Shared mobility services are proliferating in small towns and cities, despite the regulatory hiccups operators have been experiencing in larger markets.
“In recent months, shared micromobility companies like Bird, Lime and Lyft have rapidly expanded their products in small and midsized markets with populations ranging from 2,500 to over 150,000,” reports Austyn Gaffney in Smart Cities Dive. Despite the backlash to micromobility from some community groups concerned about safety and parking, industry stalwart Bird “grew from about 250 global markets last year to more than 400 this spring.”
“Cities have been amenable to micromobility options like e-bikes and e-scooters over the last five years as ways to increase residents’ and visitors’ transportation options, ease congestion, and reduce transportation emissions, which represent over a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.” Meanwhile, operators continue to implement speed limiters, geofencing, and other features to address cities’ concerns. “Chris Cherry, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, whose research focuses on micromobility options emerging in the transportation sector, said that when he hears concerns over sidewalk clutter, he asks those issuing the complaint to consider the amount of parked cars across urban environments, and to note the historic buildings demolished to make way for parking lots.”
Pointing to fears about the safety of scooters, Cherry points out that the devices are held to much higher standards than cars, which pose a much greater danger to their passengers and pedestrians. Cherry notes that “while 80% of scooter users killed during rides were hit by cars, there is ‘vanishingly small evidence’ that pedestrian injuries are caused by scooters.”
FULL STORY: Micromobility operators expand their footprint in small and midsized cities
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.