Treaties and international accords can certainly trigger change, but most of the time the real action happens on the ground. Grassroots campaigns and public support can often pick up momentum, powered by the actions of small groups and individuals committed to a cause. As a result, when it comes to global issues like sustainability, renewable energy and climate change, cities have to power to make a big difference. “There is no single solution for solving global climate change,” declares the C40 Cities organization, “but cities have the ability, capacity and will to lead.” “We believe that a global future lies in urban innovation and action,” the group states on their website. “As the majority of future humans will live in cities, it just makes sense that our solution to climate change will reside there too. A Costly Climate While images of starving polar bears and collapsing glaciers have come to symbolize the environmental impact of a warming planet, the economic effects felt by cities are equally significant. According to a new study published in Nature Climate Change, large metrolpolitan areas experience the economic consequences of climate change at a rate three times higher than the less populated regions of the world. Some of the costs are the result of the “urban heat island effect.” Because cities often include huge swathes of land covered in pavement and concrete buildings, the heat those materials absorb is emanated back out into the atmosphere, resulting in temperature increases as high as 19˚F.  Researchers have dubbed Los Angeles an “urban heat archipelago,” for example, because urban sprawl has led to several “islands” spread out across the Los Angeles Basin. “It’s like a whole chain of urban heat islands that run into each other,” explained Gina Solomon, Deputy Secretary for Science...

When given the choice to drive, walk, take the bus or ride a bicycle, which do you choose? Urban transit expert John Pucher is trying to push more people out the door on their own two feet – and pedals. Given that 41 percent of trips taken in the U.S. amount to less than 2 miles of travel each way, cycling as a daily transportation method should be easily viable (it’s fun, healthy and very green), but adopting such habits is hard for many of us (we’re sedentary and addicted to our cars). In no U.S. city does cycling yet edge into double digit percentages of trips taken. Pucher, a professor of urban planning at Rutgers University, focuses his attention on how humans get around hopes that better planning efforts and increased advocacy will change that. His latest book, “City Cycling,” co-authored with Ralph Buehler of Virginia Tech, is an examination of urban cycling trends around the world. He spoke recently in support of the text in Santa Barbara, Calif. For multifamily housing developers and managers, the question of how people get from place to place in their communities is an important one. If residents choose cycling, walking or public transit over a private vehicle, the shift can be beneficial for developers. It may eventually even mean they can provide less parking – as long as there is designated space for bike storage.  For residents adopting a bike, transit and pedestrian-heavy lifestyle, the most attractive community locations will be closer to the city core. It’s no surprise that European cities, especially Amsterdam and Copenhagen, top most lists of places where big chunks – nearly 30 percent for Copenhagen – of trips are taken on bikes. Denmark’s largest city is working to raise that number...