National links: Electric cargo bikes prove popular during the pandemic and beyond

More and more families are opting for e-cargo bikes to get around. On one New York street, more than 300 languages are spoken. The air we breathe indoors.

Electric cargo bikes a popular family option: During the pandemic, biking increased in cities like New York where people were worried early on about getting on the subway with their kids. Many found an option in electric cargo bikes which could carry multiple kids to school in the morning and home in the afternoon. At a Brooklyn bike store, e-cargo bike sales make up to 40% of sales a noticeable increase from zero just seven years ago. (Kendra Hurley | New York Times)

More than 300 languages spoken on a New York street: Along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, more than 300 languages are spoken. As the 7 train runs over the “artery of life,” commerce explodes underneath with vibrancy and community. The street is a microcosm of the world and what goes on there sometimes impacts what happens on the other side of the globe. (Jordan Salama | National Geographic)

More thinking about indoor air quality: During the pandemic, more and more people started to pay attention to indoor air quality as it became known that the virus was spread through the air and people spent more time at home. (Andrew Zaleski | GQ)

Smart home company disappears completely: A smart home company connecting devices like lightbulbs and switches through apps shut down abruptly leaving its users in a lurch. The company’s servers were shut down, and executives even scrubbed their LinkedIn pages. The move opens up a conversation about the sustainability long term of connected devices. (Ron Amadeo | Ars Technica)

How governments can use the metaverse: A new report from the National League of Cities (NLC) discusses why governments should think harder about how they can interact with the “metaverse.” The metaverse, a network of online three-dimensional worlds, has been gathering more attention as Facebook renamed its parent company to Meta and virtual reality headsets become commonplace. The report discusses opportunities for government such as virtual in-person consultation and shaping the narrative of what it can be used for going forward. (Andy Castillo | American City and County)

Quote of the Week

“The women don’t want to leave. They love that area because it’s very compact and busy, and that means you’re safe even if you leave your shift at 4:00 or 5:00 AM. There’s always people around, we all know each other, there’s a lot of police cameras. It’s very safe.”

Mary, an anonymous escort in Surface Magazine discussing why sex workers in Amsterdam’s Red Light District don’t want it moved to the suburbs.

This week on the podcast, Jenny Schuetz, a senior fellow at Brookings Metro joins us to talk about her book Fixer Upper.