliefs that Support Individual Environmental Responsibility among Swedes (25 page pdf, Sustainability, 20 April 2010) The role of the individual and its importance of individual interests in changing behaviour toward a pollution free environment is always (or should be) the basis for improvement. This article examines a concept of being [...]

Congestion Pricing, Commuting Time and Happiness

Image via Wikipedia Another Reason for Congestion Pricing (Yglesias, Mar. 30, 2010) Also discussed here: Commuting (ScienceBlogs, Mar. 30, 2010) and here: The Sandra Bullock Trade (New York Times, Mar. 29,2010) Key Quotes: “The daily activities most associated with happiness are sex, socializing after work and having dinner with others. The daily activity most injurious [...]

Communicating Sustainability

Image via Wikipedia Science, Open Communication and Sustainable Development ( 23 page pdf, Sustainability – Special Issue Advanced Forum for Sustainable Development, 13 April 2010) Often, if not always, the most effective approach to sustainability starts at the local level as we have seen in this example from the UK Think Global, Act Local. Open [...]

Mapping the Cost of Sprawl

Penny Wise, Pound Fuelish – New Measures of Housing and Transportation Affordability (24 page pdf, Center for Neighborhood Technology, March 2010) The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index (Center for Neighbourhood Technology, CNT) Also discussed here: Most important analysis of land use you\’ll see all year: CNT proves benefits of smart growth nationwide (NRDC Switchboard, Mar. 24, [...]

Making Poor Neighbourhoods Sustainable

Siting Green Infrastructure: Legal And Policy Solutions to Alleviate Urban Poverty and Promote Healthy Communities (26 page pdf, Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, Vol. 37, Mar. 9, 2010) Also discussed here: Distressed city neighborhoods need green investment for community, environment (Switchboard, Mar.19, 2010) Key Quotes: “Increased amounts of impervious surfaces in urban areas alters [...]

The 20 Most Sustainable British Cities

Sustainable Cities Index (Forum for the Future, Nov. 19.2009) Key Quotes: “ Forum for the Future’s Sustainable Cities Index has driven real change by inspiring cities to adopt more ambitious sustainability strategies and by providing a framework against which they can benchmark their efforts.” “Index tracks progress on sustainability in Britain’s 20 largest cities: Environmental [...]

Peak Oil and ..Peak Car?

U.S. Car Fleet Shrank by Four Million in 2009 – After a Century of Growth, U.S. Fleet Entering Era of Decline (Plan B Updates- Lester Brown, Jan. 6,2010) Many see suburban sprawl and the associated car-addiction as the main threat and obstacle to sustainable, pollution-free cities. In the wake of the great 2009 recession, a [...]

Sustainability Trends for the Next Decade

The Next Decade’s Top Sustainability Trends (World Changing Team, 5 Jan 2010) World Changing: Top Sustainability Trends of the Next Decade (Sustainable Cities Collective, 4 Feb 2010) Many of the key trends are a result of the expected cost for carbon fuels along with the imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the one hand [...]

Accountability of air quality management

Measuring public health accountability of air quality management (10 page pdf, Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, March 2009) Key Quotes: “changes in ambient air quality are rarely linked to changes in public health” “Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) .. three components: air quality, fresh water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions” “The air quality component of [...]

Lightning NOx Production in Thunderstorms

“Of all the sources of tropospheric NOx the one with the greatest uncertainty is that due to lightning”, a quote noted almost a decade ago in this paper: A cloud-scale model study of lightning-generated NOx in an individual thunderstorm during STERAO-A (16 page pdf). New research this year, based on satellite (OMI) and actual measured [...]

The Vulnerability and Resilience of Cities

What if Can Do, Can’t? The Vulnerabilty and Resilience of Cities ( 37 slides with sound, 60 min slideshow) The co-father of the ecological footprint, Dr Bill Rees,  gives the keynote speech at the “Gaining Ground- Resilient Cities” Conference at Vancouver on Oct20,  2009  discussing climate change, peak oil and the vulnerability of cities despite [...]

America’s Most Toxic Cities

America’s Most Toxic Cities (interactive chart) Phoenix and Chicago have the cleanest air; Austin TX and Miama the dirtiest America’s Most Toxic Cities (Forbes) Key Quotes: “In Atlanta, Ga., you’ll find southern gentility, a world-class music scene–and 21,000 pounds of environmental waste” “High population density–the contrast to Atlanta’s sprawl–can be a good thing in terms [...]

World Health Day 2010 – 1000 cities – 1000 lives

World Health Day 2010 – 1000 cities – 1000 lives (2 page brochure pdf) “On Sunday, April 11th 2010, cities around the world are called on to close their streets to traffic and promote a physical or mental health activity. The global goal is 1000 cities.” WHO Videos World Health Day web site