Cycling in the City of Love by -Reji licensed under Creative Commons.

The French capital rolls out big bike plans. Evidence mounts against natural gas. Zoning has a surprising victim.

Paris sets goal to become ‘100% cyclable’: Paris has released plans for a large investment in cycling, adding to existing policies making the city more friendly to active transportation. With a $291 million budget, the city plans to build 180km of new separated bike lanes and 180,000 bike parking spots by 2026. The plans will also include lessons for children to help them learn how to ride in the city. (Feargus O’Sullivan | Bloomberg CityLab)

Indoor methane leaks are worse than we knew: Research comparing data from before and during the pandemic found that tiny methane leaks from natural gas in homes make up a larger proportion of city emissions than previously realized. Methane is particularly bad for the climate, making up 20% of emissions. The finding is fueling calls for moving away from natural gas and towards electrification sooner rather than later. (Daniel Grossman | Yale Climate Connections)

A surprising source of supply chain issues… NIMBYs: Last Friday the Port of Los Angeles came to a standstill because of a zoning regulation that had nothing to do with safety. Turns out containers are only allowed to be stacked two high as a concession to local neighborhoods. An emergency declaration has changed the number to five, but not before jokes about housing and containers being limited to ground level in California were shared. (Virginia Postrel | Washington Post)

For better climate outcomes, look to low rise buildings, not skyscrapers: By 2050, an additional 2.5 billion people will be living in cities around the world. To accommodate this population growth sustainably, researchers have found that densely packed low rise urban design is much more effective than building skyscrapers when embedded carbon and lifecycle costs are considered. As such, the researchers say that cities like Paris are better for the environment generally than places like New York City. (Ruth Saint and Francesco Pomponi | The Conversation)

The subversive urbanism of Pixar movies: Author Justin Wolf argues that Pixar movies surprisingly reveal a sincere understanding of the urban condition. From a town in Cars left desolate by highway consrucition, to the holdout homeowner in Up surrounded by upzoning, to the environmental degredation in WALL-E, the movies have a lot to say about urban living. (Justin Wolf | ArchDaily)

Quote of the week:

“But the most compelling case for rent regulation goes beyond the research and the statistics. It is that continuity and stability are vital elements of any neighborhood’s social health. They are weapons against the alienation and loneliness that prevail in any community in which nothing, not personal relationships nor physical familiarity, ever seems permanent.”

Alan Ehrenhalt in Governing discussing why we might rethink conventional wisdom on rent control.

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Mary Pat McGuire, associate professor of landscape architecture at the University of Illinois, to talk about depaving cities.