When civic leaders from around the world gathered for Vancouver's 2012 Cities Summit last week, urban transport was on everyone's lips, and information sharing was seen as the key to unlocking future successes.
Fortuitously, as Alexis Stoymenoff reports, for cities and transportation agencies strapped for funding, improvements to transit systems can be made relatively simply, with better use of information that is already at hand.
"By opening up data collected by different municipal departments and agencies, cities can offer new and creative services (like transit apps) with little cost to taxpayers."
According to Gordon Feller, Director of Cisco Systems' Urban Innovations program, "It's not something that the city has to spend money to develop. Third parties will develop it, and the city can take advantage of it."
FULL STORY: Key to smart transit is data sharing, experts say at Cities Summit

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.

Minneapolis Bans Rent-Setting Software
Four cities have enacted restrictions on algorithmic software that can inflate rent costs.

Oakland to Add 244 New EV Chargers
Oakland plans to launch its new charging network at eight locations by the end of 2025.

Jane Goodall Inspires with Message of Hope, Resilience, and Environmental Action
Speaking in Pasadena, Jane Goodall offered a hopeful and inspirational message, urging global compassion, environmental responsibility, and the power of individual action to shape a better future.
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