Climate Cities

Leave a love note for a sexy bike

Ever see a bike on the street that had your heart going pitter-patter? Sarah Raz, of the Adventure Cycling Association, knows where you’re coming from: "I can't even tell you how many times I've seen a beauty of a bike, hand built or all vintage, parked near the post office or my grocery store, and I've just had to leave a love note," she writes.

But there's a quick fix for this uncontrollable urge!

Levitt to Beaver: Suburbia gets a mixed-use makeover

Designers set out to make Levittown, N.Y. -- the original suburban gold standard -- more livable and less car-dependent.

Helmet laws get in the way of bike-sharing programs

Bike-sharing systems are popping up in cities all over the world, but they've yet to take hold in places where bike helmets are mandatory. Is it time to change the rules?

Put your money where your miles are

The Netherlands plans to start taxing motorists for how much they drive. Could this and other European innovations to reduce traffic take root here?

London pumps up bike infrastructure

In London, two bicycle parking lots are now equipped with beautiful, shining new public bike pumps. They work just like the hand pump generally native to the dusty garage, except they’re bolted to the ground. The pumps’ gauges also can deal with any tire they might be asked to handle.

Bike-shares save lives

A new study has found that Barcelona's bike-share program, Bicing, prevents 12 deaths per year. That may not sound like much in a city of 1.6 million, but it sure seems like a big deal if you're one of the 12.

Critical List: The Navy and USDA invest in biofuels; Norway's big oil find

The Navy, USDA, and Energy Department are investing in biofuels that come from plants we don't eat.

As Shell fought an oil leak in the North Sea, Norway's biggest oil company announced it had found a huge oil field there. Oh awesome, nothing can go wrong with this!

Shell's also helping Iraq to double its capacity to produce natural gas.

U.S. solar manufacturers say it's hard to compete against China's low-priced workers.

I'll be seeing you

It's my last day as cities editor at Grist, but I hate to say goodbye.

Florida is the worst state for pedestrian safety

If you live in Florida and don't have a car, you may want to invest in a heavy steel overcoat. Florida is home to four of the top four most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians -- Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Miami. In the wake of the Raquel Nelson case, the New York Times has turned its reporting eye on pedestrian fatalities, and the scene on Florida streets is pretty depressing:

Sidewalks are viewed as perks, not necessities. Crosswalks are disliked and dishonored. And many drivers maniacally speed up when they see someone crossing the street.

Watch a city grow from a tiny sprout in this beautiful video

"Lilium Urbanus" envisions the city as a botanical, flowering from seed to sprout to village to metropolis. Its creators, Anca Risca and Joji Tsuruga, told Scientific American that their daily observation of urban growth in their home city of New York inspired the comparison: We embraced the idea of urban growth and saw it as something […]