As he walked, Leopold explained the rules that CDOT set for the project. Materials had to be found within a 500-mile radius of Cermak, he said. All told, 23 percent of the materials used in the project were recycled, and more than 60 percent of the project’s construction waste was recycled in turn.

And recycling is just the start of it. Sidewalks and asphalt have been designed to reflect summer’s light and heat. Inside traffic lanes are coated with self-cleaning photocatalytic cement, absorbing nitrogen oxide from car traffic, thus cleaning the surrounding air. Overhead, new energy-efficient streetlights bow toward the street, drawing power from solar panels and cutting back on nighttime light pollution…

The addition of new sidewalks and parking spaces creates a place for cars to park at a curb, rather than where people want to walk. Installation of a “pedestrian refuge island” in the middle of Cermak Road puts an end to the hazardous standing amid east/west traffic, attempting to cross. Coming soon: long-awaited permeable-paved bike lanes that will finally tie Cermak to a web of routes leading into the city.

read more: grist.org, 08.10.12.

west cermak rd. g.maps.

awesome! I biked on Cermak from/to Pilsen and Chinatown when I was in Chicago during my spring break. It’s not a heavily traveled road, I would say, and it was cool to ride over the old train tracks (minus the bumps). (ok so I have a penchant for industrial areas)

TEDx San Diego. a day of urban inspiration.
sat. 13.10.12. 1-5pm @newschool architecture
$35 / $15 students. click post title above for tickets.
list of speakers. 

For one day only, the TEDx platform will harness the power of people across the globe to encourage them to host a TEDx event themed “City 2.0″ event at their favorite local spots, featuring the brightest local minds and biggest hearts. In unison, we’ll share the stories of our beloved homes: where are the bright spots? The creative adaptations? The transformative responses to injustice? Who is asking the most pressing questions? Pioneering the most complex solutions? Speakers can focus on themes including culture, transportation, education, sanitation, recreation — all elements whose presence will dictate the success of our future cities.

In addition, as part of this global collaboration, we are piloting Action pitch sessions during our TEDxCity2.0 day event — giving innovators the opportunity to pitch ideas for urban transformation that will inspire their local community and the global TEDx network in the process. We are offering up to five members of our community the chance to propose projects around the theme of “City 2.0”.

a shared street in Germany.

…could include center islands to provide refuge, crosswalk signage, perhaps curb bump-outs. I’m in favor of any/all of those and more; planters, benches, trees, bushes, grass, bamboo — bring it on! Putting s#!t in the way will be the single best way to slow traffic. Slowing the traffic makes the street more pleasant to cross and to cycle on, and the more bikes and pedestrians there are, the slower the traffic moves — it is a positive feedback loop.

China’s love affair with the car has blossomed into a torrid romance. In April, nearly a million people poured into the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition to coo over the latest Audis, BMWs, and Toyotas. But China is in danger of making the same mistakes the United States made on its way to superpower status — mistakes that have left Americans reliant on foreign oil from unstable parts of the world, staggering under the cost of unhealthy patterns of living, and struggling to overcome the urban legacy of decades of inner-city decay.

by peter calthorpe, on foreignpolicy, 09.2012.