urban mobility & bicycles . . .

don’t miss the exhibit, our cities ourselves: the future of transportation in urban life, at the center for architecture, 536 la guardia place, new york, ny 10012. the exhibit will be closing on in about two weeks on wednesday, september 15, 2010.

http://cfa.aiany.org/index.php?section=exhibitions&expid=119

nick foley, who graduated from the industrial design department at pratt this past may 2010, has a bicycle of his own design, prominently displayed in the exhibit’s entrance area window. as one of my design students in his junior year at pratt, nick developed a design brief for his making meaning project called, second nature, which was an early attempt to coalesce some of his interests in sustainability with three dimensional product design as well as landscape architecture. as a senior in tim richartz’s studio, nick designed and built his etta concept bicycle as a semester long project. here are a few images of the work in progress from this spring on nick’s bicycle that lead up to his involvement in the aia • center for architecture’s current exhibit. you might also want to look at this link from july for more information about the etta concept commuter bicycle: http://www.gizmag.com/etta-semi-recumbent-cargo-bicycle-prototype/15830/

even though the dutch city of utrecht isn’t one of the ten highlighted in the aia • center for architecture’s current exhibit, if you take a look at this video, you might have an idea of what traffic in the future during a bicycle commuter rush hour could look like: bicycle rush hour utrecht, netherlands
800 meters of bicycle parking racks in utrecht, netherlands

another product / concept that relates to the aia • center for architecture’s current exhibit is the copenhagen wheel. the copenhagen wheel is a new prototype for urban mobility, which transforms ordinary bicycles quickly into hybrid e-bikes. your bicycle captures the energy dissipated while cycling / braking and saves it for when you need a bit of a boost: the copenhagen wheel concept

our cities ourselves: the future of transportation in urban life explores the creation of better cities through better transportation and demonstrates what is possible when we design our cities for ourselves. by 2030, sixty percent of the world’s population will live in cities. as cities become increasingly dense, personal automobiles will become less and less feasible transport options. sustainable transportation will be the key to the health of our cities, our own health, and the health of the environment. in honor of the institute for transportation and development policy’s 25th anniversary, our cities ourselves envisions sustainable urban futures for ten major global cities: ahmedabad, budapest, buenos aires, dar es salaam, guangzhou, jakarta, johannesburg, mexico city, new york city and rio de janeiro. In each city, itdp field offices and international architects propose ideal transportation futures grounded in current conditions. the proposals present safe, vibrant streets that promote social and economic equality, privilege mass transit, bicyclists and pedestrians, and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.