#city infrastructure

[faggotfungus]

Heart-shaped bicycle parking in Gračanica by Robot8A (2020)

[elektroskopik]

Your car may be fancy, but you drive like trash

... yet another day of nearly getting hit by drivers who run red lights. If you drive like this, I hope you die as painfully as possible in a fire

[kiragecko]

Handitransit Poll

Handitransit is my local term for specialty vehicles that the city provides to pick up people who can't use public transit, usually due to disability.

I'm curious about how common this is, so:

[ncfcatalyst]

Meet Sarasota’s new urbanists, the Sarasota Mobility Alliance

Young, determined and willing to make a change, Colby Heidke realized that if Sarasota’s transportation was to be more accessible to its residents, the community was going to have to do it themselves. Heidke and New College thesis student Chai Leffler founded the Sarasota (SRQ) Mobility Alliance in February, after finding a shared interest in urban planning and accessibility. Since then, they…

[ardri-na-bpiteog]

Just a reminder to my European followers that the European Parliament elections are coming up and they are very important! The far-right parties are projected to win a lot of seats and many of the left/environmentalist parties are expected to do poorly.

This could have serious implications for major issues like climate action in the EU. It is very important that young people turn out to vote, EU elections typically have relatively low turnout but the composition of the EU Parliament does impact the lives of people in the European Union in a lot of ways.

[recneps47]

There's a blog that just posts pictures of fire hydrants? Don't give me context I want to live in a world where this has no context.

[auadhdwildcards]

Ah yes

Block off the new bike lane to remove the old one

[ranjith11]

The London Underground: History and Construction | London's underground story

In this captivating video, we delve deep into the fascinating world of The London Underground: History and Construction. Join us on a journey through time as we uncover the secrets behind this iconic transportation system. From its inception to the intricate details of its construction, this video will leave you amazed. Explore the rich history, the challenges faced during construction, and the lasting legacy of The London Underground. Get ready to be transported through history itself!

[my-financials]

Investment Opportunities in Major Cities Around the World

Major cities around the world offer a variety of investment opportunities, from real estate to stocks to businesses. These opportunities can be attractive to investors because they offer the potential for high returns and growth. However, it is important to carefully consider the risks involved before investing in any city. Here are some of the most promising investment opportunities in major…

[mwagneto]

sorry idk but the way the world is so fast and the people in it still want it to be faster is sooo annoying to me. people groaning while standing in line for 3 minutes people being mad the train ride is gonna take 2 hours people complaining that the bus is a few minutes late people being angry that construction work is taking months even though it used to take decades. don't you see the world is already so so so fast in every single aspect can't you understand that being mad will do nothing and just make your mood worse. enjoy the moments of stillness you're given. just stand in line and look at the people around you. sit on the train and watch the scenery. you'll get there.

[thebreakfastgod]

America's Roads: Dangerous by Design

[elektroskopik]

Dear universe, bicycles are not a nuisance. They are a perfectly valid, quiet, and rarely violent means of transportation.

Cars and trucks, on the other hand, are like the AR-15s of the freeway. Maybe, just maybe, we should take a moment and reflect on how many deaths they have caused.

[halleyscomment]

All You Ever Need to Know about Dallas

The temperature is always 102 but looks like it may rain at any given time.

There is construction everywhere and some of the freeway exits aren’t marked. On a good day, it will take you over 90 minutes to travel 20 miles. There are no good days.

A plethora of billboards are apparently sponsored by Christian groups. A particular favorite is one that is white text over a black background, and simply reads, ‘I am the real Supreme Court. —God’

An even larger plethora… or perhaps even, myriad of garish billboards advertise local strip clubs.

Gigantic churches which must be enough for thousands of worshippers are more prevalent than coffee shops. There appears to be a contest for the tallest church steeple. Several of them look like aviation hazards.

The George Bush Highway is a toll road. Thanks, Georgie! Now you really have that lasting legacy we’ll all enjoy forever.

The best Italian restaurant is technically in Addison, TX. It’s called Andiamo. It puts anything you can get from the North End of Boston to test.

[shouyuus]

was thinking about it this morning as i was making tea and i think there's a fundamental gap in the advice we give to writers/creators to "first and foremost create for ourselves", bc yes. in the beginning, i am almost always writing for myself. i write all the time, and im sure that artists doodle and paint all the time too. there are things i've written that will never see the light of day and are truly just for me.

and then there are things that i choose to share, because i want to share them. because i'm proud of a story, and want to put it into the world. the act of sharing it is, above all, an invitation.

its me inviting you into a corner of my mind/heart/soul, opening the window and throwing open the curtains and waving, holding up a sign that says "hi! do you like this too? let's talk about it!"

what im asking for is a connection, a conversation. a shared space. digital or otherwise. and the so-called "harm" of "ghost consumption" is not that artists will stop creating art or that writers will stop writing -- no, that's not quite how creativity works (thankfully, and sometimes unfortunately). we will always create.

we just might not be inspired to share it anymore.

[alpaca-clouds]

Cars vs Accessible Worlds

Alright, let me talk about one thing in terms of accessibility in science fiction settings - and Solarpunk specifically - that also has more than one side to it: Cars and accessibility. Because it is more complicated than you'd thing.

See: The fact that our world is so car centric really, really hinders accessibility. Wide streets are a hindrance for even normal pedastrians, cyclists and so on. If I want to get from A to B, and the route crosses a street, and there is only a traffic light every like 500 meters, it means tat I usually need either to risk my life or take the long way around to get there. And that is a fucking bother even when you are healthy and can easily take that long way around. And the more car centric a society is, the worse the issue becomes. Here in Germany it is a lot easier still to cross a street than in many places in the US.

And of course this gets a lot worse if you are disabled. Be it that you just cannot walk that far. Or if you are blind and cannot even see in what direction you could go for the next traffic light. Or if you are hard of hearing or deaf, you might be more in danger of being surprised by a car. (And that is without going into how electric cars being so fucking quiet makes stuff even more dangerous.) And, you know, neurodivergent people might also just struggle with the fucking noise that is created by roads and is often inescapable in big cities.

And of course even outside of the environmental issues, the constant presence of cars is also a health risk. Not just because of the risk of accidents, but also due to the pollution and how it interacts. Even if we all were driving electric cars, there would still be all those microplastics created by tires and streets and stuff.

So, really. We do need to move away from car centric infrastructure to make our lives healthier and to make the world more accessible for disabled people too.

BUT...

But there is the issue that some disabled people still might be in need to use some sort of personal transportation device that can cover both short and large distances, because for one reason or another public transport just does not work and cannot work for them.

For example someone with severe anxiety issues, or someone who will be easily suffering from sensory overwhelm. There might be other issues, too. Just some folks will always need something like cars.

And of course there is also the fact that stuff like emergency services will still need streets accessible to cars. Because the emergency services will just not get around using something like cars to get to all the places they might be needed.

And this... makes things complicated. Because infrastructure should not be car centric, no. But it needs to be accessible by cars - and be it just for emergency services.

This is just something that I would love to see more talked about especially within the Solarpunk sphere.