Rob Ford , CitiBike , Bay Area tech suffering , China ’s crippling smogginess : You ’ve come across all the big headlines for city this year . But here are a few of the urbanism stories that might have flown under your microwave radar .
But you might not know about Barcelona’sBicing, which was named the world’s best.
Acccording to a 2013 survey , Barcelona ’s Bicing arrangement is the most successful bike share political program in the reality . It ’s one of the most - used systems , averaging 10.8 trip per motorcycle and 67.9 trips per house physician , and it also has the best coverage , with one bike per every 270 residents , liken to one per 8,336 for CitiBike . One small quirkiness with the system : Due to Barcelona ’s topography , the bikes accumulate at the bottom of its hills and must be incite around each night .
But you might not have heard about San Diego’scriminally charged ex-mayorBob Filner.
San Diego ’s convicted and perhaps more brazenly assholian mayor has been sentence to dwelling house lying-in after pleading hangdog to forcibly kissing and inappropriately rival three women at official events . He was charged with one off-key incarceration felony enumeration , and two battery infraction . Accusations flooded in from 19 women full — you may see alist of storiesfrom those who ’ve descend forward — include one cleaning lady who sound out he put her in a headlock .
But you might not have heard about the BeltLine’sfour miles of new urban walking and biking trailsin Atlanta.
One of the most exciting transportation developments in the land is theBeltLine , a 33 - nautical mile multi - use path in a rescued railroad right of way that will eventually circle around Atlanta . In August , the BeltLine’sSouthwest connecter Trailopened as one of seven miles of track connecting nearby neighborhoods to the BeltLine , and the design was revealed forPonce City Market , a new motley - use of goods and services maturation in a massive former Sears warehouse along the route and the big adaptive reuse project in the city ’s history . A nearbystreetcarwill open in about a year .
But you might not have seenIndia’s monsoonal flooding, its worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
It ’s estimated thatover 5,700 people were killedin the other season implosion therapy of the Ganges in June . Torrential rains flooded the Delhi airport and caused landslides and edifice collapses , paralyzing roadstead and transportation systems . Hit hard was theUttarkashi neighborhood , where many mass make religious pilgrimage to remote temples . Helicopters were utilise to site 150,000 people who were airlift to safety .
But you might not have read about Moscow getting itsfirst new park in 50 years.
Greenspace is a welcome sign of urban revitalization in Moscow , which has n’t had a new commons since 1958.Zaryadye Parkis being design by Diller Scofidio + Renfro , the designer of the High Line , and will include four microclimates : tundra , steppe , forest and marsh ( we ’re not quite sure how they ’re go to do that , but sounds great ) . The 13 - acre situation near the Kremlin has been a vacant slew since a hotel ( the largest in Europe at the time ) was demolished there in 2006 . The commons ’s contriver go for to expend the new public space to increase footer activity in the area .
But you didn’t read about howMicrosoftandAmazonare pitching in for transit projects in Seattle.
While the Bay Area clamber with tech companies that are bad neighbors , Seattle ’s technical school colossus are work to make the city better . Amazon is famously designing anew headquartersin South Lake Union that ’s working to improve the local community and buildingprotected bike laneson nearby 7th Avenue . Up near its Redmond complex , Microsoft has offered to build abike and pedestrian bridgenear a next transit heart that will help associate its employees to light rail .
But you likely hadn’t heard about St. Louis’s campaign toreclaim vacant urban lots.
In St. Louis there are over 20,000 vacant lots — so many that in some areas like North St. Louis , an empty destiny is really the dominant land use . Several system in the metropolis are working together to turn the empty land into assets . TheSustainable Land Labcompetition tapped architects and designers to come up with ways to transform St. Louis ’s vacant land and give five succeeder $ 5000 semen money to make their ideas happen . This year , theprojects were realise , let in a chess park , a restaurant , and a solar calendar . Another competitor , PXSTL , will turn a vacant quite a little into a large cultural complex designed by Freecell . These unique public - private partnerships will not only aid rule “ tenants ” for vacant lots , but can also work to regain resource and volunteer to easily replicate the theme anywhere in the metropolis .
But you probably don’t know about Ahvaz, Iran, which has theworst air pollution on earth.
China gets all the bad press late but the truth is that the air travel is consistently worse in for a region in the Middle East that let in Iran , Pakistan , and India . The urban center of Ahvaz , Iran has by far the most dangerous air on the planet to breathe , harmonise to the WHO , with a astonishing 372 part per million of mote smaller than 10 micrometers , three times as risky as Beijing . The metropolis of 1.2 million in southwest Iran is skirt by laboured , unregulated industry and is prone to dust violent storm . Its residents have the lowest life anticipation in the rural area .
image : Getty Images ( lead photo),CarlesPlanas , Bill Wechter / Getty Images , BeltLine , Rafiq Maqbool / AP , DS+R , Sound Transit , Sustainable Land Lab , GHAZALEH GHAZANFARI
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