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Every day at The Overhead Wire we sort through over 1,500 news items about cities and share the best ones with our email list. Each week, we take some of the most popular stories and share them with Urban Milwaukee readers. They are national (or international) links, sometimes entertaining and sometimes absurd, but hopefully useful.

Vietnam low emissions zones: Vietnam is banning gas powered motorcycles starting in central Hanoi, similar to other international cities clean air zones. The program is likely to be followed by car bans, all to reduce emissions and air pollution. The program is also part of a goal to electrify two wheeled transport as gas powered bikes will be banned by 2045. (Micah Toll | Electrek)

Oregon Governor calls special session for transport: Oregon’s Governor has delayed layoffs to DOT staff and called for a special session to address transportation funding. Funding proposals including raising the gas tax hit a wall at the end of the previous legislative session. But the governor didn’t address what a funding solution might look like or whether megaprojects which could be killed by a lack of funding might expect to see from any funding fixes. (Dirk VanderHart | Oregon Public Broadcasting)

Seoul combats loneliness: South Korea has created “mind convenience stores” with ways for people to gather and relax as a way to combat loneliness in the country. Single person households have increased from 16% to 40% in the last two decades. The stores feature ways to just be with others including instant noodles, massage chairs and televisions people can watch with others. (Raphael Rashid | The Guardian)

Health care benefits of housing: After moving into hotels provided by King County, homeless residents in Seattle were found to visit the emergency room and hospitals more generally much less. The ability to have housing improved health and reduced recurring infections. This also means less per person health care costs in the system. (Greg Kim | Seattle Times)

Walking matters: New research released in The Lancet suggests that raising step counts from 2,000 to 7,000 per day has a significant impact on health. A 47% lower risk of mortality was associated with increased daily walking activity. While it’s been known that physical activity has health benefits, this study was able to target a specific number that doctors could share for patients to achieve. (Ding et al | The Lancet)

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Quote of the Week

With around 700 electric vehicles, more than half of our fleet in Vienna is already electric. By the end of the year, we will install the remaining charging stations and put a further 400 electric vehicles into operation in Vienna. By the end of the year, more than two million residents will receive last-mile deliveries CO2-free – this is unique in Europe!

–Peter Umundum, Board Member for Parcel & Logistics at Austrian Post AG in Electrive discussing Austrian Post’s move to zero emissions deliveries.

This week on the Talking Headways podcast, we’re joined by Ilana Preuss of Recast City to talk about small scale manufacturing in cities.

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