Bike-share users in Montreal, New York, Minneapolis, and D.C. all have one thing in common, they're sitting atop the same Bixi bike designed by Michel Dallaire. How each city brands their bikes is a potent statement and key piece of their success.
According to Bryn Smith, the popularity of the Bixi system of bikes and modular docks (there are 38,000 Bixis in more than 10 cities) is not just due to its functionality, but the "foresight of [product designer] Dallaire and his team to provide ample real estate for branding . . . ."
"The way a city brands its bike share can be telling," writes Smith. "New York City’s for-profit system, Citi Bike, is a traveling advertisement for Citigroup, who provided a large portion of the financial backing for the project. . . . Minneapolis and Chicago turned to local design firms to create graphics and names for their systems, Nice Ride (a play on the motto “Minnesota nice”) and Divvy (with the tagline “Divide and Share”), respectively, but the day-glo green and powder blue results are more trendy than classic. In Washington, D.C., the logo for Capital Bikeshare is a comically circuitous array of arrows, and could just as easily represent the state of politics on the Hill."
"Dallaire attributes the success of the Bixi to its aesthetics, and urban areas adopting his design continue to multiply," adds Smith. "Capitalizing on the cities as brands themselves and toning down expected visual tropes is a way to own the bike’s ubiquitous design, and make it a unique part of each city’s infrastructure."
FULL STORY: Same Bike, Different City

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service