Green Idea Factory wins 1st Prize in Copenhagen Bike Share Design Competition

The team of Koucky & Partners, LOTS Design and Green Idea Factory has developed an innovative bike share concept, called OPENbike, for the city of Copenhagen. They have been awarded a shared first prize amongst 127 international entries in the design competition. The awards ceremony was held on 10 December, during the COP15 summit.

The City of Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the world leading cycling cities, aims at establishing a new bike share system and initiated an open international design competition earlier this Fall.

OPENbike is user-focused and proposes a system that is easy to use, flexible and fully scalable. The design goal has been to create a system that seamlessly integrates with public transport and becomes a natural part of Copenhagen’s existing bicycle culture. The system proposes a smart card system and positioning solutions integrated in each bicycle to create a fully floating bike share system.OPENbike does therefore not need special stands and bicycles can easily be repositioned to adapt the system to the city's changing needs.

"We are particularly happy the jury appreciated our intentions with this iconic bicycle design that relates to Copenhagen bicycle history and, at the same time, contributes to the new branding of Copenhagen," says Erik Nohlin, a specialist in bicycle design from LOTS Design in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Michael Koucky of Koucky & Partners, also in Gothenburg, adds, "We aimed to make this bike feel like an owned bike for a Copenhager or a commuter to the Danish capital. The bike is not meant to be on a pedestal, both literally and figuratively. It should be a natural part of the lives of local cyclists, and a great example for tourists."

"It is clear to me that leading cities are ready to embrace what is now the 4th Generation in bike sharing systems," says Los Angeles-born Todd Edelman of Green Idea Factory, currently based in Berlin. "The attention and generosity shown by the City of Copenhagen in holding this competition hopefully indicates that cities are also starting to take a leadership role in implementing this important component of a seamless public transportation solution."

Click here for detailed information on the Design Competition, OPENbike (click on the image) and all the other entries.

High resolution images for publication or viewing can be downloaded here.

"Dog and Cat Collars" (2009) by Chris Jordan

Depicts ten thousand dog and cat collars, equal to the average number of unwanted dogs and cats euthanized in the United States every day*.

from "Running the Numbers - An American Self-Portrait".

Chris Jordan entry on Wikipedia.

* Statistics from HSUS seem to originate with this org., but I cannot find them.

Regarding "Compleat Streets"

Transportation for America wants people in the U.S. to send this letter:

Dear Secretary LaHood, I am alarmed by the continually high pedestrian fatality rate in this country.
Just this week, a new study by the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and Transportation for America reported that in the last 15 years, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed while crossing or walking along a street in their community. Overwhelmingly, these deaths occurred on poorly designed roadways that encouraged speeding cars and made little or no provision for people on foot, in wheelchairs, or on a bicycle.
The study shows the strong correlation between a metro area's Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) and its spending on pedestrian safety projects. The metro areas in greatest need of improvement are spending the least.
The study also shows how many communities are creating safer streets - by making sure that every road project provides for the safety of everyone who will be using the road, including pedestrians. More than 100 communities across the country have adopted Complete Streets policies to do just that.
Nationwide, less than 1.5 percent of funds authorized under the federal transportation law, SAFETEA-LU, have been spent on projects to improve the safety of walking and bicycling. Yet pedestrians comprise 11.8 percent of all traffic deaths and trips made on foot account for almost 9 percent of total trips.
Your work on combating distracted driving and establishing a new Safety Council shows that you are passionate about transportation safety. Please add to that record of achievement by supporting Complete Streets policy adoption across the country. This is a strategy that will not only can make our streets safer, but will help make our communities more livable by providing people with attractive transportation options.
We need your leadership on Complete Streets with Congress and within USDOT.
Sincerely, (Your signature)

to which I say:

(to the tune of your favourite rap or folk song...)

Some had the space for a horse for a ride
Or trees so the neighbours and birds could hide
On others all agreed bikes could be ridden
Or a tram to sit in when you want your legs hidden

Streets were complete before cars came along
The sidewalks so wide you could dance your own song
The sidewalks so proud that they met in the middle
The compromised think that this must be a riddle.


***

"Better", "Slower" are qualitative and acceptable; "Streets for People" used elsewhere, is vague but might be okay, but please ask yourself:

* Don't these terms mean something different than "complete"?
* What about the noise and tailpipe emissions of motor vehicles, in particular private cars... they also share the street, and not in a nice way.
* Why pretend to treat everyone equally regarding safety?
* Just how much does this encourage "alternative" transport? (Probably a bit to a bunch, depending on the quality of complementary measures... so that's good.)

"Complete", re-contextualised to include private urban cars, sends a strong signal that this subgroup of automobiles (which can be appropriately used) will be a permanent feature of the built environment -- that it deserves a place as much as other modes.

