#45: X-minute Cities and Open Data, Iowa City's Fare-Free Success, and Coning Cars

Welcome to the 45th issue of Urbanism Now, our weekly newsletter curated with brief and insightful urban ideas from around the world to inspire action where you (c)are.

This newsletter is curated by Maria Paula Moreno Vivas and Ray Berger. Learn more on our About page.

Thank you for your interest and support. If you find this newsletter useful, please forward it to a friend!

Let’s get started:

• New research develops an open-data method for assessing equity in X-minute cities, finding that ethical frameworks significantly shape equity assessments and that car-dependent cities can surprisingly outperform walkable ones in proximity-based planning models.

• URBACT explores Vienna’s people-first mobility transformation, where half of households are car-free and 130 projects have created 100 kilometers of cycling infrastructure, turning former parking lots into climate-resilient community spaces.

• Iowa City’s fare-free bus program has been extended for another year after a successful two-year pilot saw ridership surpass pre-pandemic levels by 18 percent. The program led to 1.8 million fewer miles driven and a drop in emissions equivalent to taking 5,200 cars off the road.

• Here’s an analysis of how the activist group Safe Street Rebel used traffic cones to immobilize autonomous vehicles in San Francisco. The piece frames the protest as “playful resistance,” a form of tactical urbanism that challenges the corporate takeover of public space and exposes the vulnerabilities of sensor-based tech.

Videos, podcasts, books, and socials:

• We’re very happy to announce that Non-Boring Mobility Innovations 2025, which we both edited, is now widely available. It is a collection of thought-provoking essays that explore the complexities of modern transportation systems. As a special thanks for our readers here is a discount code for 25% off: URBANISMNOW.

Jobs:

• Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University is looking to fill three positions: Impact Assessment & Knowledge Management Specialist, Systems & Technology Manager, and Research Manager.

• Utrecht University is hiring a postdoc for the ACTIVATE project to study children’s active mobility and urban environments.

• Applications for the NYC Urban Fellows Program are now open. The program offers a nine-month fellowship combining hands-on work in mayoral offices and city agencies with seminars led by public and private sector leaders. $36,184 stipend. Apply by January 12.

• London School of Economics is seeking an Assistant Professor in Economic Geography and Urban Planning to teach local economic development and regional planning at undergraduate and master’s

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