Managing the Streetsblog Network always keeps me on my toes. I just never know what is going to pop up in the feed in the morning.

Sometimes the story is about decision-makers poised to do something short-sighted, like when local officials in Fort Worth, Texas abruptly canceled the city’s streetcar project, or when Philadelphia flirted with requiring explicit City Council approval for each and every bike lane.

Other times, we get to trumpet cities’ successes, like the overwhelming popularity of Portland’s on-street bike parking program or New Jersey’s strides in implementing transit-oriented development incentives.

In some cases, these stories are informing our readers and shaping the discussion of livable streets issues. In other cases, the posts we highlight here lead people to contact local officials and urge them to make the best-informed decision for the future of their communities. Often, our role is to bring stories and trends into the spotlight, like the campaigns of Tea Party activists to oppose smart growth and sustainable transportation measures.

Thanks to more than 400 Streetsblog Network members, we’ve been able to build a powerful forum to discuss and disseminate information about the movement for transportation and land use reform. The conversation is constantly advancing and questioning assumptions. We’re proud to have some of the country’s most prominent thinkers on the subject of transportation and planning.

Your contributions, readers and bloggers, have made this site what it is. Now we’re asking you to help in a different way.

Streetsblog can serve as the online nerve center for people who care about livable cities and sustainable streets thanks to the generous support of our readers. In our spring fundraising campaign, the Streetsblog Network is aiming to raise $10,000. If you value what we do here, any contribution you provide will help us build on our efforts to strengthen the national livable streets movement.

As always, thanks for reading, writing and giving to Streetsblog.

Sincerely,

Angie Schmitt