WORLD CARFREE NEWS #57 - JULY 2008

Dear Carfree Network list members,

As this list recently moved to google groups, you didn't receive the
July bulletin to this list (although many of you are individual
recipients) Here is this month's newsletter, and from August it will
come automatically. Don't forget to forward to your friends or show
them the signup page - www.worldcarfree.net/bulletin
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WORLD CARFREE NEWS >>>
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Edition no. 57 - July 2008 - English version
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Contents:

QUOTATION OF THE MONTH

IN THE NEWS

WORLD CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS

-ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2008
-CARBUSTERS BUSTED OUT THE BEST BUSINESS PLAN
-ECOTOPIA BIKE TOUR ON THE ROAD
-JOIN WCN ON FACEBOOK
-FAZILKA "ECOCABS" LAUNCHED

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

-BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL THIS SUMMER
-ELTIS SEEKS CASE STUDIES
-CAMP FOR CLIMATE ACTION
-STREET DESIGN COMPETITION
-BIKE VALET PARKING IN UTAH
-ATLAS LAUNCHES CARFREE AMERICA

MEDIA CORNER
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QUOTATION OF THE MONTH >>
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"Americans are flocking onto mass transit at rates not seen in half a
century in the United States,"
- Republican Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.), in a statement linked to high
gas prices and an increasing support for public transit.
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IN THE NEWS >>
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-With soaring petrol prices in the USA, driving is on a general
decline while the number of riders using mass transit is increasing
dramatically. In Los Angeles, there are 12% more riders on Metrolink
than a year ago. While still short of final approval, the House voted
to add $1.7 billion to an already record budget of $10 billion in
federal money to limit fare increases and expand service throughout
the country.
http://tinyurl.com/5pptwe

-Paris plans a car rental system. Following the success of Velib,
Paris's wildly successful bike rental system, mayor Bertrand Delanoë
plans to launch a car rental system that will offer 4000 low-emission
vehicles at very low prices, beginning in 2009.
www.spiegel.de

-Pew poll considered public's views on energy conservation vs.
increasing energy supplies. Those favouring conservation dropped by 10
percentage points to make it roughly even. This occurred over a five
month period and is thought to reflect an urgency at high fuel prices.
http://people-press.org/report/433/gas-prices

-Manhattan continues to deliver good news to cyclists. After offering
ninth avenue a physically seperated bike path, the city just approved
a bike track to take place of motorised traffic in central Manhattan
along Broadway for 7 blocks, connecting Time's Square and Herald
Square.

-A German man in Frankfurt burned his (13 year old) BMV to ashes,
stating that it was due to too high gas prices.
www.Tagesspiegel.de

-In mid-June much of the world saw naked cyclists zip by in the World
Naked Bike ride. Portland, Oregon hosted North America's largest ride
with over 2000 participants during a midnight ride (story, pictures,
movie: http://tinyurl.com/5b6mwm) while over 400 Viennese cyclists
took part with their city full of Euro 2008 soccer fans.
www.worldnakedbikeride.org

-Genetically modified bugs are being experimented with to produce
petroleum by way of their excrement.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4133668.ece

-UK Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly has just appointed Bristol as the
country's first official Cycling City, and announced a further 11
Cycling  Demonstration Towns across England. Each town will receive a
share of a £100m investment package to pioneer innovative ways to
increase cycling.

-According to the EIA, oil exploration is set to follow a slower rate
of increase than previously thought, meaning that the current increase
in petrol prices is unlikely to end. By 2013 there will be a
production of 1,5 million barrels of oil daily

-Following Portland, Oregon's first and tremendously successful
experiment this June with Ciclovia on six miles of the city - termed
"Sunday Parkways", Park Avenue in New York City will receive a
Ciclovia-style street closure on three Saturdays this summer, on
August 9th, 16th and 23rd. Meanwhile Portland citizens attempt to turn
this into a permanent feature
http://tinyurl.com/5zsnvp

-The town of Bakersfield, California has initiated a Bike to Work Day
on July 11th. Participants will be entered in a drawing to win ... a
Toyota Prius.
www.Healthyairliving.com

-The Indian government is introducing new legislation that will double
fines for traffic violations, including higher fines for drunk
driving.
New Economic Times New Delhi
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WORLD CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2008

After a challenging year for the network, the AGM sought to help
re-focus and move forward. The Steering Committee would like to
welcome its new members: Tanja Eskola,
Gabrielle Hermann and Jason Meggs. In addition, we welcomed many new
member organisations from around the world and membership will now
involve a yearly renewal with a mandatory fee to help fund the
network's activities, with various levels depending on the
organisation's budget. An external editorial board for Carbusters
magazine will be established. New online tools will enhance the
Worldcarfree.net site to make the site more useful and collaborative.
Thank you to everyone who took part in
the meeting! The full minutes will be available on the members'
section of Worldcarfree.net by 5 July.

CARBUSTERS BUSTED OUT THE BEST BUSINESS PLAN

Carbusters won the Czech Social Enterprise Competition and was awarded
for the strongest social enterprise business plan based on the online
expansion of Carbusters
magazine.

The NESsT-Citi Social Enterprise Competition is there to enable civil
society organizations (CSOs) in Hungary, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia to plan for and launch social enterprises. CSOs selected
through the national competitions received capacity building support
from NESsT (the Non-profit Enterprise and Self-sustainability Team) to
develop their business plans for social enterprises. At the reception
on June 30, NESsT and Citi showcased Carbusters as the Czech winner of
the competition and presented the award ($8000) to implement the plans
to redesign and develop carbusters.org.

