Bird’s Post

My Circuit colleagues Alana Wortsman & Jason Bagley lead an exciting #Sustainable #Mobility project in West Palm Beach! Here's a quick rundown: Partnerships: We're proud to collaborate with 7 key partners, including the City of West Palm Beach, Brightline, and local hotels like The Ben, to operate our 17-vehicle fleet throughout the city. Advertising: Our innovative partnerships with local and national brands help fund our mission, ensuring affordable rides for all. Service Expansion: Last year, we introduced fares in select areas to enhance service efficiency, while keeping individual rides at a maximum of $4, and group rides at $8. Community Impact: Thanks to our public and private funders, we've directly created 42 local jobs and generated an estimated $500,000 of monthly economic impact. Local Expertise: Our passionate employee drivers are hired directly from West Palm Beach, bringing expert local knowledge to every ride. #EnvironmentalImpact: We help the City avoid over 70 metric tons of GHG emissions monthly, contributing to a greener future. When you choose Circuit, you're not just getting transportation, you're becoming part of a community-driven impact & experience. Read more about the project here: https://lnkd.in/efSQ9Q_Z Reach out if you are interested in learning more about our about projects/programs across the country.

Engage with YourGround NSW to shape safer and more equitable public spaces throughout New South Wales! 🌐✨ Watch to discover how YourGround NSW gathers perceptions of safety to inform how public spaces in NSW are inclusively planned and designed. Pin a spot and join us in creating streets, parks, and journeys that feel safer for everyone. Let's build a more inclusive and secure community together! 💙🗺️ . . . . . [Alt-text: Video reel with text, reading, “What is spatial equity? Spatial means relating to or occupying space and equity relates to the quality of being fair. Equal access is a complex combination of individual access to public space, equitable share of collective resources, economic development and access and inclusion as human-rights. But currently, access, inclusion and belonging are unevenly distributed across society. This is because how we experience public space, and how we are treated there, is profoundly shaped by who we are – by our identity. Gender, ethnicity, ability, sexuality, age, indigeneity – and complicated combinations of these – often result in discrimination, which means that some are excluded from public space, or exclude themselves because of bad experiences there. Gender is a major barrier to access for a large proportion of society. What is YourGround NSW doing to improve urban spatial equity? The YourGround NSW interactive map allows you to anonymously pin a spot, tell a story or share an experience about your feelings of safety while using public space –whether for study, work, play or transport. Safety in the city is complex, and the YourGround NSW map will generate data to show how important it is to obtain a wide range of perspectives in evaluations of any interventions or proposed interventions. Tell us about the places you walk, work, study, play, and hang out with friends and family. Pin a spot, share your experience and help make your street, your park, your journey, your way safer for everyone.] #YourGroundNSW #Street #Park #Journey #Way #Place #Play #Walk #Beach #Identity #Inclusion #Equity #Access #Women #GenderDiverse #PublicSpace #Cycling #SaferCities

#FoodForThought— Making sure businesses thrive requires good infrastructure, especially for pedestrians. 🚶🏿♀️Crosswalks ensure pedestrians can travel to local businesses safely 🖼️Murals in partnership with local artists make stores visually appealing to passers-by 🚌Accessible, shaded bus stops make it easy for people to come and go 🏞 Preserving local greenspaces give people space to enjoy their locally purchased foods or wares 🛑Adequate traffic signage slows down traffic and encourages people to take their time moving through the neighborhood, whether on foot or in a car! These strategies may not first come to mind when you think of economic vitality, but they each play a part in ensuring businesses thrive. Do you have any other ideas of how to improve economic accessibility? Leave your ideas in the comments! ✍️ Read more: https://lnkd.in/gad-p2Gd 

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭" 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚'𝐬 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 The most pronounced dynamic shaping U.S. cities heading into 2024 is "the donut effect" — a hollowing of the urban core as people, jobs and retailers flee to the suburbs and exurbs. Why it matters: For all the talk of 2023 being the year of downtown recovery, the reality looks more like a swirl of experiments in how to attract residents, commuters and visitors to cities where the pulse beats differently than it did pre-pandemic. Axios #urbanism #bestpractices #BilbaoMetropoli30 #Bilbao

