Aaron Naparstek
AARON NAPARSTEK is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparsteks journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. Naparstek is the author of "Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage" (Villard, 2003), a book of humorous haiku poetry inspired by the endless motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window. Prior to launching Streetsblog, Naparstek worked as an interactive media producer, pioneering some of the Web's first music web sites, online communities, live webcasts and social networking services. Naparstek is currently in Cambridge with his wife and two young sons where he is enjoying a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Naparstek is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition. You can find more of his work here: http://www.naparstek.com.
Recent Posts
Hans Monderman: In Memoriam
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The following obituary was contributed by Ben Hamilton-Baillie, an urban designer based in Bristol, England. Hans Monderman, the pioneering Dutch traffic engineer, died on Monday 7th January near his home close to Drachten in Friesland, aged 63. As one of the most innovative and challenging of thinkers and practitioners in his field, he will […]
Hans Monderman, Engineer of Livable Streets, 1947-2008
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New Mobility Agenda‘s Eric Britton sends along sad news that Hans Monderman, the Dutch traffic engineer renowned for his innovative "shared space" plans emphasizing human interaction and negotiation over blind obedience to mechanical traffic control devices, died yesterday. He was a rare and radical traffic engineer who believed that the art and science of his […]
This Holiday Season London’s Streets Are “Absolutely Jammed”
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London retailers enjoyed a £100 million spending spree as Oxford, Bond and Regents Streets were closed to motor vehicle traffic for a day As New York City government issues its usual series of futile Holiday Season "Gridlock Alerts" (Warning to people stuck in traffic: You are stuck in traffic) while Manhattan shoppers have the life […]
Is America Finally Getting Interested in Passenger Rail?
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Despite fierce and prevalent Amtrak hating, and although I have yet to hear any presidential candidate discuss it, nationally syndicated columnist Neal Peirce suggests that "the stars are finally coming into alignment" for improvements of America’s passenger rail system. He writes: America’s train advocates are mildly optimistic. And for some good reasons. Amtrak is […]
More Boring Photos
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The entrance to the East Side Access work site in Sunnyside, Queens Last week, MTA PR man Jeremy Soffin sent along an interesting news blip about the gigantic tunnel boring machine chewing up the schist beneath 60th Street in Manhattan for the MTA’s East Side Access project. It turns out that blogger Michael Frumin knows […]
Wall Street Journal Declares Peak Oil No Longer a “Fringe” Idea
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Realizing that it’s generally considered passé if not altogether wacky to talk about New York City transportation policy and politics in the context of global energy business, a Wall Street Journal story this morning confirms that global fossil fuel production appears to be hitting a plateau. In other words, Peak Oil is no longer a […]
Congestion Pricing Will Make You Happy
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An op/ed by Eduardo Porter in today’s New York Times makes a passing suggestion that by reducing the number of people who do solo car commutes, congestion pricing would make New Yorkers happier. I can say this for sure: If it also reduces the number of honking, revving, careening and exhaust-spewing sociopaths clogging New […]
DOT Rolls Out the New Lower Manhattan Crosstown Bike Route
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The street re-surfacing men and machinery were out in force in Soho last night. Houston Street Bike Safety Initiative Director Ian Dutton snapped this photo on Prince Street. Once the street is repaved, the Department of Transportation will stripe the hotly debated Prince and Bleecker Street bike lanes. Lower Manhattan’s newest east-west bike route is […]
StreetFilms: Upper West Side Streets Renaissance With Jan Gehl
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A standing room-only crowd turned out for last night’s Upper West Side Streets Renaissance event with Danish urban designer Jan Gehl and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. All in all, it was an inspiring night and we’ll have a more detailed write-up later today. Though Gehl wasn’t allowed to get too specific about the work he […]
Envisioning an Upper West Side Streets Renaissance
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If you’re thinking about coming to tonight’s Upper West Side workshop with Jan Gehl but you are having trouble picturing what a "Streets Renaissance" might look like, the video above was made for you. It consists of a series of photo simulations produced by New York City Streets Renaissance Creative Director Carly Clark. Whipped into […]
Tune in to Brian Lehrer at 10:40am, WNYC, 93.9 FM
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Open Planning Project Executive Director Mark Gorton and Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan will be talking about this evening’s Upper West Side Streets Renaissance workshop with Jan Gehl on the Brian Lehrer Show, 93.9 FM, at 10:40am.
Gehl on Wheels
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The Jan Gehl product roll-out continues apace. Last week, WNYC. This week, New York Magazine. Word has it Gehl’s team will be presenting Department of Transportation brass with some pretty big ideas for street space re-allocation. In the meantime, enjoy another interview with everyone’s favorite Danish urban designer: Can New York really be tamed? I […]