from Climate Home News
Highlights
- Cities worldwide are looking at ways to reduce car transportation by increasing bike lanes and pedestrian-only areas
- Carlos Moreno, planning advisor to Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, says that the transformation of cities needs to align with Paris Agreement targets within the next 10 years
- Though the pandemic reintroduced many people to alternative transportation, the risk factor of contracting COVID from public transportation has heightened fears
- The use of car transport in response to pandemic concerns will lead to a rise in emissions globally as overall emissions have already bounced back to just 5% below pre-pandemic daily levels
- Polling from China shows that more people purchased their own vehicles after the outbreak and fewer people rely on public transportation as coronavirus still looms globally
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control called for more people to use private cars to get to work, inciting a backlash
- Urban planning professor Lawrence Frank called this contradictory:
“Promoting private vehicle use as public health strategy is like prescribing sugar to reduce tooth decay”
- As people nationwide call for defunding the police and applying that money to other sectors of their community, urban redevelopment and transportation could be a possible redirect of those funds
- Adoption of the 15-minute city model, where are essential services are within a 15-minute walk away from housing, may be the solution for a green city
Increased air pollution from fossil fuel emissions makes all of us more vulnerable to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Climate-Safe California Platform offers solutions for clean mobility to reduce fossil fuel emissions and improve public health.
Read More: https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/06/12/will-take-cycle-lanes-make-green-pandemic-proof-cities/
Nina Turner
Energy Programs and Communications CoordinatorJanina is a graduate of the Energy Management and Design program at Sonoma State University with experience in non-profits that specialize in sustainability and volunteerism.
