Two outdoor advertising firms are the operators behind the scenes in most of the world's bicycle rental programs, including a recently launched system in Paris. The two firms continue to battle for control of future systems, and advertising rights.
"JCDecaux neither invented nor pioneered urban bike-operations. But Vélib' is on a different scale from any of its predecessors. Smaller schemes launched over the past four decades mostly failed because the bikes were vandalised or stolen. More recently both JCDecaux and Clear Channel Outdoor have launched urban bike-rental schemes in which users pay with their credit cards-which means they can be tracked down in case of abuse. Such schemes are now working well in more than a dozen cities including Vienna, Lyon, Brussels, Seville and Cordoba (run by the French), and Barcelona, Oslo, Stockholm and Rennes (run by the Americans)."
"JCDecaux and Clear Channel Outdoor will continue to compete for new bike schemes as well as contracts for billboards, street furniture (public loos, bus shelters and the like) and transport (advertising in airports and train stations). The French recently won a bike contract in Toulouse, and the American firm will launch a cycling scheme next month in Washington, DC. Both are lobbying hard for the right to set up a scheme in London."
FULL STORY: Vive la Vélorution!
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
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New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
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How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
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