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World Carfree News #94 - April 2012 - English Version


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QUOTATION OF THE MONTH

"If you're young and don't really need to buy, just look at what kind of nice new highrise apartment building with all the exciting things built in you might get in the city"

-Robert Shiller, professor of economics at Yale University, on the changing landscape and new attitudes towards (sub)urban growth. Eric Miller discusses this and the pros of living in the city in "Suburbs are so last century".


ANNOUNCEMENTS

to the beach
            by bike

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Thanks to all who sent in news. Gavin Phill of Bellingham, WA, USA provided the image above, while Rian Aya of Indonesia shot the middle picture in Vauban (Freiburg), Germany, and Andy Singer is to thank for his dependable comic wit.

We are still in need of new translators for the Italian and Portoguese versions. Meanwhile...

POLISH LANGUAGE EDITION SIGNUP OPEN!

The Polish version of the World Carfree Monthly News can now be subscribed to. Sign up by sending an email to world-carfree-news_pol-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.

We will soon also feature a Polish language sign-up page on the website. If you are interested in popularizing the Polish language web service, please write to bulletin@worldcarfree.net

ECOTOPIA BIKETOUR THIS SUMMER

This summer Ecotopia Biketour will be cycling through southern Europe, starting on a journey “towards degrowth” - challenging the damaging growth mentality of capitalism which overlooks real social and environmental values. It's an eco-mobile do-it-yourself activist community going strong for more than 20 years.

Starting point: Barcelona in early July
Goal: Venice, in time for Conference on Degrowth, late September
In between: visiting bike workshops, ecological agriculture projects, action camps, intentional communities and ecovillages
www.ecotopiabiketour.net

CIVITAS MIMOSA SEARCH ENGINE

The CIVITAS MIMOSA Search Engine has just been released. This is a database of information on policy research, documents, videos and more, related to urban mobility. Users will soon be invited to upload information to this free resource.
Read more

CARFREE WALKS WEBSITE GETS AWARD

The Carfree Walks website has won the Responsible Travel Award in the People and Environment Awards 2012. The website is aimed at UK based residents who love walking and want to reduce their impact on the environment. Guides and reviews are available.
www.carfreewalks.org

SUSTAINABLE CITY NEWS

This issue of World Carfree Monthly News connects you to a few articles from Sustainable City News. Two of them are found in the News section and a third snuck into the quote attribution. Please take a look also at the other featured pieces in this excellent news blog!
Read more


NEWS

The famed Wenceslas square in downtown Prague has closed off access to cars as of April 1. This was a continuation of a longer process to revitalize this historic area.
Read more

A congestion charge came into place in Milan, Italy in January. There have been legal attempts to suspend the scheme, but the court ruled in favor of keeping it in place. The measured levels of black carbon in Milan have sunk appreciably.
Read more

Thanks to the Ciclovia style Carfree Sundays that have been taking place in Los Angeles of late, just recently one part of a street in the Silver Lake district has been permanently closed to cars - in the land of the highways!
Read more

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, where pedestrians and rickshaws have frequently been relegated to the backstreets, the former often banned (in once instance triggering a World Carfree Network mobility justice campaign), the courts have just come out to defend pedestrian rights. This is a large step forward for Dhaka.
Read more


ACTION AND NETWORKING

as
            spotted in Vauban, Freiburg

KHIMKI FOREST ACTIONS FEATURES PRIZE WINNER

Ms. Evgenija Chirikova, of the Movement to Defend Khimki Forest, was nominated as the recipient this year of the Goldman Environmental Prize for Europe. Chirikova and her colleagues convinced major European banks such as EBRD and EIB to drop funding for the planned highway through the forest. The struggle continues as encouraging signs, as listed here, bring energy to the movement.
Read more

CYCLE ROUTE DOLDRUMS

Scotland's most important tourist cycle route, from the capital, Edinburgh, to the Forth Bridge, the start of the route to the Scottish Highlands, has been called a "disgrace" in a debate in the Scottish Parliament. If you have been unhappy with this route when visiting Scotland by bike, please complain to the First Minister at alex.salmond.msp@scottish.parliament.uk and copy your email to spokes@spokes.org.uk.
Read more


REPORTS

COSTS OF "KILLER COMMUTE"

In "Breaking down the costs of a "killer commute" many of the aspects of commuting are covered, including the psychological effects of long commutes and the cause and effects of habitual driving. Complete with attractive graphics and convincing arguments, this analysis makes a good "forward" to those friends who just need the final push.
Read more


MEDIA

Real men by
            Singer

BUS DRIVER TO THE AID OF DOWNED CYCLIST

In this case of a hit and run in Pennsylvania, USA, a bus driver cuts off the escape route of the juvenile offender in car. Lucky for the cyclist, he didn't get hurt badly, and that very day a new protective law came into force for the benefit of cyclists.
Watch more

HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO WALK

Do you prefer your streets with cars or without? Joel Crawford juxtaposes images of two kinds of streets and invites you to delve deeper with his "Carfree Design Manual"
Watch more


WCN logo World Carfree News is published once a month by World Carfree Network.
Bulletin #94 by Justin Hyatt
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