Natalia Barbour

You don’t realize how controversial transportation is until you mention parking and bicycle helmets.

The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom

A Classic Graphic Reveals Nature’s Most Efficient Traveler. Spoiler: human on bicycle.

(I guess @nataliabarbour.bsky.social will like this)

www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

Word on the street is that there are a bunch of new folks joining Bluesky right now, so it seems like a good time to re-share my first & biggest STARTER PACK of urbanists & city-making organizations from across the world. Hope you’ll consider following the excellent accounts here. And please share!

Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, report finds Analysis of 800,000 European cars found real-world pollution from plug-in hybrids nearly five times greater than lab tests

We’ve had dieselgate now we have Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles PHEV-gate

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Cardiff set to tackle SUV 'carspreading' in UK first Cardiff Council is set to become the first local authority in the UK to introduce higher parking charges for SUVs and other heavy vehicles, in a move campaigners say will make city streets safer and f...

Cardiff will be the first UK city to introduce a surcharge for oversized SUVs and trucks, "while very large vehicles – those over 3,500kg – will be excluded from residential permits entirely."

Pedestrian spaces but for runners.

E-Bike Rebates Learn how to qualify for a rebate for an electric bike (e-bike) from a participating bike shop. A limited number of e-bike rebate vouchers are available every other month. Plus, learn how to use your ...

Denver’s e-bike rebate program is a massive success story with 10,000+ new e-bikes riding around Denver and over 1,000,000 ebike trips that replaced car trips. That’s 1,400+ tons of greenhouse gas emissions saved every year!
bit.ly/4gSY2gT

Anyone can relate?

Some years are like cruising downhill enjoying a light breeze. This year for me has been like cycling uphill with no handlebars and no seat, headwind.

My ebike is speed and power regulated from the factory because law makers see it as a potential danger to people in cities.

You know cycling should be safe on regular occasions like „existing” and „getting groceries” and not having to change continents just to not get ran over.

Coffee is fine, but I just started my day by narrowly dodging getting full-speed left-hooked by an F-250 driver

"Safety is a shared responsibility"

Report: A Third of Americans Can't Rely On Cars — And 16 Million Have No Access At All — Streetsblog USA So why do we plan our cities like everyone can and does get behind the wheel every day?

It's one thing to talk about the 1 in 20 Americans who live in households without cars. But it's another to talk about all the people who live in households with fewer cars than people who need to drive to participate in an autocentric society, particularly kids, elders, and people w/disabilities.

The most frustrating thing is when a neighborhood facebook page complains about kids cycling to school on sidewalks.

Yeah Karen, if they were all dropped off, you would be in traffic all morning.

No one is more concerned about space and allocating a few feet to a bike lane than a motorist demanding free and open parking space for themselves in a busy downtown.

E-bikes could cut carbon, congestion, and costs — if cities take them seriously E-bike sales are booming, providing a clean form of transportation that also improves public health. Yet cities remain committed to cars.

“E-bike sales are booming, providing a sustainable form of transportation that also improves public health. Yet American cities remain committed to cars.” grist.org/transportati...

Transportation systems are like relationships; you take them for granted when everything goes well but take too much of your energy when they are broken.

In a time of seemingly endless challenges and bad news, it's important to remember that a better world is possible.

Urbanists OUTSIDE North America Worth Following! Join the conversation

NEW STARTER PACK! This time I’m hoping to encourage and support global urbanists from OUTSIDE North America here on Bluesky, so hopefully this will help! Who’ve I missed? Just joined? Let me know! I’ll keep updating, so please keep checking & sharing this pack! And let’s try using #GlobalUrbanists.

There are many advantages of non-motorized travel: low emissions, health, smaller vehicles, seeing rainbow without the glass.

Good transportation systems make the sustainable options attractive.

Bad transportation systems make the attractive options unsustainable.

Now imagine the outcry if a bike was legally parked in a parking spot (even without the lawn mower).

Multigenerational night cycling (mom in the background).

Tailgating someone who is driving the speed limit is the equivalent of breathing on someone’s neck when they are honorably waiting in line to pay for their groceries.

OPINION: 'Summer Streets' Shows That Car-Free Roads Give Kids the Independence They Need - Streetsblog New York City A 9-year-old shares his experience of riding on DOT’s Summer Streets by himself.

"I sometimes don’t like riding my bike because the cars make it hard to ride places by myself. But with Summer Streets, I got a chance to do just that in the street. It’s nice, with all the biking," writes nine-year-old Julian M. from Morningside Heights.

Chicago’s Divvy bikeshare shattered records in August:

🥇Highest month in program history: 995K rides
🥇Highest month for e-bikes: 500K+ rides
🥇Highest month for scooters: 200K+ rides

The City's efforts to make Divvy more affordable & accessible are paying off!

Going 161 km/h on a train.

Now tell me how car travel is superior.

No one would ever say: “Chicago criminals are getting slammed by new cameras that went live in June.”

You don’t want to get caught, don’t do stuff that will make you get caught.

Did anyone say forest cycling?