Bicyclists in St. Petersburg, Fla. by CityofStPete licensed under Creative Commons.

Electric vehicles aren’t enough to halt climate change, but bicycling has more promise. Does the Pacific Northwest need more cities? Motorists and pedestrians compete for space on UK streets.

Reaching for net zero cities? It’s all about the bicycle: The emissions saved by replacing all combustion engine cars with electric vehicles is not going to make enough difference in enough time to combat climate change. But a study of 4,000 people in cities throughout Europe found that active transportation is much cleaner, with bicyclists reducing their carbon footprint drastically. (Christian Brand | The Conversation)

An answer to population growth in the Pacific Northwest: A report proposes building dense ‘hub’ cities from scratch across Cascadia that would cut emissions and provide affordable housing for a projected 3.6 million new residents in the region. New cities would be built along a network of high speed rail connecting Portland to Vancouver through Seattle. (Benjamin Cassidy | Seattle Met)

The tug-of-war over London streets: In London, high levels of air pollution lead to the deaths of an estimated 10,000 people per year. During the pandemic, air quality improved as fewer people drove and about 100 streets were turned into low traffic areas. But the closures haven’t made everyone happy, leading to some contentious gatherings of motorists trying to reclaim space they feel is theirs. The big question is who will come out on top once the pandemic is over. (Niamh McIntyre | Guardian)

Five ways to make streets less deadly: Traffic fatalities rose during the pandemic, but it didn’t have to be that way. Laws that lock in dangerous street designs and policies that encourage large vehicles are part of the reason people keep dying. Sara Bronin outlines five ways to make US roads less deadly, including diversifying who has a say in road laws and design, as well as prioritizing non-driver safety in legislation and vehicle safety tests. (Sara Bronin | Bloomberg CityLab)

Some people really don’t like these Cleveland townhouses: Cleveland’s recently loosened townhouse zoning laws are coming under fire as some critique oversized townhouses sometimes called “slot” homes, named that way because developers can build them in narrow infill lots. Amid aesthetic concerns, critics also complain that these homes promote car ownership, often featuring long driveways or garages on the ground floor. (Steven Litt | Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Alissa Guther contributed to these summaries.

Quote of the Week

“While the gilded age of the American shopping mall may have come to end, the gilded age of retail has not. People will continue to shop, and they will continue to do so in physical stores the majority of the time. E-commerce is expanding and changing at a rapid pace, growing new arms as people discover more convenient ways to acquire the things they need and want.”

Samantha Colin in Propmodo discussing why brick and mortar stores will never quite go away.

This week on the podcast, Yonah Freemark is here for our annual prediction show!