No single event in modern times has had a larger global impact than the COVID-19 pandemic. It has disrupted our lives, exposed our inequalities, and altered our use of space within our cities. However, 2020 has been the greatest year for cycling in decades. In many places, both cycling and walking have increased significantly. Without…
Author: Maeve Power
Mexico City already has one of the world’s best bike-share systems. This year, Avenida de los Insurgentes, one of the longest avenues, got an emergency bike lane to support the growing number of cyclists during the pandemic. Cyclists throughout Mexico City have responded to the better cycling conditions with enthusiasm and hope that the cycle…
The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered many societal cracks – from healthcare, to affordable housing, to accessing essential needs like groceries. During this crisis, we saw how few options many residents have to move around in their cities. However, active transport like walking and cycling gave people new power in their mobility. Over the past year, all…
Public transportation, despite being an essential service, is frequently on the chopping block for municipal budget cuts. In 2020, transit worldwide was walloped by drastically lower ridership due to the pandemic and lockdown protocols. Right now, as the world grapples with the pandemic – how to move through, or past it, the need to build…
After experiencing a year like no other, which exposed so many fault lines and illuminated new urban mobility challenges, cycling has resurfaced as a particularly resilient and equitable transportation solution. New cycling lanes brought new cyclists to the streets in droves. In cities where bike infrastructure was added early in the pandemic, cycling increased up…
For the past several years, the city of Jakarta, Indonesia, has been on track for a major transport transformation. Like most other big cities, Jakarta has seen soaring growth in the past few decades, with migrants from all over the region drawn to the rapidly growing economy and modern life of the city. Unfortunately, Jakarta…
STREET VENDING IN MEXICO CITY Street vending has been an inherent part of Mexican culture since pre-Hispanic times. In Mexico City, 1.2 million people are part of this informal sector and rely on their ability to work in public space. These vendors make the streets lively and dynamic, and provide people with affordable food and…
Urban highways are obsolete technology. By investing in walking, cycling, and public transit, rapidly developing cities can leapfrog past the outdated urban highway, and skip straight to the future. High-income cities are paying exorbitant costs to remove the urban highways they built only decades prior, and replace them with walking, cycling, and transit. Toxic Transport…
This year has begun with more uncertainty than 2020. Many questions remain: about the vaccine, government readiness, what the future may hold, and when things might change Among the many existential challenges facing the world this year, traffic looms as a seldom discussed time bomb. During the pandemic, cities largely stood still. Streets emptied, with…