So, it's a pity that local authorities are confused (and confusers), and it's a shame that various community and advocacy organizations - such as "Transportation for America [sic]" which has an otherwise decent agenda - push this new kind of "complete". It is deceptive... even Orwellian language. If enshrined as law it's very, very dangerous.

Update on Veolia in Palestine... and reaction from SPD, the Greens and others in Germany?

In addition to their provision of regional transport services all over Germany via their Veolia Transportation division, Paris-based Veolia Environnement daughter Veolia Wasser owns slightly less than 25% of Berliner Wasserbetriebe. Veolia Wasser is also a main sponsor of "Der Lange Tag der StadtNatur" in Berlin during the summer and the Netzwerk 21 Kongress, which starts in about ten days in Cologne.

Arguably, Veolia Verkehr provides German states with a good and well-run alternative to state-owned companies like DB Regio (either as operator or with competitive services, e.g. the Berlin-Leipzig rail service). Without getting into broader issues of them cherry-picking more profitable routes, or its sister Veolia Water and its involvement in international trends of privatizing of water service, or that - to their credit - that these and other Veolia daughters are innovative or progressive in the way they perform, it strikes me as particularly odd (to be polite) that so many German organisations and entities with very close ties to the Social Democrats especially or green groups or the Green Party themselves cooperate with Veolia Wasser in the above activities, apparently without taking issue with their continuing involvement in illegal projects in Palestine. It's of course hard to tell if anything is going on behind the scenes, but still the main proof is the continuing (cooperation with the) sponsorships themselves.

The larger issue is of course the contracts which Veolia Environnement and its various German daughters have with various cities and regions -- and many or most of these might have come before they were aware of the various involvements of Veolia in Palestine. But the sponsorships were decided much later, and probably more are being discussed this autumn. In regards to new tenders for various operations provided by Veolia in the future, I can only hope that Germans - in general - take some inspiration from the half-dozen or so other countries where Veolia has, apparently, not won contracts due to its activities in Palestine.

***

The following from Corporate Watch:

In 2005, just after the publication of the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid, Palestinians began calling for an international boycott campaign against Veolia, a company involved in the Citypass Consortium, a scheme to build a tramline on occupied territory in the West Bank. Veolia is a huge multinational, that arguably has the biggest financial commitment of any international company to Israel's colonisation of the West Bank.

To read full article, click here

Dogs on Board! 1 of 4

Click on image to enlarge and HERE for page two

JOIN our Google Group discussion!

We're on FACEBOOK, too.

Dogs on Board! 2 of 4

Click on image to enlarge and HERE for page three

JOIN our Google Group discussion!

We're on FACEBOOK, too.

Dogs on Board! 3 of 4

Click on image to enlarge and HERE for page four

JOIN our Google Group discussion!

We're on FACEBOOK, too.

Dogs on Board! 4 of 4

Click on image to enlarge and HERE to return to the first page

JOIN our Google Group discussion!

We're on FACEBOOK, too.

BikeBridges

BikeBridges is part of the Bikes on Board! (BOB) project. (EuroVelo map only used for reference; Green Idea Factory is the initiator and co-director of BOB).

Adverts: Bus vs. Car or Bus not vs. Bike?

CLICK on image to enlarge.

ON the left is a well-known ad which appeared in Canada five years ago. It was pulled after protests from transit advocates. On the right is my version.

Bikes on Board! 1/4

Click HERE to go the second page.

Bikes on Board! 2/4

Click HERE to go to the third page.

Bikes on Board! 3/4

Click HERE to go the fourth page.

Bikes on Board! 4/4

Click HERE to go back to the first page.

Dogs on Board!

Please Click HERE

JCDecaux, Škoda Auto and Prague Transport attack sustainability in "PT: Self-Harming Adverts" + bonus

Prague is a marvellous place to be cynical!

My Flickr Set Self-Harming Adverts in Public Transport...

... continues with coverage of an absolute bombardment for the New Year, in which Škoda Auto, (owned in full by VW - which is partly owned by Porsche, aided by JCDecaux (the saviour of Paris) and Prague (Public) Transport, invite the latter's (future former) customers - among others - to BELIEVE that if you have to:

* Carry a large animal
* Move house, or
* Have unexpected visitors...

You need a new Škoda combi.

The intention of Porsche/VW/Škoda is clear, the confusion of Prague Transport in assaulting their city is not, and if anyone thinks that JCDecaux actually cares about sustainability, well, then they have their head buried in the sand at the Seine.

This next totally-predictable miracle of the Automobile Advertising Industrial Gigaplex starts here:

(Then browse forward...)

