Follow @theurbancountry on Twitter Find us on Facebook Subscribe to theurbancountry.com via e-mail Subscribe to theurbancountry.com via RSS
Follow @theurbancountry on Twitter Find us on Facebook Subscribe to theurbancountry.com via e-mail Subscribe to theurbancountry.com via RSS

Our Streets Are Like A Giant Lollipop 4

Our Streets Are Like A Giant Lollipop
Photo from Sotres, Asturias, ES courtesy of pablerax In North America there is a common perception that drivers “own the roads” and deserve as much surface area as can be paved. This perception exists despite the heavy subsidization that drivers receive through motorist socialism, which ironically, is prevalent in the United States where socialism is ...

Want to Get Rich? Open a Gas Station in China 37

Want to Get Rich? Open a Gas Station in China
Cars lined up at a Haikou, China gas station – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country (Jan 2012) Want to get rich? Open up a gas station, a car wash, or an auto repair garage in China. Car culture is sweeping through China as car ownership becomes affordable to countless new Chinese families. ...

81-Year-Old Gene Hackman Hit On His Bike 102

81-Year-Old Gene Hackman Hit On His Bike
Gene Hackman in 1993 (AP Photo/File) On Friday at approximately 3PM, Oscar-award winning actor Gene Hackman was hit by a pickup truck on his bicycle in the Florida Keys. The incident was covered widely by the media which made sure to point out that the 81-year-old Hackman was not wearing a helmet. Though true, this ...

Sunday Afternoon Traffic in China 22

Sunday Afternoon Traffic in China
Pedaling in Haikou, Hainan, China – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country Last Sunday afternoon I hopped on my Giant folding bicycle and headed from where I am living in the “suburbs” and headed into downtown (a 5 kilometre jaunt). What ensued was a thrilling ride among a myriad of other two-wheeled travelers ...

How Apple’s “Macintosh” Almost Became The “Bicycle” 5

How Apple’s “Macintosh” Almost Became The “Bicycle”
Steve Jobs and Apple’s “Think Different” Campaign Before leaving for China I picked up a Kobo e-reader (comparable to a Kindle) so I could read on my travels without hauling 4-months worth of books along with me. The Kobo has transformed how I read books and I have found myself reading more than I have ...

Democracy Is Good, But… 43

Democracy Is Good, But…
Traffic signs in China – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country Winston Churchill once said that it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. Like all other good things, democracy certainly has its flaws. In North American democracy, transportation policy often ...