Climate Cities

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 […]

Critical List: Shell spills oil in the Arctic; the Northwest Passage opens

A Shell oil platform in the Arctic is leaking oil. The company won't say how much but will say that the spill is under control.

The Interior Department is looking into treatment of Arctic scientist Charles Monnett, who is under investigation for his work on polar bears.

Why real world fuel efficiency is so much lower than fuel efficiency standards.

How to tell if your city is going places

Here's a handy infographic, from the Project for Public Spaces, to help you distinguish cities that are going places from cities that are going nowhere. What's your retail shopping like? Transportation? Public spaces? (Or publc spaces; even handy infographics sometimes have typos, and this one coulda been a lot worse.)