Next Generation Infrastructure & Mobility

Truckloads of JUMP Bikes Are Being Destroyed During a Nationwide Shortage

Over the last few weeks, thousands of perfectly good JUMP electric bikes and scooters have been dropped off at a recycling facility and will be shredded, Motherboard has learned. The untimely end of these micromobility devices comes at a particularly absurd time, with the nation facing a widespread bike shortage because of surging demand for safe, affordable urban transportation during the pandemic.

City of Permanent Temporality

Elma van Boxel and Kristian Koreman, with their firm ZUS, propose a radically new way of making a city: permanent temporality. This strategy is formed around an urban reality of values, material and people; a philosophy based on to the past and orientated towards the future.

Designing Change

"Over the timespan of just one generation the planet's pace of urbanization has dramatically increased. Through these dynamics and its resulting environmental threats, new challenges have emerged that deeply question the validity of the post-war planning paradigms. Dominant ideologies have been replaced by a problem-solving attitude, increased economic pressure and an urgent quest for evidence.

An Introduction to Human Geography

"Trusted for its timeliness and readability, this book introduces geography by emphasizing the relevance of geographic concepts to human problems. Two years after Rubenstein's Update Edition was created to encompass the events of September 11, 2001, this revision also begins the careful process of putting those events into perspective.

Uber Wars

Since Uber launched in Argentina in 2016, taxi drivers have come out in force, torching ride-share cars, beating drivers, and shaming passengers. And they're still angry.

Bird's wildly short ride

Emma* was up late working on a complex analysis from her laptop in bed for Bird. In mid-March, as COVID-19 was extinguishing public life in cities across the world, the scooter company announced that it would pull its signature electric two-wheelers from some areas.

Rural Transit Agencies Are Keeping People Alive

A few days after Jeanne McMillin started working as a dispatcher for Little Dixie Transit in the small southeastern Oklahoma town of Hugo nearly 20 years ago, she got a call from someone she described as "a little lady." Unbeknownst to McMillin, this lady had been a long-time rider.

Ireland trials drone food and drug delivery

A drone company that had to abandon its fast-food delivery tests has partnered with Ireland's health authority to deliver prescriptions instead. Manna Aero is working with the Health Service Executive to deliver medicines and other essential supplies to vulnerable people in the small rural town of Moneygall.

Uber, Lyft Sued by California in Major Gig-Economy Crackdown

Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. were sued by California for allegedly violating a new state law designed to give gig-economy workers the benefits of employees. While expected, the lawsuit filed Tuesday in state court marks a serious threat to the business model of an array of companies that save on labor costs by classifying workers as independent contractors. If the companies ultimately lose the suit, they could be forced to pay for overtime, health care and other benefits. The complaint “asserts that Uber and Lyft gain an unfair and unlawful competitive advantage by inappropriately classifying massive numbers of California drivers as independent contractors,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said during a virtual press conference. The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego joined the legal action, which was filed in San Francisco.

Uber to lay off 14% of its staff

Uber is laying off thousands of staffers as the ongoing pandemic continues to impact its business.

Smartphone data shows out-of-state visitors flocked to Georgia as restaurants and other businesses reopened

One week after Georgia allowed dine-in restaurants, hair salons and other businesses to reopen, an additional 62,440 visitors arrived there daily, most from surrounding states where such businesses remained shuttered, according to an analysis of smartphone location data.

What would happen if Londoners tried to go back to normal on a socially-distanced Underground?

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, says that from today, people are "actively encouraged" to return to work, although they should continue to work from home if possible. We looked into what would happen if everyone in London tried to go back to their morning commutes while staying 2 metres apart.

WeWork Locations Are Essentially Unusable Now. They're Still Charging Rent.

Rebecca Shamtoob had only been working for a month at a firm based in a Manhattan WeWork before things started feeling off-well, more off than usual for the scandal-beset co-working company. It was early March, and COVID-19 cases were skyrocketing in New York City.

This Was Supposed to Be the Year Driverless Cars Went Mainstream

Perfecting the technology has taken longer than expected. The coronavirus pandemic has made it even more difficult. SAN FRANCISCO - Tech companies once promised that fully functional, self-driving cars would be on the road by 2020 and on the path to remaking transportation and transforming the economy.

Off-Grid Electricity Projects Are Starved for Funds

Despite innovative off-grid technology and high-profile initiatives, electrification in sub-Saharan Africa still trails population growth. In 2009 there were 585 million people in the region without power. Five years later, that figure had risen to 632 million, according to the latest International Energy Agency statistics.

Electric Buses Get a Power Boost

Taking a 13.5-metric ton vehicle from 0-20 mph in 4.5 seconds is no mean feat. But that's what a new all-electric drivetrain from clean-energy bus maker Proterra promises. Its new DuoPower system uses two electric motors to deliver 510 horsepower. In fact, it can haul a 40-foot bus up a 26 percent slope, which is...