Last week I experienced the WE:Vancouver exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It’s one of the few shows I’ve seen where the gallery extends beyond art to include design and architecture, and they do it remarkably well. The fact that it’s all local (Jason lamented he didn’t make it in) makes it unique and more personally felt.
It did an excellent job communicating our cultural connection with nature through pieces like compelling manifestos by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon, authors of The 100-Mile Diet, and the Vancouver Public Space Network; video and installation from the Downtown Eastside’s SOLEfood farm (psst! they’re screening Dirt on March 10); and eco-fashion goddess Natalie Purschwitz’s gorgeous outfits are displayed in photo and video. Other installations embrace our vibrant city and ideas as they focus on public spaces, food, and Critical Mass as they relate to Vancouver and its people.
Without giving away too much, the exhibit is a visual, aural and physical experience. It has its own gorgeous microsite as well, but don’t let it spoil your visit if you browse the site first, and photos are definitely no substitute!
Be sure not to miss Ken Lum’s trippy hall of mirrors on the second floor — take a friend in with you.
Among other cities paving the way (literally) for higher bicycle ridership is London, England. They’re probably better known for congestion pricing for car traffic (one of the first, but not the first, cities to implement it) than cycling, but their current mayor wants to improve their performance with a new plan that includes a 12-route bicycle commuter network radiating from the city centre, a bike-sharing program launched last summer and a new bike police unit.
In place for a few months now, the two new, blue, bike superhighways are quite successful, increasing by a whopping 70% the number of cyclists on the streets compared to their pre-superhighway incarnation (comparing October 2009 to October 2010).
New figures show that the number of cyclists along the first two Barclays Cycle Superhighway routes, which run from Merton to the City and Barking to Tower Gateway, has risen by 70 per cent with increases of 100 per cent or more seen on some sections during peak hours. — Transport for London
It’s hard to argue with that. I hope to check them out first hand when I visit the city this spring. Have you been there and tried them out? What did you think?
The city is well-known for its cycling culture — 3.9% of residents make their trip by bicycle, beating out Vancouver at 3% (we’re not even in second place!). With the city’s investment in expanding its current 300+ mile network, they’re bound to shoot ahead. (Copenhagen still takes the cake by a long shot.) Bicycle transportation planner Mia Birk from Alta Planning + Design was recently in Vancouver to show us the quick and successful improvements she was involved in to bring more and safer bike lanes to Portland. The results? More cyclists, fewer crashes, less traffic. Their process involved community engagement as well, which isn’t easy. The city’s mayor, Sam Adams, was here a couple years ago to talk about active transportation in Portland. They take it seriously.
I’ve been blogging every day for a month now — more posts than in all of 2009 and four times more than 2010 — and while I can definitely say I’ve lost sleep and neglected flossing once or twice, the 50-odd hours I’ve spent on this have been worthwhile and for a worthy cause. Improving our quality of life by ensuring a healthy environment and living sustainably within the limits of nature is very important to me, so raising money for the David Suzuki Foundation through this fair-trade-cocoa-powered pledge goes beyond just the fact that I love the organization I work for. I love what we do, and we do it for our fellow Canadians.
I’d like to thank all those who’ve so far sponsored my daily blog habit with your donations to the Foundation (in no particular order): Gaby, Tim, Eli, Siobhan, Solona, Jason, and my parents. Thank you!
I’d also like to thank Madeleine and Suzanne for your kind words and praise, and for sending your fans this way. Thanks to Ben for bringing me to the World Community Film Fest and posting good articles online. (You too, Faisal.) Thanks also to the words of encouragement from too many people to name. It keeps me focused.
I’m sounding like an Oscars acceptance speech, so I’ll stop and let you enjoy some photos from this weekend. Crocuses on Friday, snow on Sunday. Just when you thought spring was around the corner…
While New York City still has problems in some areas that appear to conflict with their progressive plans in others, I’m still including it in this series. With the likes of architect Jan Gehl and DOT Commissioner Janet Sadik-Khan (who was here in 2009) in its arsenal, NYC has started changing the structure of its streets.
Sections of streets have been transformed, if only in trials, into space for cafes and public seating, dramatically changing the look and purpose, and allowing people to linger and rest. Car-free programs abound. They launched a car-sharing program with Zipcar and are looking at a high-tech bike share network. They’re also turning parking meters into bike racks.
Resident Ben Flanner is among others growing rooftop vegetables and I wrote recently about Brooklyn’s Habana Outpost. And finally, Give a Minute: a civic engagement website fielding the public’s ideas on how to green the city. (Sounds like Vancouver’s, eh?)