***

Bonus:

Of course, the bombardment is not just coming from Stuttgart*, Wolfsburg**, Mlada Boleslav*** and Neuilly-sur-Seine****, but also from Seoul***** and Vevey******:

HQ index:
* Porsche
** VW
*** Škoda Auto
**** JCDecaux
***** Kia
****** Nestle, the owner of Orion)

Berlin and other German cities tighten particulate emissions rules for road vehicles

Germans tighten road vehicle exhaust rules - Three German cities - Berlin, Cologne and Hanover - have introduced "environmental zones" to reduce fine particle emissions from traffic.

from BBC World Service

Drivers now have to display a coloured sticker on their vehicle to enter the inner city zones. The colour depends on the pollutants the vehicle emits. The cities are gradually phasing in fines of 40 euros (£29;$58) for anyone caught driving without a sticker.

Other German cities - but not all - plan to have such zones later in 2008.

The stickers - green, red or yellow - are mandatory not only for locals but also for foreign drivers, INCLUDING TOURISTS.There is a one-off charge of five to 10 euros for the stickers, issued by Germany's vehicle registration authority and authorised garages.

Some hotel and restaurant owners have voiced fears that tourists will be put off by the requirement for stickers, reports in Germany say.

The German motoring club, the ADAC, plans to take legal action against the restrictions, the DPA news agency reports.

The EU has set the limit for fine particle pollutants at 50 micrograms per cubic metre of air, which cannot be exceeded on more than 35 days per year.

The Berlin environmental zone covers about 88sq km (55sq miles), while the one in Cologne covers about 16sq km. Officials say the majority of cars in the affected cities qualify for the stickers.

***

Here is the page on the City of Berlin site which has a link to a PDF flyer in English on the scheme .

(I hope that some Berliners on these lists can add some information or insight for all us other donuts...)

NOTE that the German scheme is not following an earlier congestion charge of any sort.

Lung Lovers in London have to wait until 4 February...

.......Interestingly, Berlin (and Paris) are also starting this today...

... and finally, see what just started in Milano.

Keep the Air Pure (but watch out for False Filters)!

***

Another Scandal for German Clean-auto Zones

Prague Central Station

Praha hl.n.

Praha hl.n. a okolí 1/2

Praha hl.n. a okolí 2/2

Click here for details on logistics concept...

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 1/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 2/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 3/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 4/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 5/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 6/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 7/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 8/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 9/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 10/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 11/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 12/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 13/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 14/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 15/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 16/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 17/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 18/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 19/20

Praha hl.n., nejen pro nakupující... 20/20

Bikes on Board!

This information has been updated. Please click HERE.

Public Transport: More Self-Harming Adverts and Positive Images in Popular Culture

For this advert, it seems almost certain that a public transport operator rented out the bus to the television production company or advertising agency.

I am also pleased to bring you the poor, car-less public transport rider, the smelly one and the sick one (but also the compassionate fellow passenger).

This one is so low-budget it might have done without permission, and here we have school bus operators getting in on the action.

An interactive ad at a bus stop in London rounds out the negative examples of this collection.

Again, in possibly all these cases, PT operators or city authorities at least gave permission and at worst took money.... on my planet this is called masochism.

To end on a positive note, a musical group from Venezuela are shown having fun with their mobile electronics (this was filmed in the town which has the same type of metro vehicle which can be accessed here) and, off topic but cute, headways can be annoyingly short sometimes...

... this is part two of this series. See part I here, here and one of one my all time-favourites here. See my Flickr page on same theme.

Dogs on Board!

Thanks for joining us... please see updated version of project HERE.

Shell nominated for Worst Greenwash

In the 'Worst EU Lobby Awards', Royal Dutch Shell has been nominated for suggesting that their oil refineries emit flowers, not smoke.

In the wake of increasing public conviction that climate change needs to be addressed, Shell is trying to remodel its image in order to appeal to the environmental consciousness of potential customers. Advertising in newspapers and magazines in April and May 2007, the company showed a refinery emitting flowers from its chimneys with claims that it uses its “waste CO2 to grow flowers and [its] waste sulphur to make concrete”. However, in reality, less than 0.5 percent of Shell’s total CO2 emissions are piped into Dutch greenhouses to grow flowers. Furthermore, most of Shell’s sulphur waste is used for ship fuel and is finally released in the air. Sea ships are one of the biggest sources of sulphur dioxide pollution.

For full info see here.

See UK Guardian story "No bouquets for Shell press ad"


***

On February 3, 2007, nature lovers smeared oil all over the photographs at the London Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit, which was sponsored by Shell.

***

The ‘Worst EU Lobbying’ Award is to be given to the lobbyist, company or lobby group that in 2007 has employed the most deceptive, misleading, or otherwise problematic lobbying tactics in their attempts to influence EU decision-making. This year’s event also includes a special ‘Worst EU Greenwash’ Award for the company whose advertising, PR and lobbying lingo is most at odds with the real environmental impacts of their core business activities.

