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CityStories / City Profiles / Large Cities / Long Beach, California

Smarter City

Population: 487,100

 


Photo Credit: Wikipedia Community


Long Beach, California

Map showing this city's location

July 2010 Update: Long Beach has been named a 2010 Smarter City for Energy. Read the article.

Long Beach Transit is the first transit agency in the world to use electric-gasoline hybrid buses, which it calls E-Power buses, for its public transportation service.

The fuel economy is up to twice that of diesel buses in the fleet, and the emissions are far lower than buses running on liquid natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG). The price, fuel and maintenance of E-Power buses is estimated to be about 16 percent less than an LNG or CNG bus over a 12-year lifespan.

Long Beach has recently set to work implementing it's Sustainable City Action Plan, which includes a goal to reduce municipal greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent by 2020.

Photo Credit: Megapolis2024/FlickrIt feels a bit strange to be sitting in the middle of one of the world’s wealthiest neighborhoods, and to be so thoroughly engrossed in...
No Cars But Plenty of Life on Broadway. Credit: Paul McRandleThe Natural Resources Defense Council's Smarter Cities project has named fifteen U.S. metropolitan regions...
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The nation’s first major bikesharing program hit the streets in Minneapolis in June 2010, quickly followed by Denver, Washington, D.C. Boston and Toronto—with Seattle, Chicago,...
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Credit:DMFK/FlickrContrary to common perception, Boulder is not a bedroom community to Denver; it actually serves as a regional subcenter for surrounding cities such as...
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Credit:Wikipedia CommunityIn the Champaign-Urbana metro region in Illinois, the focus of the transit district is on getting people out of their cars by offering a full...
Credit:Chicago Tourism BureauHome to one of the largest and oldest transit systems in the country, the Chicago metropolitan region has long been a national transportation...
Kids getting ready to bike home at this primary school in Utrecht, Netherlands. Ninety-five percent of the older kids bike to school at least some of the time. Credit:...
With the growing popularity of cycling in the Netherlands, finding a parking place for your bike is becoming more difficult, as seen here in the Hague. Credit: Jay...
San Francisco board of supervisors president David Chiu looks out on Java Island, a new neighborhood in Amsterdam where bikes and pedestrians (and boats) take priority...
Credit: Recompose/FlickrCourts have handed defeat after defeat to New York City in its effort to replace gas-chugging cabs with fuel-efficient hybrids. The latest blow...
Credit:FHKE/FlickrThe Pacific island of Oahu, Hawaii, boasts towering mountains, gorgeous ocean views, and a dense metropolitan region that keeps on growing. Oahu Transit...
Credit:AreaRapidTransitThe Lincoln metropolitan region can thank the unique characteristics of its central City of Lincoln for its place among NRDC’s top 15 Smarter...
Credit: Kevin Dooley/FlickrLong Beach is joining the front lines in the fight against global warming, releasing its first greenhouse gas emissions inventory in 2009 and...
Credit:Mary Logan BarmeyerFamous for urban sprawl, bumper-to-bumper traffic and seasonal smog, the Los Angeles region still has many challenges for integrating...
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Credit:Wikipedia CommunityThe New York metropolitan region has one clear historic advantage when it comes to efficient transportation—population density like nowhere else...
Credit:Kyle Gradinger/FlickrDon’t see the link between transit and food? Philly does. The City of Philadelphia and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority...
Credit:Portland Bureau of Transportation“In Portland it’s almost like cars don’t exist, right? They ride bikes! They ride double-decker bikes! They ride unicycles! They...
Credit: Oconomowoc Transport Co.The 11 new school buses in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin don’t look particularly special. They’re painted the same yellow, carry the same kids and...
Credit:Courtesy of the City of San FranciscoIn San Francisco, “we put transit first, ahead of the passenger car,” says Bridget Smith, acting principal engineer and...
People across the country were surprised last year when Bicycling magazine named Minneapolis America’s “#1 Bike City”, beating out Portland, Oregon, which had claimed the honor...
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Credit: Edgar Zuniga Jr./FlickrSalt Lake City has the ignominious distinction of ranking as the country’s seventh most polluted city by short-term particle pollution,...
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Transportation: Bicycling

Cities for Cycling: National Association of City Transportation Officials project to catalog, promote and implement the world's best bicycle transportation practices in American municipalities. Includes several best practices sheets.

Cycling in the Netherlands: Guide to bicycling policies in the Netherlands (pdf)

Fietsberaad: Dutch cycling knowledge center

Bikeability: UK Cycling Proficiency Test

"At the Frontiers of Cycling: Policy Innovations in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany." World Transport Policy and Practice, Vol. 13, No. 3, December 2007, pp. 8-57 

"How to Get More Bicyclists on the Road: To Boost Urban Bicycling, Figure Out What Women Want." Linda Baker. Scientific American, October 2009.

Bikes Belong: Research Resources

 

Designing Cities for Bicycle Transportation

Chicago Bike Lane Design Guide (pdf)

Los Angeles Bike Plan Draft, Chapter 5: Technical Design Handbook (pdf)

Minneapolis Bicycle Facility Manual (pdf)

New City York Street Design Manual

New York City's Ninth Avenue Bicycle Path and Complete Street, for ITE (pdf)

Portland Bikeway Design Best Practices, Appendix D

San Francisco Bicycle Plan Update: Supplemental Design Guidelines (pdf)

San Francisco Shared Markings Study (pdf)

London Cycling Design Standards, Transport for London (UK)

Cycling Guidelines and Practical Details Issue 2, Sustrans (UK)

Collection of Cycle Concepts, Danish Road Directorate (Denmark)

Long Beach Municipal Resources

Download the Sustainable Long Beach Sustainable City Action Plan for details on the city's conservation goals and strategies.

Visit the Long Beach Office of Sustainability to read about the city's efforts to implement renewable energy.

See the 5th District Solar & Sustainability Task Force for information on the group's activity including meeting dates and agendas.

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