The Chinese Car Obsession 18
Beijing motor traffic and wide segregated bicycle infrastructure – Photo by Saad Akhtar It is now official: The Urban Country is headed to China for four months this winter, beginning in January. We will be primarily staying on the southern island of Hainan in the South China Sea for the four months in Hainan’s capital ...
Journey Through Black America 3
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 ...
One Wheel All You Need in China 1
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 ...
Bicycles In Jamaica 2
All Photos by Tim C for The Urban Country A friend recently returned from a trip to Jamaica and managed to snap some photos of everyday Jamaicans using bicycles for transportation in that island country. Bicycles are an economical and efficient way to get around, so it’s no wonder that some locals use bicycles to ...
NYC Snowstorm Aftermath, Deliveryman Hit-and-Run 4
All Photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country This past weekend I took a trip down to New York City with a few friends. More than a foot of snow was dumped down on the city the day before our arrival. Given that we are now in the middle of a similar snowstorm ...
Bicycles in Vietnam 8
All Photos by Mark Green / The Urban Country Our Asia correspondent Mark Green snapped some lovely photographs of bicycles in Vietnam on his last visit to that fascinating country. These photos show how bicycles are used by normal people in normal clothes as transportation – the way bicycles were meant to be used when ...
Experiencing Algonquin Park 5
All Photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Each year my friends and I set forth on a 6-day epic journey in the interior of the beautiful 7,653 sq km Algonquin Provincial Park. Using only human power to reach the interior, we are much obliged to enjoy the serenity of the nature in ...
Bicycles for Transporting… [fill in the blank] 6
All photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Earlier this month I posted 30 photos of Utility Cycling in China. That post generated a lot of interest because like me, you are probably intrigued by how the Chinese use their bicycles for practical purposes – like pizza delivery, garbage pickup, cargo shipping, etc. ...
Shanghai Cycle Chic 10
All photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country During my recent trip to China I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in Shanghai. Before I went to China, I promised Mikael Colville-Andersen that I would snap some photos of “Cycle Chic” action while biking around Shanghai. Mikael popularized the term “Cycle ...
Life at 430km/h 7
Photos and video by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country Imagine you could build a train that could take you 100KM in less than 15 minutes. Where would you put this train? From your home to you workplace? To your Grandma’s house? I had the pleasure of riding the Shanghai Maglev high speed train ...