The EU lobby awards are organised by Corporate Europe Observatory, Friends of the Earth Europe, LobbyControl and Spinwatch.

***

In 2002 Shell Foundation gave EMBARQ funding which totalled USD 7.5 million, for a five-year programme.


In 2006 alone Royal Dutch Shell made a profit of USD 26.311 billion.

The amount of money Shell gave to EMBARQ represents a very tiny little bit of the money they are playing with. And most of the rest - I assume minus some other donations - is about feeding the automobile habit of the world. Personal cars.. killing, maiming, scaring, screaming, terrorizing. Balance that against the projects of EMBARQ in Mexico, China, Turkey and so on... I don't think you can, no matter how great they are.

That's why it is Greenwash, even if it goes beyond adverts and spin.

Now, I don't only blame EMBARQ - but of course I also don't like that Caterpillar - the company that supplies military bulldozers to the Israeli Army used for tearing down Palestinian homes - is their other major sponsor beside Shell. I blame national governments and the people that vote them in for screwing up priorities so much that an oil addiction pusher like Shell or, again, an advertising company like JCDecaux has to come in and try to save everyone. Still, the foundations and organisations we work with do make choices. What is most disheartening is when they say that Company X is helping them right before they stick their collective head in the sand about the rest of it.

Unfortunately, the recent Towards Carfree Cities conference of World Carfree Network - Green Idea Factory is a member - in Istanbul, hosted by the Turkish Traffic Safety Association, also received some support from EMBARQ. I have not yet received any details on this, but I will post it here when I get more info. Their sponsorship was not so high-profile, but it was still a conscious effort of EMBARQ.

Finally, the Royal Green Shower of Shell gets even worse.

More information and related:
Controversies concerning Royal Dutch Shell
Sourcewatch Wiki on Shell
Shell and Ferrari advert
Very long and funny Shell advert about oil extraction
Greenwash of biggest Czech environmental foundation
WWF
Renault
Citroen
Laws on adverts in Norway

Transit Pass - Best Weapon Against Climate Change?

The new report released by the American Public Transportation Association makes some interesting comparisons about various ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases. See press release, fact sheet and full report.

There is a key word or term missing from the report, and I am not sure why. What is it? Here's a hint: Complementary.

Hey bus rider, need a car loan?

Johannesburg, South Africa, September 2002 - The advert is from a bank which provides financing for purchasing a car. For more examples of self-destructive advertising on public transport vehicles and related properties - from Beijing, Bogota, Prague and Tallinn - see my Flickr page.

Photo provided by Lloyd Wright from Viva in Quito, Ecuador.

UITP (International Association of Public Transport) has created a ‘Public’s choice’ Award in advance of their 4th International Marketing Conference in Malaga, Spain in November. View nominees and vote here!

Cyclists, singing and dancing

What's a Girl to Do? by Bat for Lashes...

Dancing and singing ON the train

Trying doing this is in your Tata or Indian-built Škoda! (Read more here).

The song is "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the movie Dil Se.

Positive Public Transport in Pop

From 1999, by Luscious Jackson. This video was shot in NYC, their hometown. The singer described herself recently as a city person who always used the subway and her bike. Why can't more bus rides be like this?

Nine years later the singer, Jill Cunniff, continues having fun on public transport.

Greenwash in the Czech Republic

This was featured at my stand for World Carfree Day in Prague, 22 September, 2007.

This is the "partners" webpage from Nadace Partnerství (Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation). The various companies are listed... Skanska as a builder of highways, Ceskomorasky Cement as a provider of materials for highways, Toyota etc. doing their nonsense.

More materials from the stand coming soon...

UK 'exporting emissions' to China

BBC: The UK's increasing dependence on Chinese goods is contributing to a rise in carbon emissions, a report suggests.

The New Economic Foundation (Nef) says such reliance is adding to CO2 levels because China's factories produce more CO2 per item than British ones.

The report also says many similar goods are both imported and exported, adding needlessly to CO2 output in transport.

Full story.

Toronto: World Record Walk + Anti-Car and Out of Balance

In this video, Toronto's poet laureate describes how walking (and smiles) create community, as Toronto participated in a World Record Walk.

***

It's time for Toronto to give less priority to cars and more to other modes of transport, a senior Toronto official bluntly told the city's works committee yesterday.

"Maybe a balance is no longer appropriate," said John Mende, Toronto's director of transportation management...

... "I think it's time now to tip the scales in favour of the other modes of transportation, and perhaps create an imbalance in favour of those other modes," he said.

Read full story.