Anyone who doubts the devastation cars have wrought on our civic culture need only look at this series of three images of Park Avenue in New York.

The uppermost image is a photo of the avenue taken sometime before 1922 and shows it as it was originally designed--an almost bucolic parkway between rows of stately edifices. Elegance, openness, and a sense of civility abound.

The second image shows it after 1922, when it was widened to accommodate the growing automobile traffic. The street is crowded with metal; an air of impatience prevails; and the charm is already gone....

The third image is as it looks today, grim as any Stalinist architecture, cluttered, ugly, littered with signs forbidding the entry of humans unaccompanied by cars--a wasteland, a place no one would volunteer to spend time in. The view is all of boundaries and prohibitions, of mvoement channeled and rigidly controlled, and there is no place to set foot. It is designed for speed, but the accommodation of speed reduces the volume it can carry even of cars.... It is a dead space.

This excellent series was assembled by "No Impact Man," a New Yorker dedicated to making city life worth living again; be sure to visit his excellent blog, where you can see larger versions of these images in his entry, "What Cities Could Be." It's full of passion and practicality, and there are dozens of links to follow to useful and exhilarating sites, as well as his own postings on matters as diverse and as important to urban culture (and human survival) as eating locally, bicycling and walking, activism, and low-impact living in general.

Let us also recommend Cars, Culture, Concrete, and Convenience, right here at Bicycle Fixation, for our own opinions on the matter.

Richard Risemberg on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 21:46:37 -0800 [link]  

Just to see the progression of the terrible disease, view this link:

What Our Cities Could Be

Shows Park Avenue in New York as the idyllic lane it was when it was designed, how it looked when reconfigured for cars, and how it looks today, after it has been thoroughly ravaged to make room for motor traffic.

Plenty of food for though here. Show your friends.

Richard Risemberg on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:17:02 -0800 [link]  

The Los Angeles Downtown News today celebrated the advent of the Civic Center's first pedicab, a bit late compared even to many other US cities, but a start, at least. Nice little article; read it here: Pedal Power

Richard Risemberg on Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:50:08 -0800 [link]  

Bicycle Fixation kicks off a new series of interviews with folks who are making a difference in sustainability, conservation, urban cycling, and all the other subjects dear to our editorial hearts. Our first Model Citizen profiles Deborah Tull, a Los Angeles sustainability coach who is making Southern California's future brighter, one family at a time.

See Model Citizen: Deborah Tull.

Richard Risemberg on Sat, 11 Aug 2007 18:17:05 -0800 [link]  

Looks like the Bicycle Bell Ensemble, of which your Bicycle Fixation staff are members, has made the indy news at least. Here's a quote from paperthinwalls' article and interview about BBE:

The BBE’s first performance was in May 2007 as part of the group show Origin Is The Goal, curated by Darin Klein. Klein called the BBE part of "the forefront of artists raising a new social consciousness which is tied into environmentalism as well as community," and pointed out utilitarianism as one of their strengths. "They literally ride their instruments, not just to gigs but to work, school, and anywhere else they need or want to go. The music they make is like a collection of random bicycle bells resounding across L.A.'s urban sprawl that coalesces into an actual scored piece of music."

Read the entire article at paperthinwalls.

Richard Risemberg on Sat, 04 Aug 2007 11:28:37 -0800 [link]  

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