People vs. Cars

Recently an urban planning expert recommended that Main Street be open to cars. However, in New York they are trying to do the opposite. Mayor Bloomberg recently announced Summer Streets, a program that will open six miles of Manhattan thoroughfares to pedestrians and cyclists for three Saturdays in August.

Bloomberg hopes that the event will change the way people think about the city. We have to try different things if we're going to keep this city vibrant and interesting. We also have to stop talking about global warming and actually do something. I can't tell you this is going to make a big difference, but it says to people, "There's other ways to get around.

He was inspired by Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogota, Colombia who turned a once crime-ridden city into a model for effective transit and urban design. Click here to see a video of Enrique Peñalosa explaining how he did it.