News & Notes

Five Things Every Mayor Should Know Before Starting a Bike-sharing Program [Shareable:Cities]

1) Be a bike-friendly community first.

Liberation Squares [UrbanOmnibus]

In the US, we tend to take public spaces and the activities they enable for granted. From the history of protests in Tompkins Square Park, to Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech on the Washington Mall, to the makeshift memorial built in Union Square after 9/11, it is deeply embedded in our psyche that civil discourse should have a stage on which to play out. While some moments of dissent occurred in contained surrounds like Rosa Parks’ bus, the majority of democracies worldwide will continue to see their hopes and pains played out in sweeping public spaces.

NYC to Go QR for New Building Permits: Bloomberg [Fast Company]

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg unveiled a system of QR tags today meant to give citizens quicker access to information about new construction projects. The QR codes will be posted on every construction permit city-wide; by downloading a QR reader app on any smartphone, city-goers can scan these codes to see a web view of what’s being built, who is doing the building, and what (if any) complaints have been filed against the permittee.

Downtown [Pawtucket] design well-received [The Pawtucket Times]

A plan born of common sense–that the downtown would thrive more if people could just get in to and around it more easily|was presented to about 60 people at the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center last Thursday. While some called it “ambitious,” the proposal received an enthusiastic round of applause.

Further information at: Pawtucket Downtown Design Plan

[Israeli] Cabinet approves reduction in public transport fares [The Jerusalem Post]

The cabinet on Sunday decided to lower bus and rail fares and increase subsidies, in an effort to encourage the use of public transportation as an alternative to private vehicles.

“We also want to maintain air quality and reduce pollution,” [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu said. “This will benefit both society and the environment, and is good for the State of Israel.”

The unrealized potential of downtown housing [New Urban Network]

Housing sets a cornerstone for centers. To be vibrant, city centers need lots of people, day and night. Housing brings 24-hour activity to downtown streets and patrons to downtown stores. Downtowns need to be livable places that some will call home.

Meanwhile decent housing | housing that is affordable, secure, and convenient | remains out of reach for many Americans.

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