We would like to thank all the current and former staff for their
invaluable contributions in making this possible!

ECOTOPIA BIKE TOUR ON THE ROAD (JULY 2 - AUG 14)

The bike tour has just kicked off in Sofia on the 2nd of July. It will
wind its way through Bulgaria and Turkey, ending up at the Ecotopia
site in Sinop on the 14th of
August.

The Ecotopia Biketour is a mobile community that appears for several
weeks each year in a different part of Europe and provides an
environmentally acceptable way to reach
the Ecotopia gathering (www.ecotopiagathering.org) or simply to cycle
in interesting places. Along the way we meet local groups working on
ecological or social issues and
support their activities - including actions and events in Sofia,
Krumovgrad, Svilengrad and Istanbul.

www.ecotopiabiketour.net

JOIN WCN ON FACEBOOK

World Carfree Network has launched a Facebook page to bring WCN
enthusiasts and members (groups and individuals) together online for
networking and socialising. Its main
objective is to serve WCN members as an informal platform for
cooperation and project planning, as a channel for information
exchange and skill sharing and to simply say hi. The page is still
under construction, and will be built upon your wishes - so let us
know how you prefer interacting with the other members and what kind
of tools you need for it. Login to Facebook and start mingling at
http://tinyurl.com/3p72sy or search for World Carfree Network.

FAZILKA "ECOCABS" LAUNCHED

In the Punjab, Indian town of Fazilka, a new high-tech rickshaw
service with a modern fleet has been launched, with the public
endorsement of the World Carfree Network - a part of Fazilka Rapid
Rickshaw Transit, including a managament centre and the dial-up
service with a built-in maximum waiting period of ten minutes.
Rickshaw telephone Hot-line: 510041,51,61,71,81
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
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BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL THIS SUMMER

This July and August the supersonic Bicycle Film festival comes to
town: Minneapolis - July 9-12, Los Angeles - July 16-19, San Francisco
- July 23-26. Chicago - Aug 6-10 and Boston - Aug 13-16, with Tokyo,
Austin and London in waiting for in September.
www.bicyclefilmfestival.com

ELTIS SEEKS CASE STUDIES

ELTIS, the Sustainable Transport Web Portal, is seeking case studies
regarding sustainable urban transport projects in Central and Eastern
Europe. Please include around 350 words, covering background, funding,
implementation and conclusion. Contact Nyambura Njagi at
NNjagi[at]interns.rec.org.
www.eltis.org

CAMP FOR CLIMATE ACTION (Aug 3-11)

The key words are: low-impact living, education and high-impact direct
action. This year the UK climate action camp will take place in Kent
outside the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station.
www.climatecamp.org.uk

STREET DESIGN COMPETITION

"Designing the 21st Century Street" is an open design competition that
asks participants to redesign the intersection of 9th Street and 4th
Avenue in Brooklyn, NYC, USA with a new conceptual and physical
approach to public space in mind. The competition is open to the
public, and sponsored by Transportation Alternatives, with cash prizes
ranging from $1000 to $6000.

Contact Will Sherman at [email protected]
www.transalt.org

BIKE VALET PARKING IN UTAH, USA

The Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
is again providing "valet" bike parking at Salt Lake City's downtown
Farmers Market. Initial high demand has led to even more space
available. This service allows people to park their bike, shop at the
Market and then pick up their bike while it is securely watched by the
Collective volunteers.

ATLAS LAUNCHES CARFREE AMERICA

Steve Atlas, a member of the World Carfree Network, is writing a book
and building a web site to help people in the United States become
less car dependent - ideally by showcasing neighborhoods where people
can walk or take public transit to stores and other facilities.

If you live in a neighborhood in the United States where owning a car
is not necessary, have vacationed in the U.S. without a car, or have
successfully reduced your dependency on an automobile, and would be
willing to share your experiences (positive or negative), please
e-mail Steve at steve[at]carfreeamerica.org Please include your phone
number and best time to call.

www.carfreeamerica.org
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MEDIA CORNER >>
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For inspiration:

Streetfilms travels to Melbourne, Australia and comes back with this
superb piece: Melbourne: A Pedestrian Paradise.
www.streetfilms.org/archives/melbourne

To download [70 MB - 9:54 min]: http://tinyurl.com/6n22wy

For comic relief:

CoolTown Studios has a series on "Urban Square Spontaneous" with
examples for the better use of public spaces.

A - Urban Square Spontaneous: Roman Pillow Fight in the Trastevere
neighborhood of Rome
Text: www.cooltownstudios.com/mt/archives/001293.html, Video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QsTrEe_jy_A

B - Urban Square Spontaneous: Mass-created Fountain in Leuven, Belgium
Text: www.cooltownstudios.com/mt/archives/001294.html, video:
www.myvideo.be/watch/4019861

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SUPPORT WORLD CARFREE NETWORK >>
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Our joint carfree vision is only as strong as the people who support
us. By donating to WCN you'll strengthen the voice of the movement
that's committed to defending our right to a sound, sustainable
future.

For for donating and joining as a member, please visit:
www.worldcarfree.net/join. Your support will make a huge difference.

Bulletin #57 by Justin Hyatt



-- 
Justin Hyatt
World Carfree News - Monthly Newsletter
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK
www.worldcarfree.net/bulletin
[email protected]

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