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Ten things to try to be more sustainable in 2020

Marc Lefkowitz  |  01/07/20 @ 1:00pm

I’m not much for resolutions, so let’s call these ‘things to try’ for the new year. The barrage of negative and worrisome reports on the climate—including the latest that holding to a safe temperature increase (1.5 degrees C) is not be achievable—will not derail my year before it begins!

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We need to stop treating light rail like its a precious heirloom

Marc Lefkowitz  |  12/19/19 @ 11:00am  |  Posted in Transportation choices

The history of the light rail line in Cleveland is well told — it includes real estate speculators, the Van Sweringens, building their line connecting downtown Cleveland to suburban enclave Shaker Heights. Along the way, they managed to develop land into tax-revenue-producing properties like Shaker Square, and, ultimately, the Terminal Tower.

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Frequent bus, Frequent bus all day activists urge RTA Board

Marc Lefkowitz  |  12/17/19 @ 4:00pm  |  Posted in Transportation choices

It was a red letter day as Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s Board of Trustees heard loud and clear from Portland-based transit expert Jarrett Walker — and from the collective voice of rider advocates, Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT) — that Cleveland’s bus system needs a redesign. “Without delay” in the words of CPT volunteer Chris Stocking who belted out...

<br />Clevelanders for Public Transit rally in Public SquareRTA bus redesign proposal from Jarrett Walker<br />The most likely scenario to get adopted by RTA is redesigning the bus routes with current funding. It includes a little more frequency (every 15 minutes or better) on weekdays while maintaining coverage to the existing service area by minimizing duplication and by reducing frequencies in areas of low demand from 40 to 60 minutes.A better option for RTA<br />What could help RTA make the case for more local and state funding is the bus redesign by Jarrett Walker that would be able to run more high frequency service (every 15 minutes or better) 7 days a week while maintaining coverage throughout the existing service area.

This is what leadership looks like

Marc Lefkowitz  |  11/22/19 @ 10:00am  |  Posted in Reduce, Green buildings, Clean water, Connecting to nature

The search for the greenest places leads to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh. The reputation of Phipps was solidified when it built its Center for Sustainable Landscapes in 2012. It is one of only a handful of buildings nationwide to be recognized as a Living Building, the most stringent green building rating system in the world. The...

Sky's the limit<br />Phipps Center for Sustainable Landscapes in Pittsburgh is one of the greenest public buildings in the world. Photo credit: Denmarsh Photography, Inc.

Homegrown Cleveland green space programs under microscope

Marc Lefkowitz  |  11/08/19 @ 3:00pm  |  Posted in Land

The scaling back of a highly regarded but ‘soft funded’ urban agriculture program that has repurposed vacant land since Cleveland Botanical Garden launched it in 1996 highlights the tenuous hold that even well-organized efforts to re-conceive urban land as anything other than dwelling space or bricks and mortar business often face.

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