World Streets needs to catch on before my feet get wet. (Netherlands)

 

Summary: We need 13 more smart people (that’s you!) to sign in with views on the usefulness of World Streets in their work, to support our search for support to allow us to continue. You can do it if you click here http://tinyurl.com/ws-comments and spin us two immortal lines. Thanks.

 

Dear New Mobility  Friends,

 

Above you have one of 87 comments that have come in over the last week  from our readers in response to a call which you can check out at via http://tinyurl.com/ws-readers.  Fair enough, but why am I interrupting your important work and bugging you this morning on this.

 

Well, because as of tomorrow we are about to start a major international push to see if we can get support for continuing this, our sweltering plant's only sustainable transportation daily. And to make the point I need to have an impressive sheaf of arguments to offer (all that heavy competition for their money). Of course the journal itself looks great, and the programs of the New Mobility Agenda are all very much first rate. But you know people in these agencies and foundations are very busy and I need to wave some bright flags in front of them

 

The first is the constant reminder that this is above all a climate project. Not that deep transportation system reform is not important enough in itself, but as you will see we are arguing extensively on the site, if we hook all this to the on-going climate emergency we have their attention. And rightly so I would add.

 

And as one more flag, here is my bottom line in this note. We want to be able to offer ONE HUNDRED EXPRESSIONS OF SUPPORT FOR STREETS, and that from people likes yourself who are in the front lines. So I hope you will find a moment to whip off supporting message, and if indeed you have any idea about possible sources of support, well that would be better yet. (If you click to http://tinyurl.com/ws-subscribe you will see how that works.)

 

So there you have it. And I do hope you will drop into Streets from time to time. It’s a good read. (And an important one.)  Make sure it continues.

 

With all good wishes,

 

Eric Britton

 

| Editor | World Streets | The New Mobility Agenda  | Paris  | +331 4326 1323 | Skype newmobility 

 

 

Quick update on Streets for the record:

 

“We have to reduce about 80% of our greenhouse gas emissions over the next 10 to 15 years.” 

-       President William Jefferson Clinton, in announcing the Clinton Climate Initiative collaboration with the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group in Los Angeles in August of 2006

 

This two page compilation is intended to set out a few facts and background points about the program behind World Streets.

 

A. What we the leading edge knows about transport and climate:

1.      We are all agreed that public policy is catastrophic in this important sector.

2.      That the key policy driver is climate and GHG reductions.

3.      That Clinton was absolutely right three  years ago when he said: “80% . . . over the next 10 to 15 years”

4.      Our responsibility is in the short term, i.e., significant (two digit) decreases two to four years immediately ahead.

5.      That the main instrument of transport system reform lies in the strategic and radical reduction of VM/KT

6.      That we know exactly how to achieve this.

7.      And that moreover these reductions will serve us well on many other scores as well (fossil fuel reductions, health, systemic efficiency, etc. You know the lest by heart.)

B. Quick update on Streets for the record:

1.     The planet’s only daily newspaper given over to a single issue: sustainable transportation, sustainable cities, and sustainable lives (they all go together, you can’t separate them)

2.     Appears five days a week.  First issue published on 2 March and since visited more than 45,000 times.

3.     And oh yes, it’s totally free (one less barrier to creating a sustainable world)

4.     Offers insights and contributions from leading thinkers and practitioners around the world (our carefully established international networks)

5.     Complete independence of any interests, government, political, commercial or others allows us to report things exactly as we see them.

6.     Builds on foundation of 21 years of international networking and collaborative problem-solving in this area under the New Mobility Agenda – www.newmobility.org  

7.     Reader visits in first 4 months: March – 8,824. April – 9,806. May – 10, 850. June – 13, 425.

8.     Countries: More than 40, on all continents.. See this morning’s hit map below as a partial example.

9.     You may want to scroll down through the last dozen postings you will see on the site to get a feel for how it works: content, quality, focus, angle.

10.  First country/language spin-off: Nuova Mobilitŕ about to start up in Italy at http://nuovamobilita.org  This should be a model for other country/language editions as necessary to get the message across at the local level.

C. Independent critical appraisals of World Street :
Below you have a selection of extracts of reader remarks, coming in from activists, professors, students, public officials and the media in the last week,  after three months of daily publication – full citations at  http://tinyurl.com/ws-readers

A.      Even the name World Streets captures the intensely local nature of these issues that nonetheless have a global impact. (Ireland)

B.    The best interactive platform to envisioning the change the cities around the world needed to transform the transport sector. (Spain)

C.    Two boys were playing football in my street earlier this week. What a wonderful sight. Time to reclaim our World Streets! (UK)

D.    What would I do without World Streets? It's always a great read, a source of inspiration, information, a sense of community... (South Africa)

E.    Offers an excellent information and exchange service to busy professionals and citizens’ organizations. (Chile)

F.    A great source for making "new" knowledge about transport in towns and cities more visible and available to the interested politician, planner, engineer, professional, activist and citizen. (Iceland)

G.    The best source in the world for sustainable mobility information. (Sweden)

H.    World Streets – ruthless common sense. (India)

I.        We desperately need this kind of AGORA where we can gather, fight, disagree, and finally agree on sensible transport solutions (USA)

J.     A beacon of light showing the way to sustainable living. (USA)

K.    We commend the tremendous work that World Streets  is doing. (Hong Kong)

L.     Has radically changed my perspective about transport problems and possible solutions towards a sustainable future. (Brazil)

M.   Wonderful to be reminded daily of being part of an international movement that is gathering momentum. (Singapore)

N.    Will play an important role in molding professional and public opinion and strengthen the movement for equitable, sustainable cities. (India)

O.    A great forum for sharing ideas about the many things we can do to make transport work better. (Australia)

P.    A most useful resource that complements our work and provides support to our advisory projects in the developing world. (Germany)

Q.    I can only hope that policy makers around the world will see this as a concrete example of going from idea to action – (Israel)

R.    A perfect source for busy individuals bombarded with information-overload in this era of communication saturation (USA)

S.    What we want - slow, shared, lively streets with lots of people on them. How we get it - supporting World Streets. (Sweden)

T.     I admire you for the effort it takes to produce something as good, entertaining and useful as this. (Canada)

U.    Keep it upˇ you are one of our last resources. (Colombia)

V.    So useful that I am setting up an Italian version of it, thanks to Eric's strong and continuous support. (Italy – www.nouvamobilita.org )

W.   We would certainly be poorer without it. (UK)

X.    When I look at World Streets I wonder why it wasn’t done before, because it’s so obvious that we need an international platform like this! (Spain)

Y.    Passion is great, financial support makes the passion available for the long term. (Netherlands)

Z.    World Streets needs to catch on before my feet get wet. (Netherlands)

D. Who dropped in to pick up a free copy of World Streets this morning?