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Transportation

Can We Make Bicycles Sustainable Again?

Cycling is the most sustainable form of transportation, but the bicycle is becoming increasingly damaging to the environment. The energy and material used for its production go up while its life expectancy decreases.

The Printed Website: Volume III & The Comments

The printed archives of Low-tech Magazine now amount to four volumes with a total of 2,398 pages and 709 images.

How to Design a Sailing Ship for the 21st Century?

It is surprisingly difficult to build a carbon neutral sailing ship. This is even more the case today, because our standards for safety, health, hygiene, comfort, and convenience have changed profoundly since the Age of Sail.

The Printed Website: Second Volume Out Now

The second volume features a third of the web articles published in the earlier years, carefully selected for their continued relevance and interest today.

Could We Dredge the Netherlands Without Fossil Fuels?

For centuries, the Netherlands were mainly dredged by hand, supplemented by animal power, wind power and tidal power. Could it be done again?

Modular Cargo Cycles

Modular cargo cycles are cheap to build and easy to customize.

High Speed Trains are Killing the European Railway Network

High speed rail is destroying the most valuable alternative to the airplane; the “low speed” rail network that has been in service for decades.

Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient

About a quarter of the existent wind turbines would suffice to power as many electric velomobiles as there are people.

Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient (Part Two)

A car with a top speed of 270 km/h can be driven anywhere on Earth, while an electric velomobile with an electric assistance of up to 50 km/h is illegal is most countries.

Cargo Cyclists Replace Truck Drivers on European City Streets

A cargo cycle is at least as fast as a delivery van in the city - and much cheaper to use.

How to Downsize a Transport Network: The Chinese Wheelbarrow

For being such a seemingly ordinary vehicle, the wheelbarrow has a surprisingly exciting history.

Gas Bag Vehicles

The old-timers on these pictures are not moving furniture or an oversized load. What can be seen on the roof is the fuel tank of the vehicle - a balloon filled with uncompressed gas.