Come collaborate, brainstorm, and meet other green keeners (like me!) at the Greenest City Camp on Saturday, March 5th!
The “unconference” is “a full-day of learning, connecting and finding allies and collaborators to make Vancouver the Greenest City in the world by 2020. This is your chance to connect with Vancouver residents and organizations that are passionate about making this a green city and find out how we can move forward together. It’s about finding people, and the resources, to do what you always wanted to do”, like creating a laneway community garden with your neighbours or reducing waste at work.
If that didn’t already get you stoked, there will be food. Mmm, food! the connector of people.
And there’s more…
If you’re baffled by camp idea, sign up anyway and check out this camp prep webinar March 3.
The Greenest City Webinar on March 4 is kind of a “The Plan: 101” so if you’re not up to speed on this (which you should be, cos it’s awesome and exciting), this is your chance to sit back and get educated before the unconference.
And there are a couple zero waste events on March 2nd, with more info on the Talk Green Vancouver events page.
Ciclovia in Bogotà, Colombia. (Photo by themikebot via Flickr)
Last night I wrote about Curitiba, Brazil and mentioned how their BRT system inspired Bogotà, Colombia. In its turn, Bogotà has been inspiring other cities internationally with the extent to which it has taken its famous ciclovia (literally “bike path”) concept and run — or rather, cycled — with it.
Where Vancouver has its Car Free Day festival annually in four neighbourhoods, Bogotà has embraced a weekly car-free day that stretches far beyond Vancouver’s space.
Every Sunday and holiday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Bogota, Colombia closes off — or, rather, opens up — more than 70 miles [100 km] of city streets. Closed, that is, to cars and open to bicyclists, skaters, walkers, and mass aerobics. When that happens, 1.5 million people come out to enjoy the safety, community, and exercise that a seemingly car-free city allows. According to many participants, the Ciclovi a has transformed life in the city all around for the better. People feel happier, healthier, and more united. — Streetswiki
Curitiba, Brazil, has recently become a major influence on sustainable transportation in cities, but it was in 1972 that they introduced their first pedestrian street (video). Implemented within three days, the quick street closure stirred up controversy but resulted in a loved public space — a process familiar in many of its modern counterparts. That was just the beginning for this South American metropolis.
While Vancouver has been busy building and expanding expensive metro systems, Curitiba has been attracting incredible ridership to their highly efficient and frequent Bus Rapid Transit system.
The bus system of Curitiba, Brazil, exemplifies a model Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and plays a large part in making this a livable city. The buses run frequently — some as often as every 90 seconds — and reliably, and the stations are convenient, well-designed, comfortable, and attractive. Consequently, Curitiba has one of the most heavily used, yet low-cost, transit systems in the world. — Urban Habitat
Copenhagen is reknowned for its cycling culture, one which has developed over the last 100 years despite growing affluence and cheap energy. They lead by example with a 36% mode share for cyclists — in other words, 1 in 3 people choose a bicycle for their commute and other everyday activities, despite the long, cold winter. In contrast, the peak areas of Vancouver achieve only 10% mode share. After seeing bicycle use double in 15 years, the city also plans to increase that modeshare to 40% by 2012 and 50% by 2015. Holy smokes.
A combination of cycle paths and greenways offer Copenhagen’s cyclists a growing 400 km network. Some routes use a “green wave” concept that optimizes travel for cyclists moving at 20 km/h to consistently meet green traffic lights. Blue-painted pavement is used for visbility in intersections, a step past the common bike box used in cities like Vancouver. Bikes can also be brought on the S-train commuter network or you can choose to bikeshare.
This is the first in a series on green initiatives certain cities are undertaking to improve their public spaces and co-create a healthier environment. First up is Barcelona, where one neighourhood is tackling energy use, light pollution, and security with wirelessly-controlled LED street lights. It’s pretty nifty. As someone who has to put up with streetlights shining in her bedroom window and notices when the stars look dim, I’m hopeful this technology will gain traction in our brightest cities. Via GOOD.
This daily green blog challenge is in celebration of David Suzuki’s 75th birthday, supporting the David Suzuki Foundation. Please help me out by sponsoring me online now.
Photo by 
I’ve been blogging every day for a month now — more posts than in all of 2009 and four times more than 2010 — and while I can definitely say I’ve lost sleep and neglected flossing once or twice, the 50-odd hours I’ve spent on this have been worthwhile and for a worthy cause. Improving our quality of life by ensuring a healthy environment and living sustainably within the limits of nature is very important to me, so 
I’d like to thank all those who’ve so far 
Ciclovia in Bogotà, Colombia. (Photo by 
Photo by 