Comments by Carissa Wodehouse Subscribe

On Envisioning a Havana Bike Culture

I think about bike culture in Mexico a lot, and it seems to me to be mostly an issue of perception. Basically, whether or not it's cool to bike. Mexico City does a lot of work with that, but much of the best has come from the people themselves, creating group bike rides and videos and such to share their enjoyment of biking with others.

On Why Microsoft's 'Avoid Ghetto App' Takes Us the Wrong Way

Data, collected correctly, is colorblind. Street smarts are not. A folk knowledge app would be a handy and probably alarming addition to this app, but all they've done is dressed up crime reports with a nicer user interface, and I see nothing about race in that.

On Reimagining Mexico City

I'm an American expat in Mexico City, this photo is from my neighborhood even! There are several standout green initiatives that people don't expect. We have a superb Zipcar-style bike rental system, curbside composting, and somewhere in the last couple of months green walls became trendy.

What there isn't is cheap solar and water cachment systems, both of which would make a huge difference here but are too expensive.