old technology changing the city
The last time I went to Paris I saw something I had heard about since 2007, a public bike system called Velib’! In my opinion this is a genius solution for the worldwide problems of urban congestion and pollution. Here’s how it works
Image via Wikipedia
Seventeen thousand bikes are stationed at Twelve hundred stations all over the city. You walk up to a station, swipe your card, get a bike, and you’re off! When you get to your destination you park your bike at a nearby station. Once you’re ready to leave again you just repeat step one! This takes out all the hassle of owning a bike (theft, maintenance, storage) and gives you all of the pros of using one (exercise, less congestion, mobility)!
The question was, would something like this really catch on? The answer was a big fat oui! Bikers on the streets of paris have doubled. This has led to the need for expansion of the public biking infrastructure. This in turn is having the real long term effect of reducing the number of cars on the road!
Now, the success of Velib’ is contagiously infecting other cities in Europe such as Barcelona. Above is a video from faircompanies outlining their version of public biking. More recently Canada has embraced this great plan as well! Montreal runs a system called bixi (bike + taxi) and Toronto is in the process of doing the same!
Its amazing to me how some of the most complicated problems can be solved with something we’ve had for years. . . what else are we missing?
love
So the past week has been pretty crazy! Why? My girlfriend came down from Ontario to visit and well. . . I had a little surprise for her when she landed 🙂 Lets just say she answered a very important question I had for her and her answer was yes!!!!!!! So full of smiles right now its crazy ha ha. . . Its funny how much love influences art. Even if you hate love I would find it very foolish to deny its influence on the arts. The pursuit, the attainment, and the loss of love are timeless pillars of inspiration to everything from painting to poetry. . . any thoughts? And Dario. . . I give u permission to rant away ha ha
-life as a sketch- 