The first case study I chose to focus on is Bicycles as a Transportation Policy in Japan. The link for the case study is here: http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/trans-jap.html . The case study talks about how Japan has adopted the use of bikes as a primary way of transportation due to lack of petroleum and its high density, geographic location. The use of bikes started after World War 2 when their infrastructure was destroyed. As this infrastructure was fixed, the Japanese neglected the use of bikes and instead used rail and bus systems before growing tired and annoyed of how slow and expensive they were. The goal of this is to make living at such a high population sustainable and to save money. Automobile related pollutants are cut by 16%, traffic death rates have been reduced by 58%. Where you can fit one of two cars at a traffic light you can fit 20 bikes. This form of transportation helps slow down the use of fossil fuels and reduces carbon dioxide contribution dramatically.
The second case study I chose to look at is sustainable investment in the financial sector within the United Nations. The link can be found here: http://www.sd-network.eu/pdf/case%20studies/ESDN%20Case%20Study_No.%2011_sustainable%20investment_FINAL.pdf . It talks about putting in place principles for banks and large financial institutions to make financial investments that are in line with sustainable development. This means products and investments that safeguard the environment and rather than just avoid doing harm, use financial purposes to do good. They should service the communities in which they are located and should be able to function in the event of an external force.
Both of these case studies identify issues that are similar to issues identified where I live. In New York City, my former employer BNY Mellon practices social responsibility. They are actively involved in New York City, having employees volunteer for community philanthropies, and offer their clients products that are environmentally safe. All of their investments are screened before hand. In NYC, Citi bank, another financial institution has a bike sharing program for pedestrians. This saves people money as it is much cheaper for a membership than a cab, and it also takes more cars off the road which helps make it safer to people to get around the city.
Hi my name is Ryan Daley. I enjoyed reading your entry. I think that bicycle programs, like the one described in your entry, are great methods in conserving energy and reducing greenhouse emissions. I recently spent sometime in Denver, Colorado and it seems as though almost everyone there is riding a bike somewhere and I’m sure it is a nice boost in the cities efforts for sustainability. I also wrote about sustainability in my entry but it leans towards green buildings. Here the link to my blog entry
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/26/module-5-ryan-daley/
I liked your first study about the use of bikes in cities! It reminds me of the video about Copenhagen that we watched in a previous model. I live off campus at University Park, and ride my bike to class every day. Not only does it save me money by not having to buy a parking pass, but it also good for the environment. I think that it would be cool if PSU implemented some of these bike-friendly designs to encourage people to ride their bikes to class instead of driving or walking. It saves me nearly 15 minutes each way to class compared to walking, and is a great idea for trying to reduce our carbon footprint.