Walk Score, a website that calculates the walkability of American neighborhoods based on the density of stores, schools and other essentials, just released itsrankings of the most pedestrian-friendly places in the U.S. San Francisco edges out New York for the number one spot. (Gotta watch out for those counter-culture Bay Area libertines…always walking everywhereand stuff). Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles all make it into the top 10.

http://www.good.is/post/walk_easy/

StumbleUpon led us to discover the Car-Free Day Wikipedia entry. Every September 22, Car-Free Day inspires drivers to use alternative modes of transportation – like cycling and walking – with the hopes of developing communities where jobs are closer to home, and shopping centers within walking distance.

This strategy and plan for reducing car dependence in cities was first proposed in 1994, and challenged a city, neighborhood or group to spend one carefully prepared day without cars and observe closely what exactly goes on throughout the day. Events are organized globally and vary by location, yet the goal is to encourage commuters to experience their locality from a different perspective.

Bogotá, Colombia has held the world’s largest Car-Free day event spanning the entire city since February 2000.

http://www.psfk.com/2010/02/a-new-look-at-your-community-car-free-day.html

The SOFT Rockers, located in Killian Court at MIT, look like contemporary wooden furniture and feature clean energy charging stations. They were created by Sheila Kennedy, Professor of the Practice of Architecture at MIT and a small team of Design, Engineering and Architecture students.

With an interactive 1.5 axis 35 watt solar tracking system, the rockers store energy and lets you charge or run any USB device, so you can make a call on your smartphone or do some writing on your laptop. At night, a lighting loop inside the SOFT Rocker glows with an ambient light.

http://www.psfk.com/2011/05/casual-solar-power-the-soft-rockers-at-mit-pics.html

A new iPhone app by Star Analytical Services promises to let users become their own DIY doctors.

The software is designed to diagnose respiratory disease using the sound of a cough. It works by simply coughing into the microphone of an iPhone, and the sound is compared against a database of coughs which indicate various maladies.

Healthcare workers are already trained to diagnose and differentiate between problems such as pneumonia and the common cold by sound, so this app is a logical next step.

http://www.psfk.com/2010/03/iphone-app-diagnoses-disease-through-sound.html

Your GPS can tell you the fastest route, or the most direct. Now it can also tell you the most fuel efficient.

The program, GreenGPS, developed by computer scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, works like normal GPS navigational devices except that in addition to calculating the shortest and fastest routes, it also suggests the most fuel-efficient route

http://www.futurity.org/science-technology/gps-moves-cars-to-go-greener/

Roadify is a relatively new mobile social network based around NYC commuting. The basic premise is to notify other users of the actual bus arrival times, as compared to the posted stop times that are often inaccurate due to traffic and other delays. As a member, you either “give” or “get” real time notices that updates the main server. When someone “gives” a bus location, the network is updated and the next person to request [“get”] the bus’s location is notified whether the bus is running late, on time or early. Members can also give/get information on street parking spaces as they become available or even before, if you are about to move your car. In return, members receive StreetCARma Points. You can join different teams that are sponsored by local business and redeem those points for prizes

http://gamification.co/2010/10/27/takin-it-to-the-streets/

You can make a positive impact one step at a time. DailyFeats is a new site with the idea of getting people to do good through small actions. These actions can be for your own benefit, for your community or even the world. The point being: one person can make a significant difference in their life and the lives of others.

You earn points and unlock stamps by completing “feats” from the catalog. These range from as simple as “Drink a cup of green tea.” to “Volunteer your time to an organization doing good.” You receive 50 points for just signing up and feats range in point value depending on how involved they are. (3 point for drinking tea for yourself, versus 15 points for volunteering) These points can be put towards real life rewards from partner companies and discount from local merchants in your area. Some feats are even linked to partner companies, which also give you bonus points towards their offers.

You can also give props and leave comments for users about their actions in order to make friends, build community and continue to encourage each other. This also earns points for both the giver and the recipient. The front page informs you of recent feats that have been checked into around the site, making congratulating and meeting new people even easier. DailyFeats is also integrated with Facebook, which helps to add to your community right away.

http://gamification.co/2011/03/16/have-fun-doing-good-on-dailyfeats/

We’ve talked a lot about various gamified check-in sites and apps that allow you to complete chores, do good deeds and lose weight on the Gamification blogs recently. While these apps are fun, engaging and helpful to those who are already motivated, they are all still susceptible to getting “gamed”. In any game or gamified structure you will find those people who love winning so much that they’ll cheat to get to the top. Or they’ll lie to themselves (well, I thought about exercising today, that should still count) and create excuses. Sometimes checking in will become too tedious and users will simply forget. How do you combat that and design a system where it’s clear that users are being honest and keeping good records to create accurate data?

GreenGoose has developed a solution to changing one’s lifestyle in small, simple ways and keeping track in a way that’s hassle-free. GreenGoose is a real life game platform, based around a little egg shaped base-station.

http://gamification.co/2011/04/04/its-easier-to-be-good-with-greengoose/

What sits at the intersection of health and wellness websites, virtual currencies, and “gamification” of the Web? Right now, a Seattle startup called Mindbloom.

This is an outfit founded in 2008 by Chris Hewett and Brent Poole. Their mission is to help consumers lead more healthy, balanced and meaningful lives—and do it through a new kind of social game experience that has elements of casual gaming, social networking, and personal media sharing. The Life Game, as Mindbloom announced this week, rewards players for taking steps along their “life tree” towards achieving goals in their career, lifestyle, relationships, and health. The virtual currency (“seeds”) they earn can be used to unlock other types of content in the game.

http://www.mindbloom.com

Thanks to space travel and the European Space Agency, glass is now being produced more efficiently than ever before. Now you would be forgiven for thinking glass production was already quite green –  you need sand and heat and that’s it, so what could the ESA do to make it even more efficient? Well it seems that the technology used in space is being utilized to produce super-efficient energy-saving windows that protect occupants against heat loss during cold weather and against overheating on warm summer days.