Getting the most out of World Streets: Stocks and flows

As they put it in Economics 101 what you find here under this double-barrelled name functions both as a flow and as a stock. The "flow" component is basically the articles that appear here each week day on average, plus the abundant collection of related social media and discussion fora which variously stream in to and out of the flow.

The "stock" is a considerable base of resources which have been collected here through the extensive international work of the New Mobility Agenda in our assigned field over more than a decade. In the present website you will see them listed for the most part in your left-hand column, and since they are both extensive and useful it seems like a useful idea to explain it briefly. Let's take it from the top.

Overview of left column entries/ Starting top left

The first block of links you encounter under the heading "Resources" puts before you a collection of specifically linked social media (Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, etc.) which function both to share out the information contents of the publication, and at the same time work as a source for ideas, suggestions, materials, and eventual collaboration. If you click your way down those items, you will quickly see how they work (all posting to an external window).

World Streets Top 20, when clicked will bring up the most read articles that appeared here over the last three years. (We update this collection roughly twice a year.)

Support: And just below that you will see a "support" link which we hope that those of you who find our work useful and worth supporting, will do what is needed to help us keep going. For better or worse and given that we do not charge for any of the work that you will find here, we depend entirely on your personal and institutional support. All we ask you to do is to continue to make good use of these resources, and think about your part.

The RSS buttons are self-explanatory.

Collaborative projects: These will vary over time, the idea being is if you are curious to know what group projects are currently moving ahead with our support, all you have to do is click the link set out in this section.

International Events and World Streets This Week: self-explanatory

Sister Publications: will take you directly to the most active collaborative projects and publications which have been incited and spun off from World Streets over the last three years.

New Mobility Programs: Each of these programs takes the form of a website which is specifically dedicated to providing international coverage and background on the indicated modal or policy area. As with most of the Internet-based programs or utilities you find here, these work as a two-way stream, on the one hand informing the members (who number in the hundreds in most cases) about projects, approaches, publications, events, etc. in their specific modal or policy area.

New Mobility Fora: Here you have one click access to the most significant of the specialized peer discussion fora that we have created in the specific indicated modal or policy area. The first of these collaborative fora was created in 1988, with most of the others coming on over the last dozen years or so. You will see that activity and participation shifts over time as a result of accelerating or decelerating activity or interest in that particular area. But even the ones that are not so active for now, watch out, because given the state of uncertainty and development in the sector, these ideas can take greater importance at any point.

Mega source searches: These have been developed and placed here to assist your research when you may be looking into a new area or some part of the world on which we are not (yet) well informed about the various related projects and agenda items . Very useful if you are preparing a trip and wish to take full advantage of the programs, institutions, projects, and actors in the play sure about to visit. (And despite its weird name the Knoogle New Mobility Knowledge Browser can be exceptional value.)

Search social networks: without knowing exactly what we are doing, but nonetheless feeling that the social media have an important role and potential in our field, we have developed an array of social media networks which are intended to provide areas of discussion and exchange in the indicated field. Activity on these sites tends to vary over time, but we and others do what we can to maintain them as useful sources of information and contact.

Tweeter World Streets: says it all.

Photo Galleries: We here at World Streets feel strongly that striking images are important for us to better understand the challenges and the great variety of circumstances that are found both overall in sustainable transportation worldwide, and also in specific places. These photo galleries house images that come here from colleagues around the world and others to be found in the media.

Portfolios (Reading rooms): Collections of documents which are being put together under Scribd for our readers reference. They are organized by portfolios, each of which groups documents and reports relating to a specific geographic or other area.

Let's go to the movies: collections of videos and films which we recommend to our readers. This intersection, as with others here, is under continuous development and expansion. Your nominations and comments are most welcome.

World Streets Sentinels:  This is an important program which requires time and resources beyond what we have in hand at this time, but which will eventually receive, we hope, for their work and extension. You can see how it works if you click the indicated link.

Global South Forum: The Sustran/Global South forum is a lively area of discussion and exchange bringing together on the order of 500 people working are interested in the field, most of whom are working in interested in sustainable development and sustainable cities in Asia. You will find the latest five postings here, from which you can dig more deeply into the archives of the discussions at will.

The City Fix: This is a publication of the international Embarq program which covers a portion of the main areas of interest to us, and which is interesting because they maintain lively ongoing programs in Mexico, Turkey, India, Brazil, and the Andean region.

Network Dispatches: This is our editor's private site which he uses as a testing ground and discussion area for items and articles that sometimes make their way into the pages of World Streets.

World Streets Resources: This spreads over the entire (and rarely visited)  bottom half of the site, and is devoted to the identification of leading programs, sources and sites worldwide which are involved in areas which relate to our own interests and responsibilities. You will also find there summaries of the latest discussions from a handful of our specialized discussion groups.

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That is all there is to it. Nobody ever said that the push to sustainable transportation and sustainable cities was supposed to be easy. Nor that it was going to be done by one strategic approach, one group, one publication, one technology, one mode and certainly not one person. This push is and must be worldwide, collaborative, honest, questioning, independent,  and hugely varied. The information you find in these pages should help to give you a feel for this great variety, as well as one-click access to almost all of the programs and sources indicated. It's a big world out there and don't forget: you never know where the next great idea is going to come from.

Eric Britton, Editor

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