![]() Michael Brie, a professor with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Berlin and policy committee member of the party Die Linke, describes another success, this one in the Flemish Belgian city of Hasselt, capitol of the province of Limburg.Ī mid-sized city of less than 80,000, the medieval town was being destroyed by increasing traffic. Children play basketball and old people rest on benches in the Piazza del Unitá - in the workers’ district of Bologna - where before endless queues of cars idled at traffic lights.” Hasselt, Germany: Brie on Limburgers According to Jäggi in 1974, “Now Bologna’s street scene has changed. Within two years, car trips into the city dropped 25% and transit use rose 50%. There was strong opposition from predictable quarters, but by involving residents in discussions and public debates, city leaders built strong support. Other were open only to local residents or business deliveries, to buses or cabs, at certain times of day, or in some cases, only to pedestrians. Motorists retained unrestricted access to a mere one fourth of city streets. Large investments were made in transit fares were done away with during rush hour and very cheap at other times private automobiles were rendered uneconomic for daily work commutes and buses were given preference. Pedestrian zones were created in the city center and nearby neighborhoods. The beauty of the plan was that it drew a picture of a Bologna where humans, not cars, were the center of planning. The Communists recognized that while they had not “developed a concept of socialism in one city,” still “they have provided norms of conduct and public management different from those” which had prevailed in Italy. The reasons for the successes of the project are myriad, but among the most important were a coherent and specific vision of the changes, public involvement and a visionary administration. In a chapter taken from the English translation of his section of Red Bologna, Swiss journalist Max Jäggi details the amazing changes brought about in a city that “had more cars in proportion to population than any city in Italy except Turin,” where “pedestrians were relegated to second class road users,” buses had “used up most of their petrol in standing still” and “200,000 cars a day poured into the Centro Storico and created an almost permanent haze over the area, causing the leaves in parks to turn grey.” Long run by the Communists, “Red Bologna” also had a tradition of public participation and a strong democratic spirit in the citizenry. Perhaps the most inspiring example is Bologna, Italy in the 1970s. On the whole, it’s well worth reading for transit activists or any class-conscious activist considering projects that confront capital’s control of our lives, and are winnable on a local level. These provide some theoretical overviews and concrete proposals.Īs is to be expected in a collection like this, some are more inspiring and well written than others. The local chapters are bookended by four broader essays, two by the editors and two by a city development researcher. (Two chapters are about Bologna, Italy.) Half of these are in Western Europe, three in Canada and the United States but the editors also include chapters on Brazil, Mexico and China. The main part of the book consists of 15 articles of implementation and struggles around free transit in 14 cities or regions. Delheim and Prince compile pieces on more political efforts. Many cities have reduced or even given free fares for specific groups, generally the elderly or students. Free Public Transit editors Judith Delheim and Jason Prince collect a dozen-and-half essays of these stories written by activists, academics and journalists involved in the issue. Over the last several decades, though, many cities around the world have experimented with free transit. Unfortunately, local officials are quite clear that these are only temporary for health purposes and will be reversed once it is “safe.” ![]() Towns in Vermont and Nevada have done so as well. Several cities in Ohio, including Akron, Canton, Toledo and Youngstown announced free fares as of March 16. Dead Trotskyists Society: Provocative Presence of a Difficult PastĮdited by Judith Delheim and Jason PrinceĪMONG THE FEW positive aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, some localities have taken the impressive step of implementing free transit.Suzi Weissman interviews Gilbert Achcar Barry Eidlin interviews Micah Uetricht & Meagan Day Toward Class Struggle Electoral Politics.David Finkel for the Solidarity National Committee
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