Toyota working with the World Business Council for Sustainable Mobility

Photo credit:  Volvo Traditionally achieving sustainable mobility in city centres has been the purview of town and urban planners in the employ of local, state and federal governments.  However, citizens around the world are becoming more concerned with the environment and mobility.  As citizens and governments become more focused on the achievement of sustainable mobility, […]

Paris plans car free city centre

  Photo credit:  Christopher Thomond for The Guardian The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo has announced plans to reduce traffic and pollution by converting the city centre to a primarily pedestrian and bicycle zone, in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche.  Hidalgo wants to tackle the level of pollution in Paris with a view […]

2014 Australia and New Zealand Green Building Market Report

Photo Credit:  Sourceable.net The 2014 Green Building market report for Australia and New Zealand has just been released.  Between March and May 2014, 133 developers, architects, builders and subcontractors in Australia and 110 in New Zealand provided feedback on their views and experiences with green building. Findings include: In Australia:  90% of respondents have been […]

Victoria Decides – Traffic congestion and public transport high on the agenda

In the days counting down to an election the promises and future party policies are announced in rapid fire as last ditch attempts to persuade the undecided.  Every speech is an attempt to impress the overall electorate with the “trust us – we know what you really really want” persona of political parties.  This process […]

Repurposing roads and cycleways for renewable energy

In the Netherlands the first SolaRoad will open this week. The SolaRoad experiment is using a 100 metre stretch of cycleway to test whether solar power generated from these types of roads could “eventually be used for street lighting, traffic systems, electric cars and even households.” With 35,000 kilometres of cycleways and over 18 million […]

Brisbane’s Priority Cycle Crossing

In an effort to improve safety for cyclists along a notorious stretch of road, the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council are working together on a trial which will give cyclists priority crossing areas along the North Brisbane Bikeway. As reported in the Courier Mail, the crossings include a raised platform and the use of […]

Free parking to boost EV sales in Germany

The German cabinet has backed a bill designed to stimulate demand for electronic vehicles by enabling municipalities to offer EV owners incentives such as free parking, and the use of bus lanes, as reported by Businessweek. As a world leader in car manufacturing, the bill simultaneously aims to stimulate the sluggish sales of EVs in Germany […]

Adelaide embraces Park(ing) Day 2014

Hats off to the City of Adelaide, putting Australia on the map as one of the southern hemisphere’s most enthusiastic supporters of World Park(ing) Day, set for September 19th.  With its origins in 2005 in San Francisco, Park(ing) day is an annual event held on the third Friday of September, which sees parking spaces converted […]

Innovative car park with roof-top sports ground

The latest addition to our list of “Alternative uses for a Car Park” will now include “sporting field”.  The University of Colorado in Colorado Springs has recently completed a new car park which doubles as a sports venue, as reported in The Gazette.  With its ribbon-cutting ceremony this month, the USD $23M project will simultaneously […]

Journey to a Better Block

An enthusiastic group of Dallas residents recently transformed a busy intersection into a pop-up pedestrian plaza. The notable feature of the event, reported in Treehugger, was not just that they found yet another use for duct tape — the weekend event was actually an effort to revitalize a stalled community redevelopment project that had come […]

London Congestion Charge to rise

  London is also grappling with its pollution problem and is considering changes to its Congestion Charging scheme.  Currently imposed on every non-exempt vehicle entering the chargeable district, the levy is slated for a general increase commencing June 2014 from £10 to £11.50 per day.  According to the Transport for London website, this increase is […]

Solar roadways project seeks public support

  A highly-awarded project that has consumed the lives of an Idaho couple since 2006 is now seeking public support for the next phase of the journey – working towards the introduction of solar roadways.   Scott and Julie Brusaw are wrapping up Phase II of their project –building a prototype parking lot using the solar […]

Madrid tackles pollution problems with Smart Meters

  The City of Madrid is enlisting Smart Parking Meters to help address the city’s dangerous pollution levels, which are consistently exceeding EU limits. According to The Guardian, the scheme which commences on July 1 will penalize drivers of cars that are responsible for more emissions.  In a rating system based on the vehicle engine […]

UK invests in green vehicles and their drivers

The UK has taken a bold stand for a greener future with the recent announcement of a £500 m investment in the growing electric car movement, as reported in The Yorkshire Post recently. Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg unveiled the initiative saying “This is about creating a culture change in our towns and cities so […]

Beautiful engineering creates cycling heaven in The Netherlands

There’s no shortage of cycle-friendly stories coming out of Europe, and we love sharing them with you.  This recent post from Treehugger should provide both inspiration and aspiration for other cities and urban planners that are working on cycling solutions. The Hovenring is the first elevated cycle roundabout in the world.  Commissioned by the Dutch […]

