North America has experienced a 5% jump in rates of cycling since the U.S. started staying home. As electric bikes enjoy impressive sales increases, cities around the world consider making the shift permanent by planning bike-friendly infrastructure.

Electric bike sales are booming worldwide as more travelers opt for alternatives to cars and public transportation. Thomas Ricker and Andrew J. Hawkins, as well as many public officials and community members, urge that this trend should be made permanent. Cities around the world, they say, need to provide bike-friendly infrastructure to make possible a considerably less car-reliant future.
"It’s a remarkable transformation, but it could all be undone if cities aren’t bold in how they reimagine their streetscapes," warn Ricker and Hawkins. In Paris, plans are being made to convert a city-spanning thoroughfare into a bike highway.
Some other cities, unfortunately, aren't following the lead. In many cases, "the COVID-19-era transportation measures being rolled out by cities are being done so timidly, often behind the guise of temporary change," according to Ricker and Hawkins, attributing the hesitancy to an assumption that a return to business as normal necessitates car-reliance. Calls to action resonate with those who see new transportation trends as an opportunity to restructure and reprioritize the way people travel through cities.
"If not now, when?" question Ricker and Hawkins.
FULL STORY: CITIES ARE TRANSFORMING AS ELECTRIC BIKE SALES SKYROCKET

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.

California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.

HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
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