Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Quality of Life

Car-Free Manhattan: Just Wait 100 Years

By Aaron Naparstek | Nov 8, 2006 | 1 Comment

I just caught up with this article in the Times on Saturday about a competition for engineers and architects to envision New York City in 2106. Check out one of the winning design concepts: After the judges’ hasty deliberations, Daniel L. Doctoroff, the city’s deputy mayor for economic development, presented the prizes. He said his office […]

London Calling. Are New York’s Leaders Really Listening?

By Aaron Naparstek | Nov 2, 2006 | 5 Comments

London officials closed the northern side of Trafalgar Square to traffic creating a vibrant new public space. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Chuck Schumer argue that New York City risks losing its place of global pre-eminence in a Wall Street Journal editorial yesterday. The editorial is a response to growing conventional wisdom that says London […]

Notes on Bicycling in Copenhagen

By Aaron Naparstek | Oct 4, 2006 | 18 Comments

Copenhagen, Denmark is not a natural bicycling city. In the early 1960’s it was very much of a car town. In 1962 the city created its first pedestrian street, the Stroget, and every year since then Copenhagen has allocated more and more of its public space to bicycles, pedestrians and people who just want to sit […]

Blogging From Copenhagen

By Aaron Naparstek | Sep 29, 2006 | 3 Comments

The Nyhavn or "New Harbor." Twenty years ago Copenhagen’s quaint inner harbor was a parking lot. Today it is one of the city’s most popular and iconic outdoor destinations. For the next week or so I will be blogging from Copenhagen, Denmark and the Netherlands. Ahh, the glamorous, jet-setting life of the professional blogger. I am here […]

Learning From a Streets Renaissance in Hong Kong

By Ethan Kent | Sep 28, 2006 | 9 Comments

If New York or other large cities are looking for a solution to congestion and its negative impact on the economy, Hong Kong offers an excellent strategy and success story. I was there a few weeks back working on waterfront issues (that rival New York City for unrealized opportunities), and was struck by changes that have taken […]

Urban Density and a Pocketbook Plea for Congestion Pricing

By Aaron Donovan | Sep 26, 2006 | 17 Comments

Of the ten largest cities in the United States, New York has far and away the greatest population density: 26,402.9 people per square mile, more than double the second densest big city, Chicago. The chart at right shows how the largest metropolitan areas stack up in terms of core population, overall population and core population density. […]

Show More Stories