Andrew Small
Andrew Small is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C., and author of the CityLab Daily newsletter (subscribe here). He was previously an editorial fellow at CityLab.
Also today: How to fix badly planned American cities, and Gritty of brotherly love.
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What We’re Following
Running a temperature: The stakes of worldwide climate change have been laid out in their most uncertain terms yet, and it’s even worse than we thought. If greenhouse gases warm the atmosphere by as much as 1.5 degree Celsius, the worst consequences of climate change will be unleashed, according to a landmark report released Monday by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. To avoid this path, the world needs to slash emissions nearly in half by 2030 and go completely carbon neutral by 2050. That calls for unprecedented (and perhaps near-impossible) global action, from implementing carbon taxes to virtually ceasing coal burning.
But before you plunge into a dark pit of hopelessness, take heed: Reducing emissions from transportation may be the most important change that cities can make, and even individual behavior can make a dent on this front, Laura Bliss writes on CityLab today: “Those with the ability to decide whether to drive, walk, scoot, hail an Uber, take the bus, or book a flight are the critical agents in the mode shifts the IPCC reports describe.” Read Bliss’s call to action on how your transportation choices matter.
More on CityLab
Gritty of Brotherly Love
We’re not exactly sure what the Philadelphia Flyers had in mind when they were looking for a new mascot, but what they got was Gritty. The fuzzy 7-foot-tall orange hellion whose googly eyes and maniacal grin seemed engineered to unnerve became ubiquitous after some negative national attention. So of course, contrarian Philadelphians rallied around the monster. With President Trump’s visit to the city earlier this month, the hockey mascot became a symbol of resistance for an angry time. Today on CityLab: There’s Something About Gritty
What We’re Reading
Uber joins the push for road tolling in Seattle (Seattle Times)
Americans’ trust in local government is increasing (Gallup)
An equation to measure and manage the curb (Wired)
Can hip-hop make architecture more equitable? (Curbed)
Yoko Ono brings the sky underground in New York subway mural (Hyperallergic)
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About the Author
