Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve written a blog post titled “Do Calgary and Edmonton need more power and resources?” The blog post comes as the Government of Alberta considers the possibility of, well, giving more power and sources to both Calgary and Edmonton. Points
Continue readingTag: Transportation
Things Are Good: Why North American Cities are Different Than European
We often look at urban design on Things Are Good so it’s worth thinking about how we got here. The decisions made centuries ago impact how our cities operate and how we as people integrate ourselves into the built environment. This video explores how and why cities in Europe look
Continue readingThings Are Good: Cities Improve Parking by Removing Parking Spaces
Car culture greatly damaged urban centres the world over and now cities are trying to undo the damage. Smart cities are banning cars from certain areas, installing bike lanes, more sidewalks, and now are removing parking. Cities built too many parking spaces for cars and now they are reclaiming that
Continue readingCarbon49 – Sustainability for Canadian businesses: Canadians Prefer Businesses with Green Vehicles
Should your company cars and long distance fleets go green? 90% of Canadians believe businesses should reduce transportation related emissions and 82% feel having an environmentally friendly fleet is an important factor when choosing vendors. I look at the findings to see if turning your fleet green may make business sense.
Continue readingCarbon49 – Sustainability for Canadian businesses: Canadians Prefer Businesses with Green Vehicles
Should your company cars and long distance fleets go green? 90% of Canadians believe businesses should reduce transportation related emissions and 82% feel having an environmentally friendly fleet is an important factor when choosing vendors. I look at the findings to see if turning your fleet green may make business
Continue readingThings Are Good: Trams Win For Moving People
Traffic is a problem in every city, and more and more people are concerned with the most efficient way of getting people from A to B. It turns out we already know the answer: mass transit. The issue in traffic planing is slowly changing from how much space should cars get to how much space […]
The post Trams Win For Moving People appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Bicycling is the Safest Form of Transportation
In Toronto, the car rules the road so much so that the city is fine with non-driver (that’s everyone) deaths, and the city won’t do much to stop drivers from killing. Sadly, Toronto isn’t a unique case. In far too many places bicycling infrastructure is an afterthought that plays second fiddle to cars. Despite this […]
The post Bicycling is the Safest Form of Transportation appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Walkable Streets Solve Nearly Every Problem
Anybody who lives in a city knows that walkability of neighbourhoods is a key reason they live where they do. The attraction to mobility options, safe places, cultural and economic diversity is what keeps cities growing. Walkable spaces makes all of that happen and more! What smoking was to the 20th century car driving is […]
The post Walkable Streets Solve Nearly Every Problem appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Activists in SF Try to Get Drivers to Obey the Law
This year in Toronto drivers have been murdering non-drivers at a record rate. Of course, collisions causing casualties are all avoidable – drivers should watch where they are going and infrastructure designed for car drivers makes roads dangerous for everybody. Toronto isn’t unique for its number of driver caused fatalities in North America. In San […]
The post Activists in SF Try to Get Drivers to Obey the Law appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Cities Designed for Walking Attract Smart People
The human population of the world is urbanizing, but some places are performing better than others. The key to making a good modern and productive city is to make it walkable. Design for people, not cars. Over at BBC autos they took a look at what attracts smart people to the smartest cities and it […]
The post Cities Designed for Walking Attract Smart People appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Drivers Need to Learn to Share
Bicycles are an amazingly fast way to get around cities and countries, as a cyclist I often roll past cars idling in bumper to bumper traffic. The cars (and their single occupants) aren’t getting anywhere anytime soon yet drivers as a group demand more and more infrastructure when really they should learn to share. In […]
The post Drivers Need to Learn to Share appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: NEW DRIVERLESS CARS COULD ENERGIZE THE ELDERLY
Maria is a frequent guest blogger here at The Caregivers’ Living Room. Today, I’m thrilled that she’s chosen to write about driverless cars, largely because my Mom wants one – badly. This innovation will be transformative for the elderly and people wit…
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: NEW DRIVERLESS CARS COULD ENERGIZE THE ELDERLY
Continue reading
Things Are Good: Supporting Bicycles is a Good Idea for Cities
Torontoist is a blog focused on, you guessed it, Toronto and they recently ran a series of posts about bike lanes. It’s not all about Toronto as they pull data from New York and tout Strasbourg as an inspiration that Toronto ought to follow. The success of cycling infrastructure in Strasbourg is a result of […]
The post Supporting Bicycles is a Good Idea for Cities appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Typographic Design Can Improve The World
The font you choose matters, it sets the tone of what is read and the overall look of what’s presented. A simple decision around fonts can turn something beautiful into an ugly mess and vice versa. Be conscious of what you pick. Not only can fonts make things look nice they can also improve the […]
The post Typographic Design Can Improve The World appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Pedestrians In Paris To Get 50% Of Street Space
Paris has had decades of extremely bad traffic and there’s no obvious solution: other than get rid the traffic. Infrastructure that encourages car use makes traffic worse while also debilitating cities as a whole. So Paris is doing what most places are afraid to try: giving the streets back to people. “Parisians are finding out […]
The post Pedestrians In Paris To Get 50% Of Street Space appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Change The City, Not Your Fashion
Toronto runs ad campaigns that blame victims for being hit by car drivers, the campaign is so bizarre because it says it comes to pedestrian fashion choice. You’d think the city would learn that blaming victims because of what they wear is a bad idea (see Slut Walk for a previous example of this). To […]
The post Change The City, Not Your Fashion appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: 20-mph Speed Limit Coming To Edinburgh
Drivers often argue for higher speed limits thinking that it will allow them to get around faster. Unfortunately that logic usually isn’t true and when speed limits are increased then more people die. High speed limits are even more dangerous in urban settings since collisions in cities involve drivers hitting cyclists and pedestrians. It’s often […]
The post 20-mph Speed Limit Coming To Edinburgh appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: In New York, Bikes Have Totally Victory Over the Car
NYC Streets Metamorphosis from STREETFILMS on Vimeo. New York City might be famous for its cabs, but in the future it might be famous for its bikes. The city has seen a big push for sustainable and fast transit in the last decade and everyone agrees: bike lanes are the solution. The city’s commitment to […]
The post In New York, Bikes Have Totally Victory Over the Car appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue readingThings Are Good: The Century of the Car Was a Mistake, Let’s Move on
North America was built around the car instead of people and that was mistake that needs to be acknowledged. In some places it is. The insane support the automobile gets in urban centres is starting to change, we’re seeing more bike lanes and places for people to walk. In order to make changse last and […]
The post The Century of the Car Was a Mistake, Let’s Move on appeared first on Things Are Good.
Continue reading