The capping of the Cross Bronx Expressway is long overdue and it is high time that the federal government provides the necessary financial and bureaucratic support to make it a reality. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres has rightly called for the U.S. Department of Transportation to include the Cross Bronx in its "Emerging Projects" program, which has successfully jumpstarted similar high-cost concepts in other parts of the country. The effort to cap the Cross Bronx Expressway has already received a $2 million RAISE grant, which has been allocated for public input sessions and a comprehensive study on how to address the issues caused by this neighborhood-splicing highway. These funds have been used to hold open houses and gather feedback from the local community, with more meetings scheduled for the upcoming summer. The city's plan is to publish the study in 2024, presenting both short-term and long-term ideas to "re-envision" the highway and reconnect the neighborhoods it cuts through. The benefits of covering the Cross Bronx Expressway are manifold. Firstly, it would greatly improve the quality of life for over 200,000 city residents living near the highway. Research has shown that covering the highway would actually extend their lifespans by raising their "quality-adjusted life years," which is a combined measure of health and longevity. This alone should be reason enough to prioritize the capping of the Cross Bronx. Secondly, covering the highway would offer an opportunity to reconnect neighborhoods that have long been divided by this massive infrastructure. The Cross Bronx Expressway has not only physically separated communities but has also led to increased noise pollution, air pollution, and decreased pedestrian safety. By covering the highway, we can mitigate these negative effects and create new opportunities for social and economic development. Moreover, the capping of the Cross Bronx Expressway would also provide much-needed green space in an area that is severely lacking in parks and recreational areas. The new space could be utilized for community gardens, playgrounds, walking and biking paths, and other outdoor amenities, enhancing the overall well-being of the local residents. Lastly, capping the Cross Bronx would be a step towards rectifying historical injustices and addressing the environmental and health disparities that have disproportionately affected low-income communities of color. These communities have borne the brunt of the negative impacts of the highway for decades and it is time to prioritize their well-being and create a more equitable and sustainable future. #Bronx #engineering #Newyork #Crossbronx

It’s exciting to see our work catching on. The car built America but in many ways it has come back to bite us. The 15 minute city concept trades car-centric for #convenience and connection. The #community is back! Residents want communities that are #walkable, where they can achieve their daily needs in a readily accessible fashion. Achieving activity goals becomes an easy, natural outcome. These communities are more #affordable because they leverage smart density. They are more #accessible because they’re designed for people, not cars. Four #Pillars of 15-Minute Cities In a TED talk viewed 1.5 million times, Moreno describes the four pillars of his approach. He elaborated on them to me in an email exchange: #Ecology : “It is a green and sustainable city: more green places and more vegetation in public spaces, promoting sustainable lifestyle and mobility.” #Proximity: “People can reach their everyday needs in decarbonized short distances by walking or biking.” #Solidarity: “A city that creates links between people, that enables exchanges and breaks with the individualism of big cities.” #Citizen participation: “Enables the active engagement of people in their neighborhood transformation.” https://lnkd.in/eXf6SNuK

Dreaming of Walkable Neighborhoods? They're Closer Than You Think! 🚶🌇 According to the National Association of Realtors, an increasing number of Americans are willing to pay a premium to live within a short stroll or bike ride from parks, shops, and restaurants. The study suggests that with a few simple policy changes, millions of American communities could become the affordable, vibrant places we crave 🏡 To make walkable neighborhoods a reality for more people, we need zoning reforms, increased housing supply in destination-rich areas, and fewer car-dependent developments. It's crucial to create attractive communities where walking and biking are the norm! 🚶♂️🚴♀️ At Priority Funds, we are committed to investing in walkable communities and understand their vital importance for a sustainable future. Join the movement for sustainable living and better quality of life. Let's make walkable neighborhoods a priority! 🤝 Full article & study ➤ https://lnkd.in/g4ug7Xbz #walkability #walkableneighborhood #community #americanhousing #qualityoflife #nar #neighborhood #placemaking #placespeoplelove #investing #priorityfunds

Tech investing and company building are my working life and what I spend most of my time thinking about. Yet, sometimes, other topics impose themselves on you. Last week, the craziest thing happened to me. As I was riding my bike to work after the school drop-off, a guy in a car simply…spat on me ☂️. Here is what happened: A driver was going too fast and almost clipped me. I asked her to slow down when I caught up with her at the next traffic light. Then the driver behind us starting honking and, at the next intersection, cut me off. He then rolled down his window, started to argue that I had nothing to do on the road, and eventually spat on me as he made off. I guess sitting bumper to bumper in Manhattan traffic every morning at rush hour does make one rather angry. It could have been a lot worse - at least I’m still alive and well to joke about it. Not everyone is as lucky. Last year, 260 people died and 46,000 got injured in traffic crashes in NYC. This is an insane level of violence, which we shouldn’t take as an immutable fact of life. We can and have a moral duty to do better. I love NYC. There is no equivalent to the people it brings together. But its infrastructure is not up to par: the streets are dirtier, noisier, more dangerous, more congested and more polluted than they have any right to be. There is one overwhelming reason for it: they have been overtaken by an excessive number of enormous cars. Consider this:  Only 45% of NYC households own a car (22% in Manhattan). 70% of NYC residents commute by public transport, bike or foot. Yet 75% of our shared streetscape is dedicated to cars (both driving and parked). Cars are great in many places, but not in dense city centers. So how can we make NYC streets 10x better in less than 10 years? Based on what worked in other cities, here are the 5 most impactful measures: 💳 Congestion pricing so we reduce the number of cars and fund improvements to subways and busses 🅿️ Fewer on-street parking spots to improve visibility at intersections and enable trash containerisation (bye bye rats and trash summer smell 👋🏻) 🚲 Protected bike lanes on every major road and avenue to make it safer for people to take on cycling 🚸 Low-traffic neighborhoods (stopping vehicles from using residential streets as shortcuts, while maintaining access) to remove noise pollution and give the streets back to residents 🚶🏽♀️Car-free streets in core retail areas to turbo-charge local businesses and provide great public space to residents and tourists. But we need policy change for this to happen — for the city’s leaders to step up and fight for a city built for people, not cars. Last year I joined the board of Transportation Alternatives and made a point to donate to their work. But it’s not enough. What else have you seen work well in other cities to effect real political change? Please let me know in comments or DM. After this week, I’m even more committed to fighting for safer streets.

