Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Let us know what you think at [email protected].
Getting the wheels turning
In June, Matilda Welin embarked on a long-distance bike ride. And we mean really long: She cycled from London to Sweden, seeking to avoid the emissions caused by flying. “I have experimented with ferry and train travel between the UK and Sweden for over a decade. But plane is almost always the cheapest option,” Welin writes in her recounting of the trip for the BBC. “So what about cycling?”
“Bikepacking” might not be practical for most people, and Welin herself acknowledges that it wasn’t terribly practical for her: It was expensive, and she still wound up flying home afterward. But the experience helped her to appreciate the world around her — and she notes that long-distance cyclists might inspire more cycling of distances long and short.
Contributing Editor Michaela Haas, who shared this story with our team, wrote for us last year about Solarpunk Travel — a free online community for bicycle enthusiasts who want to travel ecologically while also giving back to the community — and the experiences that inspired its founders.
Extended stays
In 2019, the City of Austin converted a hotel into a temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Thus began a larger plan to convert hotels and motels into housing for the homeless — a plan that made even more sense when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and many hotels were left empty. KUT News’ story on how that plan has progressed caught the attention of Rebecca Worby, RTBC editorial director and former Austin resident.
Becca says:
Starting in 2019, the City of Austin bought four hotels, planning to convert them into housing for the homeless. It turned out to be a complicated process, but the first apartment complex has finally opened.
What else we’re reading
🌱 Life After Factory Farming: ‘The Longer They’re Out, the Happier They Are.’ — shared by RTBC Founder David Byrne from the New York Times
🦙 A Forest Service crew in Colorado got two new furry employees: Llamas — shared by Rebecca Worby from KUNC
🚴 Parisians Are Choosing Bikes Over Cars. Will New Yorkers Do That, Too? — shared by Contributing Editor Peter Yeung from the New York Times
Elsewhere in our channels…
We love hearing about the ways our stories are reaching folks around the world. This week, we were pleased to see our story on congestion pricing translated into Portuguese and republished by Caos Planejado, a Brazilian nonprofit website about urban planning. Read the original here.
