The January 2012 issue of The New Colonist is now online, featuring
four new articles:

Book Review: Republic of Drivers (http://newcolonist.com/br-
repdriv.html)
One sometimes wonders how it is that the car became a sacrament in
the United States, far more than in any other country, and how
driving became a major ritual for ceremonializing the doctrine of
"freedom." Considering how it increasingly results in both structured
and circumstantial restriction of actions, of choices, of
relationships....

New Year Resolutions for 2012 (http://newcolonist.com/res2012.html)
It's New Year's Day and you don't have a resolution yet. As Rick
Perry might say, "Ooops." Don't worry, I have come up with five
possibilities for you. These are resolutions that should not only
make your life more enjoyable, but can go a long way towards making
the world a better, more sustainable place. Choose one, or go all out
and start all five now!

A Brush of Genius (http://newcolonist.com/lenfest_plaza.html)
Even though it is an overcast December afternoon, many people are
enjoying the newest reclaimed public space in Philadelphia. Lenfest
Plaza, located just outside the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
(PAFA) and one block north of City Hall, is already a favorite open-
air gathering space for students, tourists and center city workers,
as a place to take a break outside all year long, without the noise
or smell of the car and bus traffic of the streets.

East of Market Square (http://newcolonist.com/eastofmarket.html)
Millcraft Industries and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of
Pittsburgh announced recently that Millcraft will build a 15 story
building on the south side of Forbes Avenue between Market Square and
Wood Street in downtown Pittsburgh. In this building there will be a
175 room limited-service hotel, about 25,000 square feet of office
space, ground level retail and restaurants, and onsite parking. This
would seem to be great news for one of the last remaining blighted
streets in Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle....

As well as our many features and services, including hotel
reservations, worldwide weather, realtime currency exchange rates,
our extensive blog, and hundreds of articles and reviews in our
massive archives!

Happy New Year!

Rick
--
Richard Risemberg
http://www.bicyclefixation.com
http://www.newcolonist.com
http://www.rickrise.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

• New Members 1

Since the link was broken in the New Colonist announcement letter, I
am sending it in easily clickable form here--especially since the
book reviewed should be of particular interest to Carfree Cities
members:

http://newcolonist.com/br-repdriv.html

Rick
--
Richard Risemberg
http://www.bicyclefixation.com
http://www.newcolonist.com
http://www.rickrise.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

• New Members 1

This is an apples-to-apples comparison of an old,
blighted block right next to a brand-new, auto-centric
block:

http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2012/1/2/the-cost-of-auto-orientation.html

Result: new block, mostly parking, is only worth $800,000.
Old, run down block is still worth $1.1 million.

----- ### -----
J.H. Crawford . Carfree Cities
mailbox-WdiPhmTxsBdBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org . http://www.carfree.com

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Excellent post on Secret Republic on how bicycles can open people's
eyes to the problems and possibilities of cities and urbanism:

http://t.co/nWgydPrj

Rick

--
Richard Risemberg
http://www.bicyclefixation.com
http://www.newcolonist.com
http://www.rickrise.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

• New Members 1

An interesting discussion on Planetizen that demonstrates that density by itself does not automatically favour walkability: the poor design of a neigbourhood in Jerusalem makes it well nigh impossible to easily get to nearby destinations by foot in a reasonable length of time:

http://www.planetizen.com/node/53467

Christopher Miller
Montreal QC Canada

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First an article that may be of interest to some:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/arts/design/taking-parking-lots-seriously-as-public-spaces.html?_r=1&hp

Second, I shared the recent video of Crawford with an American acquaintance. He responded 'sign me up'. I think that what is really needed is how to transform cities (and other areas) to be car free. For example how can Philadelphia or New York be transformed (what would the stages be, what can be meaningfully done with the space that is freed, how could transportation of goods work, etc). I think, as a start, my acquaintance should ditch his car and struggle with a poor public transportation system and the danger of walking/biking.

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Hi All,

The section on Conversions, which first ran in Carbusters,
is available here:

http://www.carfree.com/conv_home.html

It's still fairly basic, but it's the most complete general
treatment I know of that actually proceeds from the assumption
that a full carfree conversion IS possible.

Best,

Joel

At 2012-01-06 13:29, you wrote:
>
>
>First an article that may be of interest to some:
><http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/arts/design/taking-parking-lots-seriously-as-public-spaces.html?_r=1&hp>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/arts/design/taking-parking-lots-seriously-as-public-spaces.html?_r=1&hp
>
>Second, I shared the recent video of Crawford with an American acquaintance. He responded 'sign me up'. I think that what is really needed is how to transform cities (and other areas) to be car free. For example how can Philadelphia or New York be transformed (what would the stages be, what can be meaningfully done with the space that is freed, how could transportation of goods work, etc). I think, as a start, my acquaintance should ditch his car and struggle with a poor public transportation system and the danger of walking/biking.
>
>

----- ### -----
J.H. Crawford
mailbox-WdiPhmTxsBdBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org
http://www.carfree.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/carfreecities
Video channels:
http://vimeo.com/jhcrawford/videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/CarfreeCities

• New Members 1

Interesting. In 2006, when I was there, this was not a
nice city to walk in except for a few small areas in
the center.

J.

>Welcome to the new Seville, a cleaner, greener and more breathable metropolis, where bikes, pedestrians and streamlined electric trams roam. This Spanish city has bidden adios to the organized urban chaos found in so many Mediterranean cities and embraced a more sustainable outlook.
>
>Kick-started by proactive city mayor, Alfredo Sánchez Monteseirín in 2007, the lightning pace of Seville’s “greening” defies its laidback fiesta and siesta image. In the span of just five years, the Sevillanos have instituted a community bike-sharing scheme, a surface tram, an underground metro, two high-speed train links, a pilot electric car programme and -- 20km away in Sanlúcar la Mayor -- the first commercial solar power plant in Europe.
>
>After decades of driving chaos, the inauguration of Seville’s <http://www.sevici.es/>Sevici bike-sharing scheme in April 2007 was something of a godsend, even for avowed car users. Sevici was the second bike-sharing initiative in Spain (there are now nine), opening a few weeks after Barcelona’s <http://www.bicing.cat/>Bicing programme. Despite subsequent copyists -- Paris’ Vélib was launched in 2009 -- it remains the fifth largest scheme of its kind in Europe, with 2,500 bikes on offer. Grab a two-wheeled machine from any of the 250 docking stations and you will quickly discover that cycling suits this flat, balmy metropolis.
>
>Most of Sevici’s 250,000 daily users are local, but visitors can take advantage of the sharing system by purchasing a seven-day pass online for 10 euros (plus a 150 euro returnable deposit). You will need to proceed to the nearest docking station and punch in the number from your coded receipt to get your bike. Seville has 120km of city bike lanes and the first 30 minutes of usage are free. Beyond that, it is one euro for the first hour and two euros an hour thereafter.
>
>
>More:
><http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20120105-seville-goes-green>http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20120105-seville-goes-green

----- ### -----
J.H. Crawford
mailbox-WdiPhmTxsBdBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org
http://www.carfree.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/carfreecities
Video channels:
http://vimeo.com/jhcrawford/videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/CarfreeCities

• New Members 1

parking policy affect downtown modal share:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-politics/vancouver-tax-hike-drives-home-message-that-cars-have-no-%20place-downtown/article2294684/

----- ### -----
J.H. Crawford
mailbox-WdiPhmTxsBdBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org
http://www.carfree.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/carfreecities
Video channels:
http://vimeo.com/jhcrawford/videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/CarfreeCities

• New Members 1