At this point, the evidence for making communities more walkable* is pretty overwhelming. Walkable communities are more healthy, more equitable, more financially secure, more safe, more happy, more attractive, more sustainable, and more relational. But how can we make our communities more walkable? Should we petition our local governments? Seek out grant opportunities? Recruit walk and bike-friendly businesses? Activate more outdoor dining and public gathering spaces? Apply best practices of tactical urbanism? Share economic data from communities with high Walk Scores? Install more public art? Yes, of course. But none of this really matters if the community does not have a walking culture. If nobody walks, bikes, or rolls around town, all of our best efforts to increase walkability will fall on deaf ears, lack support, and lose their effectiveness. Increase demand, y'all! Now, I'm not saying that you should start walking and biking everywhere, especially if your community's infrastructure doesn't support it. Please don't try to cross a dangerous 8-lane road Frogger style in hopes that your presence will make the hundreds of drivers speeding by stop and think, "ya know, I should be nicer and more accommodating to pedestrians," or "golly, I should show up to my next City Council meeting and petition for better and safer pedestrian initiatives like raised crosswalks, narrower driving lanes, or speed cameras." It doesn't work. Trust me, I tried. --But what I am saying is that maybe you could leave the car in the garage and just walk to your friend's house a few doors down the street. I mean, we do this every year en masse for Trick or Treating. Why can't we do it year-round (without the costumes, unless you're into that sort of thing...). --Maybe you could dust off your bike and pedal to work using your local rail trail. --Instead of driving to the gym, just walk to the gym (double the exercise!). --Skip the Uber and take the extra 5-10 minutes to walk to your next destination. --Organize a downtown walking pub tour. Hooray, supporting locally-owned small businesses! Hooray, beer! Walk more. Bike more. Drive less. Now, you may be saying, that I'm just a dreamer, but to quote/paraphrase John Lennon, "I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join me." *I'm defining "walkable" as the ability to walk, bike, roll, stroll, saunter, etc. (really, just anything that doesn't require the use of traffic-inducing, carbon emitting, community-destroying vehicles) #placemaking #walkability #activetransportation #walkability #communitydevelopment #walkmore #bikemore #bike #culture #sustainability Strong Towns Pennsylvania Downtown Center Main Street America America Walks Project for Public Spaces Pedestrian Space PeopleForBikes

🌟 Rethinking Urban Spaces: The Evolving Landscape of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods 🌟 In our latest insightful blog, "The Evolution of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods: A Comparative Analysis," we delve into the transformative journey of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) from 2021 to 2024. This piece is a deep dive into the changing perspectives and strategies surrounding LTNs, highlighting how community aspirations and real-world impacts have evolved. 🔍 What's Inside: ·       Community Aspirations: Discover how initial aims of reducing through-traffic have broadened to include public safety, environmental cleanliness, and enhanced transport connectivity. ·       Approaching Solutions: Learn about the shift from physical barriers to more diversified strategies like time-specific modal filters and active travel incentives. ·       Public Perception and Participation: Uncover the transition from polarised views to a more nuanced understanding and proactive community involvement in LTN planning. ·       Real-world Impacts: Reflect on the consistent goals of safety, health, and air quality, and how tactics have adapted towards sustainable urban mobility. ·       Join us in exploring these vital insights, offering a glimpse into the future of urban living and planning. A special thanks to our active travel clients: Craig Nicol MCIHT Richard Eason Liz Rhodes Ehsan Askarany Naima Ihsan 🔗 Dive into the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/e9DsKpBH Reach out to us at info@engagecf.co.uk and discover how ECF can provide expert support and enhance your project's success. #UrbanPlanning #SustainableMobility #CommunityEngagement #LTNs #SustainableCities #CommunityDevelopment #TrafficManagement #SustainableTransport #CityPlanning #ActiveTravel #PublicTransport #EcoFriendlyLiving #SmartCities