http://www.bta4bikes.org/at_work/bikeboulevards.php

Bicycle Boulevards are:

• - Low-traffic neighborhood streets that have been optimized for bicycling. They provide direct, attractive routes for bikes.
• - Quieter, prettier, and healthier than busy, car-filled streets
• - Welcoming to kids, families and novice cyclists, and attractive for all kinds of cyclists
• - Extremely safe (many have zero crashes over the last decade)
• - Healthy, with noticeably cleaner air than busy streets

http://bikeportland.org/2008/04/07/eye-catching-graffiti-encourages/

Eye-catching graffiti encourages ‘Public Transport’

Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on April 7th, 2008 at 8:23 am

In the past few days, several readers have contacted me about some interesting graffiti near the Hollywood Transit Center in Northeast Portland (image below).

Somehow, a determined and bike-loving artist/vandal managed to scrawl three bicycles and the words “Public Transport” on the barricade that separates traffic on Interstate 84.

As you can see in the photo I shot over the weekend, there’s little to no shoulder and I’m not sure how someone could pull that off.

This graffiti is located on I-84. It faces the westbound traffic lanes and is just south of the Hollywood Transit Center MAX station. Click to enlarge
(Photo © J. Maus)

http://bikeportland.org/2008/04/09/what-happens-during-a-bridge-lift-in-portland/#more-7173

What happens during a bridge lift in Portland?

Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on April 9th, 2008 at 9:26 am

A major bike traffic jam!

Bikes as far as the eye can see. They got backed up during a lift of the Hawthorne Bridge leading into downtown Portland on Tuesday morning.
(Photo: Ian Stude)

The photo above was taken by reader Ian Stude who got caught in a huge back-up of cyclists on the Hawthorne Bridge yesterday. They were stopped on their way into downtown Portland due to a bridge lift at about 9:00 am.

http://www.mercedrides.com/BIKE/benefits.htm

Choosing to commute to work on a bicycle is a great idea for many reasons. One of the main reasons people choose to cycle is for the health benefits that it provides.

By riding your bike you:

• Reduce air pollution in your County
• Save Money

Save money

• Based on an hourly wage of $10.00, a motorist must work 300 hours per year to pay for his or her annual commute. A bicyclist only has to work about 30 hours per year to operate his or her bike.

Environmental Benefits of Cycling - Fewer people cycle per capita in the U.S. than in many other parts of the world, and the U.S. is a leader in petroleum consumption. These high levels of consumption are leading to many negative effects on the environment, such as increased emissions of harmful gases including:

• Carbon Dioxide
• Carbon Monoxide
• Methane
• Nitrous Oxide
• Volatile Organic Compounds
• Hydrofluorocarbon
• Perfluorocarbon
• Sulfur hexafluoride

These emissions are believed to be causing warming through the "greenhouse effect", depletion of the ozone layer, and a reduction in general air quality. Vehicles also cause noise pollution.

To calculate how much impact your commute is having on the environment, check out the environmental impact calculator here.

Health Benefits of Cycling

• Increased Fitness - Through cycling, you will be able to increase your heart and lung fitness, as well as your strength and stamina.
  
• Weight Loss - The general population of the U.S. is becoming increasingly obese. Cycling is a great way to help lose weight. You will burn fat as your cycle, which will help you look and feel better.
  
• Stress Reduction - Exercise in general has been shown to decrease anxiety and stress levels, and bicycling is a fun way to exercise. Keeping yourself out of traffic jams will also help in reducing stress.
  
• Heart Benefits - Studies have shown that regular exercise, such as cycling, lowers your risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.
  
• Lowered Risk of Other Health Problems - In addition to heart disease, regular exercise can also help you to avoid other health problems such as non-insulin dependent diabetes, osteo arthritis and osteoporosis. Exercise also relieves symptoms of depression and increases your mental health.
  
• Increased Life Expectancy - The end result of having better health through cycling is that you will live a longer and happier life!

