CityStories / City Profiles / Small Cities / San Mateo, California
Population: 92,482
- Environmental education
- Green building
- Bike friendly
- Public transportation
- San Mateo California Official Website
Photo Credit: Wikipedia Community
San Mateo, California
In 2008, the city launched a climate protection campaign called SMART, or San Mateo Acting Responsibly Together, to educate city employees and the community about the importance of going green.
As a part of SMART, the San Mateo Green Team will be sending SMART speakers to civic organizations, schools, businesses, community-based organizations and faith-based organizations to promote a more sustainable lifestyle. One of the city’s SMART initiatives mandates that all new construction for municipals buildings be LEED-silver certified.
The City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County has offered land use incentives for transit-oriented development and expanded housing near rail lines, provided that development is within a third of a mile of rail and has a density of at least 40 units per acre. Caltrain provides rail service from nearby San Jose to San Francisco, with three stops in San Mateo. San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) provides bus service throughout the county and to San Francisco and Palo Alto, and paratransit for the disabled. The city website provides a bike map with routes for commuters and tips on using bikes in conjunction with public transit.
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A recumbent cycle on Martin Olav Sabo Bridge Credit: Livewombat/FlickrDuring the recent bicycle tour of Minneapolis, Mayor R.T. Rybak stressed that in these lean economic...
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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...
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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...
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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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Playbook for Green Buildings and Neighborhoods
The Playbook website provides local governments with guidance and resources to rapidly advance green buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure. Strategic action in these sectors promotes economic development, builds healthier communities, strengthens energy independence, and supports climate protection.
Green Building: LEED for Neighborhood Development
The LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a development's location and design meet accepted high levels of environmentally responsible, sustainable development. Learn more.
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)
Learn More
Switchboard: From brown to green to gold: San Mateo's exemplary Station Park Green
Minute, Morning, Month: Save energy and reduce stormwater runoff. Install a green roof.
Save energy and reduce stormwater runoff. Install a green roof.
LEED for Neighborhood Development
Change Your Commute, Change Your City
Plug and Play: A Q&A with Luke Tonachel on Electric Cars
On Earth: These Roads Were Made for Biking
Greening Advisor: Public Transportation
Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Act (CLEAN-TEA)
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