Public Health

We reported yesterday that noted Danish urbanist Jan Gehl will soon be surveying New York streets with an eye toward improving them for human use. Gehl has been working in Sydney, Australia as of late, and an essay he wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald offers insight into what he may be looking for here in the city.

Telecommunications giant Sprint recently launched an ad campaign called "Waitless," the gist of which seems to be that one of its plans allows customers unlimited calling two hours earlier than other companies do, thereby saving "four years of waiting over a lifetime."

Companies have been routinely penalized for deceptive behavior regarding the safety of products like lead, asbestos and tobacco. The Japan Times reports on the latest public health menace to be challenged in courtrooms:

As part of our back to school coverage, and in light of news from the past week, we thought it would be a good time to report on programs aimed at keeping kids safe on city streets.

The mother and grandfather of James Rice.

A Streetsblog reader brings us an update on the case of the cyclist killed last December in the Central Park Transverse, through information obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request.

Transportation Alternatives has teamed up with cycling advocates from Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle to issue the Urban Transportation Report Card (PDF), which rates these cities' progress on greening their transportation systems. The report notes that transportation accounts for 20-60% of carbon emissions in major U.S. cities, so it is very encouraging that in each city the most significant growth occurred in bicycling, with Chicago registering an 80% increase in cyclists from 1990-2000.

In the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, a group of teenagers is transforming a drab, cinder block wall into a three-story mural to memorialize three children killed on dangerous Third Avenue and to remind motorists to drive safely. The mural is being organized by Transportation Alternatives and Groundswell Community Mural Project and painted under the guidance of acclaimed social activist artists Christopher Cardinale and Nicole Schulman.