http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/benefits.htm

More Than Forty Good Reasons For Bicycling

1. Bicycles Increase Mobility For Those Who Don't Have Access To Motor Transport.
2. Bikes Increase Mobility For Those Who Don't Qualify To Drive A Car.
3. Bicycles Increase Mobility For Those Who Can't Afford Motor Transport.
4. Bikes Increase Mobility For Those Who Don't Want To Drive Motor Vehicles.
5. There Are 28 Miles Of Bike Trails In The City of Seattle.
6. Bicycling Is The Most Efficient Form Of Transportation Ever Invented.
7. You Get Exercise From Bicycling
8. Save Travel Money By Biking
9. Reduce Stress
10. Biking Is Therapeutic For The Mind & Spirit
11. Cycling Is Therapeutic For The Body
12. Your Commute Will Be The Best Part Of Your Day Instead Of The Worst Part Of Your Day.
13. Cycling Improves Self-Esteem
14. Save On The Membership To A Health Club, Get Your Exercise Bicycling To Work
15. Cycling Is Low Impact On The Body
16. Cycling Is Low Impact On The Environment
17. Bicycling In Your Neighborhood Is A Great Way To Meet Your Neighbors
18. Camaraderie of Cyclists Makes It A Great Way To Meet A Nice Stranger With A Similar Interest
19. Bicyclist Can Ignore the Traffic Reports
20. Feel the Self-satisfaction Of Biking Past A Traffic Jam In The Bike Lane.
21. Predictable Commute Time
22. Easier Parking
23. Cheaper Parking
24. Leaving Your Car At Home Provide A Parking Space For Someone Less Fortunate
25. If You Are Lazy, Your Bicycle Provides Door-To-Door Transport (You Don't Have To Walk Across A Vast Parking Lot)
26. Reduce Demand For Parking Lots
27. Reduce Energy Consumption (see below)
28. Reduce Air Pollution -- Bicyclist Emit Few Gases
29. Reduce Water Pollution -- Bikes Don't Drip Brake Fluid, Anti-Freeze, Transmission Fluid, Etc.
30. Reduce Noise Pollution -- Even Without A Muffler Bikes Are Quiet
31. Reduces Road Wear -- Even If Cyclist Feel Like They Have The Weight Of The World On Their Shoulders.
32. A four mile bicycle trip keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe.
33. 40% Of All Trips In The U.S. Are Within Two Miles Of Home.
34. Prevent and protest the sanctioned murder (homicide by motor-vehicle) of responsible citizens.
35. Bikes Small Profile Reduce Congestion
36. Motor Vehicle Emissions Cause More Than Half Of The Northwest's Air Pollution.
37. Reduce Need To Lay Additional Asphalt And Concrete
38. Easier to Vary Your Route By Bicycle
39. Bicycling Improves Cardio-Vascular Health
40. Better muscle tone, bone mass improvement, clearer skin
41. Healthier People Have Lower Health Care Expenses
42. New bicycle commuters can expect to lose 13 pounds their first year of bicycle commuting.
43. The Exercise Increase Your Productivity At Work
44. Increased Bike Uses Generates Bike Facilities Which Increase Property Values
45. Bicycling Gives You More Fresh Air Than A Sauna And You Can Still Sweat And Clean Your Pores
46. Bike Commuting Is A License To Dress Weird And Still Feel Smug
47. Urban Cycling Keeps You Humble
48. Biking Is Virtually Life Long Activity
49. Bicycling Can Be Enjoyed In A Wide Variety Of Topography
50. Cycling Can Be Enjoyed In A Wide Variety Of Climates
51. Bicycles Are A Great Means To See The World
52. Bicycling is cool.
53. Biking Is Fun.

How efficient is Bicycling? Here is an egg-planation.

A bicyclist burns about 25 Calories per mile. One large egg supplies 80 Calories. A cyclist can travel about three miles on the energy of one egg.
0 (symbol for one egg)

A person walking would require three eggs to go the same distance.
000

A loaded bus requires the equivalent of two dozen eggs for each person it carries three miles.
000000000000000000000000

A train requires the equivalent of three dozen eggs for each person it carries three miles.
000000000000000000000000000000000000

A car that gets 12.5 miles per gallon requires the equivalent of seven dozen eggs to carry one person three miles.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Even if you double the miles per gallon and double the occupancy a car will still use the equivalent of twenty-one eggs to make the trip -- more than twenty times a bicycle.
000000000000000000000

Political Critique

Political Critique Campaign in reaction to present national or global politics.

Students will be assigned to research current political events and develop a historical analysis and critique of the actions and consequences (real or hypothetical) of nations, militaries, economies, and the social structure of different forms of government (i.e., democracy, socialism, etc.)

This project is a graphic campaign. This means that it is not one single piece of graphic design, rather it has many parts that will attempt to penetrate into an audiences mind over a period of exposure to different design forms/formats. For this project you will determine what the appropriate form/materials for delivering your message should be. After completing Communication Design Studio I (Art 224) you should have an understanding of what this appropriateness should constitute in an effective advertising campaign to a target audience.