A century ago, Los Angeles passed an ordinance that put cars above people. That model spread worldwide—even to cities where car ownership is low.

via bsky @itsinternational.bsky.social

https://www.itsinternational.com/feature/walk-dont-walk-actually-just-dont-walk

26 Creative Benches That Make Me Want to Travel to London, Barcelona, New York and Beyond!

https://streetartutopia.com/2025/03/12/26-creative-benches-that-make-me-want-to-travel-to-london-barcelona-new-york-and-beyond/

"A corridor for pollinating #insects can be successfully grown within #urban constraints. We plant for native #bees and wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths, flies and more. Increasing insects is the start. Then come the birds."

#rewilding #urbandesign #urbannature #cities #melbourne #australia #birds #ecology

https://www.rewildingmag.com/the-pollinator-corridor-thats-transforming-melbournes-streets/

What if cycling wasn’t stigmatized but a symbol of progress? Mayor de Araújo shows how leadership can redefine mobility justice. Lessons for all — not just the U.S.

https://buff.ly/4hXRRZb

Xitter @StreetsBlogUSA Bsky @streetsblogusa.bsky.social

While Amsterdam is often cited as a great example of a walkable, bike-friendly, and public transit-oriented city, this wasn’t always the case. In the 1970s, it was just another car-dominated city, hostile to people – especially children. Then, they decided to do one crucial thing that changed everything: they PUT CHILDREN FIRST. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01lw88k] That was it! The main reason Amsterdam is now a lovely walkable, bikeable, and transit-oriented city is that its residents got together and told the city to prioritised the lives of children over the needs of motorists.

[ The image features a large banner displayed at Museumplein, Amsterdam, with the message "Stop de Kindermoord" (Stop the Child Murder) prominently displayed. The backdrop includes a crowd of people gathered in solidarity, holding various signs and banners advocating for children's rights and safety. The atmosphere is one of protest and awareness, with trees and the iconic buildings of the square in the background.] [owgf.org]

So why aren’t all cities adopting this approach? Shouldn’t every city prioritize children? The only moral answer is yes. While some may argue, “It’s not that simple,” the truth is, it really is quite straightforward. Whenever cities make infrastructure decisions, the first question should be: “How can we make this infrastructure as safe as possible for everyone?” Additionally, city leaders need to ask at a strategic level: “What is our plan to achieve Zero Pedestrian, Bike, and Car deaths?” Many cities claim to have a Zero Road Deaths goal, but few are genuinely committed to it, often placing cars ahead of human lives.

Among all the areas for safety improvements, schools should be a top priority. If we can’t prioritize children’s lives over cars, what does that say about our cities and society? The good news is that we are witnessing a global movement dedicated to making school streets safer, and it truly spans the globe. In New York City, USA, there’s Vision Zero Schools. In the UK, we have Safe Routes to School. In Mexico City, Mexico, there’s Calle Escuela. Tokyo, Japan, has a School Zone Safety Program. Copenhagen, Denmark, is implementing the Streets for Kids initiative. Of significant note is Paris which has gone all in and launched “Programme de rues scolaires sûres”, aiming to establish over 100 safe, green streets for children by 2026. [Link] This ambitious program has already made significant strides, converting car-dominated streets into spaces for people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezPzocuqKPc

Many of the new school streets in Paris have developed a vibrant life of their own, transforming into “third places” for parents to gather. They now host pop-up play areas, community workshops, art installations, book libraries, gardening initiatives, and family engagement events. These Safe Street programs not only enhance safety but also improve the overall quality of life in the city. When cities fully commit to making school streets safer, they create better environments for everyone. Shouldn’t every city strive to implement similar initiatives?

While it may not be feasible for every school, we can start by identifying those streets where it’s relatively easy, just as Paris has done. For anyone curious to learn more, there are many online resources that offer inspiration and guidance for setting up a Safe School Streets initiative. This PDF is a particularly helpful resource which provides a wide variety of information on making streets safer in general: https://globaldesigningcities.org/publication/designing-streets-for-kids/.

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Another excellent resource is this site, filled with valuable information, links and inspiration: https://www.childhealthinitiative.org/.

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It may be worth googling “Your City Name” and School Safe Streets and seeing if there isn’t already a local organisation to support.

[ White text on a black background saying: "Mommy, a car is coming!"- Last words of Mariame Kebe, 3, to her mom before being killed] [owgf.org]

From New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U16CpAM1rFY.

There should be no excuses for inaction. Once the dangers are made clear to public officials, prioritizing safety must be a top concern. Nobody wants to read headlines like, “Man charged with manslaughter after boy is killed by a car outside school,” or see quotes like the one above.

Spread the word….

Note:

This post was created in #WordPress and can be viewed in the #Fedivers at: @owgf.org@owgf.org [owgf.org]

OWGF has a Fediverse companion profile at: https://mastodon.world/@OWGF

OWGF is also on #Pixelfed here: https://pixelfed.social/OWGFhttps://pixelfed.social/OWGF

https://owgf.org/2024/09/29/shouldnt-every-school-have-safe-streets/

#climatechange #permaculture #urbanDesign

@ExtinctionR

The meat of this semi-long read is that there is another leg to climate change, and that is land use.

It had been lost in the translation (in the 70s) to the resentment of modelers that they missed important dynamics, politicians resistant to implications of land-use in climate change and media coverage feed back loops over the hot contest of co2 denial vs scientists.

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2023-07-17/millan-millan-and-the-mystery-of-the-missing-mediterranean-storms/

18 min

The place of permaculture really does emerge as central to adaptation and climate restoration, at least locally.

Restoring and integrating ecology is central to stabilize regional hydrology and temperature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H52VFYFtZvU

The lawn as hostile architecture:

I am thinking today about grass, and specifically the irrigation necessary to maintain this distinctly unnecessary feature, as a form of hostile architecture: not just a symbolic gesture of dominion, but also a technique of exclusion.

The use of sprinklers to discourage homeless encampments on private and public property is widespread—including in cities with tight restrictions on residential irrigation, and including excess irrigation to the point of actual damage to the landscape and the plants that purportedly require it. The priority is exclusion, and the grass is its alibi.

Hmm so it turns out that if you build affordable co-op and public housing, and provide great public transport and healthcare in a city, people love living there

Someone should let those in power here know about this big revelation!

https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2024/0627/1457012-most-liveable-cities/

If only we had planned for this possibility with more robust public transit and better urban design.

Texas Asks People to Avoid Using Their Cars - Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/texas-asks-people-avoid-using-their-cars-1909517 #texas #airquality #carexhaust #cars #carbrain #urbandesign #publictransit #carbrain

Car infrastructure: bridge over the creek

Pedestrian/bike infrastructure: path under the bridge that floods and gets muddy every time it rains

Tomorrow on Nextdoor: wHy ArE pEoPLe uSiNg tHe cRoSsWaLk aNd NoT tHe uNdErPaSs

This is what you get when walking and biking are seen solely as recreation, rather than critical transit.