I attended the MHC event based on the presentations by Wiley Norvell and Chris Neidl on transportation alternatives and renewable energy. Both showed how planning and initiative can be applied to two different subject areas. Wiley Norvell’s presentation was called “Winning Livable Streets.” As the presentation title implies, his organization’s advocacy is for the implementation of “green transportation” for NYC. By green transportation they mean that this organization is promoting the use of public transportation, bicycling, walking, and restricted local driving, if necessary. Their model city is Copenhagen, the city that contains the “complete street.” A complete street implies that there is equal protection for walkers, cyclists, and transit workers and riders. Essentially, what are they attempting to combat? They claim that the city has been eroded by the use of automobiles, as the famous Jane Jacobs has once proclaimed. On one of Norvell’s slides was a quotation by Vince Lombardi, “Football is a game of inches and inches to make a champion.” At first, this sounded a bit off topic to his presentation, but as Norvell stated, his organization fights to protect and gain as much of the city street possible. As the present mayor of Bogota Enrique Penalosa said, “ A city not for businesses or automobiles, but for children and thus for people.” I highly agree that if a city was built with the elderly and children in mind, we can make an exceptionally safe and habitable city. These generations have jeopardized the green space of NYC. The Park Avenue of 1922 was a lush park with many places to sit, which I picture to would have been a model design of space according to William H. Whyte. Unfortunately, to this present day this image is just a figment of the past. Present day Park Avenue is a dangerous crossing with rushing cars, and there are no longer places to sit. This is an example of how some of the city planners have “focused on moving traffic” and allowed the automobile to dominate NYC with their carbon emissions. Luckily, advocators for reclaiming city streets have made some advances, and they have shown that these advances can indeed bring about safety. Eight Avenue in 2006 has been revamped to allow safer crossings and bike riding, but in 2009 an actual bicycling lane has been added. An estimated 200,000 New Yorkers are now cycling through this avenue, which is a 57% increase from the past. General injury in this once precarious street crossing is down by 50%, and crashes have also decreased by 41%. Times Square also experienced one of the greatest improvements with 74% approval rate compared to the past ratings. It has transformed into an even better tourist attraction with the new “island” at the center, where anyone can bring a chair and observe the infrastructure around them. Before this improvement, tourists were teeming in the narrow side streets and struggling to get a decent picture of Times Square. As a consequence, pedestrian traffic is down by 11% and injuries are down by 63%.

These changes aren’t simple to bring into realization. They require the support of legislative bodies ranging from Congress to City Council, and there’s always the issue of getting the attention of the media. Wiley Norvell and Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) manage their 8000 members and 25,000 devoted activists to rally and employ creative methods to demonstrate their cause such as featuring a bicycle in the annual NYC auto show.

The next presentation I watched was by Chris Neidl from SolarOne. This organization has been around for approximately seven years. Neidl demonstrated that NYC has been a leader in innovation, and one of the most novice constructions ever done was the Erie Canal. It made NY harbor more feasible to the rest of the country, and he conjectured that without this feature, NYC would probably have been a second rate potential in the U.S. Neidl claims that present day New York should continue its past dominance by implementing the use of Renewable Energy Payments (REPs). This is another step towards the “green” movement. REPs use “clean” power such as hydro, wind, biogas, and solar energy. This is not only a means to safeguard the planet, but also theoretically saves money for the present and future citizens. By participating in REPs, homeowners or businesses can aid in the present technologies drastically improving over time with the incoming funds. This should lower the payments for the renewable energy sources.  This can also contribute to the 30% renewable usage in 2015, and an 80% CO₂ cut by 2050. REPs also give back to people’s sustainability. For example, Germany currently employs 300,000 people in these clean energy plants. In the current situation, the American people can use as much job availability as possible. In addition, tax revenues can also be collected, which can be used to improve a city’s infrastructure. In essence, Renewable Energy Payments is a financial incentive. The utility users and the producers both obtain financial incentives such as rebates and tax credits. I found it to be almost cynical but truthful with how Neidl has shown what policy is. A policy is generally made for a greater purpose, but at times it must be featured like a “sweetened” appeasement to gain an audience.