What We’re Reading: The Woman on a Mission to Make the World More Bike-Friendly

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Pedal power We know a bunch of bike lovers who ve visited the Netherlands and come home extolling its glorious cycling infrastructure. But how many do you know who ve fallen so in love with the cycling mecca that they ve never left?

This, reports The New York Times in an article shared by Interim Editorial Director Tess Riley, is what happened to Canadian native Melissa Bruntlett. In 2016, she and her husband went there to write a series of articles about the lessons Vancouver could learn from cycling-friendly Dutch cities. Now the urban mobility advocate lives there permanently, and has founded a consultancy that helps organizations around the world develop equitable, sustainable mobility policies.

A key message of her work: What happens in the Netherlands can happen elsewhere too. Tess says: I love Melissa Bruntlett s inspiring message that we can change our cities for the better. It reminds me of our recent story of the small armada of neon-clad kids hitting the streets of Trussville, Alabama for their weekly bike bus. I m keen to make a bike bus happen in my neighborhood next year as a result of that sweet story.

Who s with me? A modest marvel The Royal Institute of British Architects’ Stirling Prize is a prestigious award whose past recipients have included major infrastructure projects like London’s Elizabeth Line and Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI Museum in Rome.

This year s winner, in contrast, is a much more modest choice but no less special because of it, says Ingrid Schroder, director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, who chaired this year’s prize jury. The Appleby Blue Almshouse, reports Bloomberg in an article shared by Executive Editor Will Doig, brings one of the U.K.’s oldest forms of social housing to the modern era by incorporating designs that tackle loneliness and social isolation among older adults.

In practice, that means spaces to facilitate shared meals and social interaction, such as Appleby s courtyard, library, hobby room and communal kitchen. “It’s just an extraordinary way of also making sure that we don’t treat the elderly as a sort of alien species, as an other,” Schroder says. “They re very visible, they’re lively, they are part of an active environment, which I think is absolutely critical and really warmed our hearts when we visited them.” Will says: We ve written about how architecture can make people feel closer before.

Great to see prestigious awards recognizing it, too! What else we’re reading The Frozen Zoo: 50 Years in the Making shared by Contributing Editor Michaela Haas from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Can An Imperiled Frog Stop Oil Drilling Near Denver Suburbs?

Residents Hope So shared by Interim Editorial Director Tess Riley from Capital and Main Western Climate Litigants Keep Fighting shared by Executive Editor Will Doig from High Country News T1 Energy Is Betting Big on All-American Solar, Even Under Trump  shared by Interim Editorial Director Tess Riley from Canary Media In other news Big thank you to our reader Theresa, who shared this story about how Vancouver Island residents are finding novel ways to tackle loneliness. From monthly Meet a Stranger events (that are so full that attendance has to be capped), to buttons worn on clothes and signs in participating cafes that indicate that someone is open to conversation, the movement to build connections in the city of Victoria is thriving.

“You remove those labels that divide us, sit down as humans, and every single person finds this beautiful silver thread of commonality, says Carrie Parsons, founder of the Meet a Stranger get-togethers. It’s the coolest thing.” The post What We’re Reading: The Woman on a Mission to Make the World More Bike-Friendly appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.