Results of car-sharing study may be grim news for automakers

As a follow up to our recent blog about the Kandi car-vending machine in China, we came across this article in Treehugger, which featured some interesting results from a study on car-sharing programs in the US.Researchers, Alix Partners, have released the results claiming that approximately 500,000 vehicle purchases have been avoided in the US thanks […]

Bogotá leads the way with a car-free week

This story from Treehugger is a great follow up to our recent post featuring former Mayor, Enrique Peñalosa and his inspiring TED Talk on creating cities of the future.  Peñalosa was responsible for Bogotá’s first car-free day back in 2000, which was subsequently approved as an annual event.  Last week marked a new first in […]

Tesla S travels across US for free

The Tesla S electric car is in the media again, this time for taking one of its enthusiasts, John Glenny, across the country at no cost.  As reported in BRW, Glenny and his daughter travelled from New York to Los Angeles in just five days, via Tesla’s network of Supercharger stations where they were able […]

The Greening of Hamburg

A team of 30 city planners in Hamburg, Germany are working on a massive project that is sure to keep Hamburg in the list of one of Europe’s most sustainable cities.  A previous winner of the European Green Capital award in 2011, Hamburg has recently announced ambitious plans for reshaping the city centre over the next […]

Car vending machines address transport issues

Reported last month by news.com.au, Hangzhou’s nine million residents will be encouraged to relinquish car ownership in favour of a greener solution – electric hire cars available on demand from giant vending machines!  In this attempt to spearhead the problems of pollution, traffic congestion and overcrowding, all exacerbated by spiralling car ownership in China, Hangzhou […]

BMW adopts technology for the greater good

Last week’s report featured on The Green Car Website reminds us of the Christmas classic, Miracle on 34th Street.  You will remember the part when Kris Kringle, employed at Macy’s, starts sending customers to Bloomingdales when they can’t find what they are looking for?  Some might say it is the cleverest marketing strategy around. So, […]

New technology could make streetlamps obsolete

A new technology is being trialled in the UK that could make standard street lighting a thing of the past.  Surrey-based company Pro-Teq has come up with a product aptly named “Starpath” which is a photo-luminescent surface material that can be applied to roads and footpaths.  The particles in the material absorb sun during daylight […]

Reclaiming your city – lessons from the transformation of NYC

Here’s an inspiring and interesting TED talk from Janette Sadik-Khan, the Transportation Commissioner of New York City, sharing her strategy for transforming urban areas into a place for people. In the space of five years, New York has been reclaimed by the people thanks to some bold moves in the area of transport and planning. […]

Sydney bike lanes to absorb some parking spaces

Not everyone will be happy with the NSW government’s new City Centre Access Strategy, and that is expected when dealing with complex transport issues, multiple stakeholders, and the fixed infrastructure in a city the size of Sydney. The Sydney Morning Herald reports this week that planned expansion of bike lanes will be particularly detrimental to […]

Pedal power cleverly promoted

We came across this great infographic recently, which we have already shared via our newsletter.  Created in the US, this visually appealing work entitled “Pedal Power” gives some interesting statistics on the growth of cycling, as well as some of the many benefits to our health, our economy, and of course, our planet…Enjoy!  Source: http://onlinemastersinpublichealth.com/

The Hyperloop transportation project open for collaboration

Plans have now been unveiled.  As promised in last month’s blog, Elon Musk, head of Telsa Motors and Space X, has now released a document outlining the details of his vision for a new form of transportation, the Hyperloop.  The 57-page document reveals Musk’s plans for transporting passengers in a low-pressure tube along blankets of […]

Putting the “Park” back in Parking

Mark your diaries – World Park(ing) Day will be celebrated around the globe on Friday, September 20th. This annual, worldwide “open-source” event gives people the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and have some fun while “greening” our cities for the day. The concept is credited to the Rebar Group, a San Francisco design studio who […]

Cycling called unprofessional?

Just when you thought you had heard it all…this story coming out of Treehugger about a Vancouver woman who was ticketed for parking her bike on a bike rack outside her place of work. The offense?   It seems the owner of the building, Cadillac Fairview, was intending that the racks were for “casual users”, not […]

Bi(re)cycling

Love your old bike but can’t seem to part with it? Another gem from Treehugger brings us an innovative way to keep your trusty companion with you forever. Austrian designer, Andreas Scheiger has created a recycled product that is sure to be a hit with the cycling community, who may be looking for ways to […]

Traffic ban to protect the Colosseum

Rome’s new mayor, Ignazio Marino, is making an early impact with the introduction of a traffic ban around the iconic Colosseum.  Met with both celebrations and protests, the mayor has started by banning private vehicles and trucks from a portion of one of Rome’s busiest roads, Via dei Fori Imperiali.  For the moment, buses, taxis, […]


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