COVID-19

Covid-19 transformed many U.S. cities' approach to sustainable transportation forever. But how did it transform the lives of sustainable transportation advocates who developed lasting symptoms from the disease?

It's sure to be a boon for SEPTA, the environment, and city employees’ quality of life, but can it be a model for other cities?

Together, the key players in transit — riders, elected officials and decision-makers, staff and consultants, and advocates and media — have the power to rebuild a stronger transit system, one that is financially sustainable and positioned to carry the masses into the future. But only if we each do our part and we trust each other to do the same.

Pedestrian deaths are continuing to skyrocket as the pandemic drags on — and since 2019, analysts say the death rate for walkers has eclipsed the rate of population growth by a factor of at least nine. According to the latest fatality estimates from the Governor's Highway Safety Association, U.S. drivers killed 3,434 people on foot in the first six months of 2022, an increase of five percent over the same period the prior year — and a staggering 18 percent increase over the number of walkers who died in early 2019, the last year before the pandemic.  The group also pointed out that those numbers can't easily be explained by non-traffic-related factors, noting that since "2019, the last pre-pandemic year, pedestrian fatalities have surged 18 percent in just three years – nine times faster than U.S. population growth."

The surge of traffic deaths in the first year of the pandemic can't be completely explained by quarantine-emptied roads that made speeding easy — and new data on who, exactly, was involved in those crashes may lead to more questions than answers.

Here are three core reasons why Amtrak routes are having a hard time — and some signs of hope.

Aside from Zoom — and, of course, mRNA vaccines — the most impactful technology to evolve thanks to COVID was the one at the very heart of Walkable City: street design. Jeff Speck explores how the pandemic re-shaped our streets — and what it will take to make those changes permanent. 

These three U.S. cities took very different approaches to taking care of their cyclists during COVID-19. Find out who lowered speed limits, who expedited bike lane construction, and more. 

What does a cycling-supportive German city do for its riders during COVID-19? Lay the groundwork for an even bigger biking future.