Happy Birthday, Streetsblog Network

One year ago today, we announced the launch of the Streetsblog Network -- a national and international network of blogs covering transportation policy, sustainable planning, smart growth and active transportation. We conceived of the network as a way to get people who are passionate about these issues literally on the same page.

We started with about 100 blogs in 31 states. Today, the network encompasses 359 blogs in nearly every state of the Union, as well as many international members. (If you know of anyone doing this work in Wyoming or North Dakota, please let us know in the comments.)

Who are these bloggers? They include trained planners, such as Jarrett Walker of Human Transit, and students such as the author of Imagine No Cars in Missoula, Montana. They include the outraged, like the folks at The Bus Bench in Los Angeles, and the analytical, like Yonah Freemark at The Transport Politic. Some cities are particularly prolific -- we've got six members in St. Louis, for instance.

There's a sizable contingent, of course, of blogs devoted to bicycles. Some record the efforts of families to live with minimal car use -- like Four on a Quarter, new to us just this week, written by the parents of a five-year-old and a two-year-old who ride in the urban sprawl of central Florida. There are several cycle chic blogs, including one in Estonia and one in Charleston, South Carolina. There are blogs that focus on political and legal issues related to bicycles, such as Biking in L.A., which today has some excellent advice about what to do if you are involved in a car-bike collision. There are blogs that revel in the sheer joy of cycling, like the lovely EcoVelo. And there are the dedicated commuters, such as another new addition, Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage (now that's hard core).

The growth of the network has been inspiring and humbling. Our members have been incredibly generous with each other and with us, trading links and advice and information. We've reached out to them to create an ongoing series of user-generated slide shows that have been a lot of fun (the latest was about kids on bikes). And we've learned so much about what is happening on the front lines of the fight for a sustainable transportation future.

Happy birthday, Streetsblog Network. Keep growing.