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The World Has Changed. So Can You. 27

The World Has Changed. So Can You.
“The world has changed. You can too” – World Wildlife Foundation commercial. I love this brilliant commercial. It highlights how drastically our society has changed in just 50 years. What was once considered the “norm” is now incomprehensible and even repulsive to our present day society. It prompts one to imagine what the same video ...

Simple Tips To Make Bicycling in Rain Enjoyable 33

Simple Tips To Make Bicycling in Rain Enjoyable
All photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Seven years ago, I regularly consulted the weather forecast (almost obsessively), making sure there was no rain on the way. I didn’t like to show up soaking wet at the office, nor did I enjoy skunk streaks up my back. Much has changed since then. ...

Rush Hour in Toronto At –11 Celsius 19

Rush Hour in Toronto At –11 Celsius
Toronto commuters – March 29th, 2011 – by James Schwartz / The Urban Country I snapped the above photo on my phone during my morning commute to a client office yesterday morning. It wasn’t the shot I was looking for, but I love it no less. The shot I was looking for showed 18 bicyclists ...

The Bicycle City Film – Lifting People out of Poverty

The Bicycle City Film - Lifting People out of Poverty
Photo by Greg Sucharew / The Bicycle City What happens to an impoverished developing nation town when you flood it with 20,000 bicycles? You lift three times that number of people out of poverty. That is the premise of The Bicycle City – a feature length documentary film by Director/Producer Greg Sucharew. From the Bicycle ...

Journey Through Black America 3

Journey Through Black America
Photo of Baron Hilliard on his journey across America – photo by Baron Hilliard Black communities across America still face significant challenges – more than 40 years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. The country has made significant progress since the dark days of slavery – or the pre-MLK days of segregation – but institutional ...

Bicycle Culture Sells Condos 8

Bicycle Culture Sells Condos
All photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Despite everything that has happened with the economy and real estate market  with our neighbours in the United States, Toronto has continued developing new condominiums across the city without pause. Everywhere you look, you can find construction cranes in Toronto – it’s actually a bit ...

A Celebration of People on Bicycles in New York City 6

A Celebration of People on Bicycles in New York City
While down in New York City last weekend I managed to take some video footage of everyday New Yorkers who choose bicycles as their mode of transportation. I put this short film together that celebrates these New Yorkers who are contributing to making New York a better place. Although my hometown Toronto seems to have ...

One Wheel All You Need in China 1

One Wheel All You Need in China
Ever had a wheel stolen off your bicycle and had to push your bicycle home with just one wheel? I know I have. It’s not a good feeling – but it would have been no match for this Chinese bicyclist. This video was picked up by our China correspondent Mark Green after it was posted ...

Bicycle Infrastructure Pessimism in North America 8

Bicycle Infrastructure Pessimism in North America
Separated bike lane in China (2010). Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Only in countries without an established bicycle culture would you have bicycling advocates who would lobby *against* bicycle infrastructure because they feel our culture is so dismissive of bicycles as a legitimate means of transportation that it’s impossible for the ...

Online Guide For Safe Bicycle Facilities 4

Online Guide For Safe Bicycle Facilities
Last week at the National Bike Summit in Washington DC, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) released its new online Urban Bikeway Design Guide. The bikeway design guide is an online resource providing cities with solutions to create complete streets that provide enhanced safety for bicyclists. The design guide was unveiled by NYC ...