That's because transportation is a huge contributor to our climate crisis More than 90 percent of vehicles run on oil and gas known as fossil fuels which when burned release carbon dioxide and contribute to global warming Cars and trucks also spew other types of pollution into the air This can lead to serious health issues like cancer and heart disease as well as breathing problems like asthma Plus boxing ourselves up inside cars makes us inactive and disconnected from one another Traffic accidents are also the leading cause of death for kids and young adults But it doesn't have to be this way All over the world people are reimagining transit and their cities We're taking over sidewalks to talk and dance to eat and play We're making room for bike lanes and electric scooters We're building green transportation and reclaiming public spaces City streets are for people
The oldest cities weren't built for cars and trucks Some of the narrow twisty streets in Paris France or Jerusalem Israel aren't even wide enough for three people to walk side by side The largest vehicles in these early cities were wagons pulled by a horse cow or mule Even today you can find spots where horses were once tied up in Florence Italy or Brooklyn New York
The omnibus the first regular public transportation appeared in the 1820s in France and England These horse drawn carriages carried up to fifty passengers at a time There were no fixed stops people simply signaled when they wanted to get on or off Streetcars running on metal rail lines and pulled by horses were the next innovation These horsecars carried more people and offered a less bumpy ride The streetcar system in Toronto Ontario used horsepower until 1892 In the 1890s bicycle fever hit cities worldwide More affordable faster and easier to ride than older models the new bikes reshaped the streets as cyclists pushed for smoother paved roads 38 38 CLASS
