Sustainable Transport Benefits Hit Home with New Partnership
Melbourne, Victoria
A sustainable urban housing designer and manufacturer, Nightingale Housing, has teamed with e-cargo bike subscription service Lug+Carrie to boost active transport as part of its sustainability goals.
The two organisations recently announced the new partnership, which offers residents in Nightingale’s Sydney and Melbourne apartments discounted rates to trial Lug+Carrie’s e-bike subscriptions.
Nightingale – a not-for-profit organisation building apartments that are socially, financially and environmentally sustainable – says the partnership will support residents’ transition to sustainable transport when they move into their new homes.
Nightingale Housing CEO Dan McKenna said: “We support residents to transition away from car ownership, by building on sites with good access to public transport and local amenities. Our partnership with Lug+Carrie will encourage even more residents to get around on a bike.”
Lug+Carrie co-founder Ben Carr announced the Melbourne-based subscription service would be hosting community events where residents can take its bikes for a test ride.
“We believe accessible and sustainable transport is key to creating liveable cities, and we’re proud to work with Nightingale to help make bike riding more accessible in urban areas, where cycling is an easy, practical, and economical option,” Ben said.
Nightingale Housing emerged from a venture by Melbourne architectural firm Breathe, that believed the housing system was “broken” and set about creating a new model that addressed problems of affordability and helped accelerate the pace of sustainable development toward a low-carbon future.
Its solution was The Commons, an apartment building in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick that was completed in 2013 and won a 2014 National Architecture Award for Housing and a National Architecture Award for Sustainability.
In response to many enquiries about further housing like The Commons, Breathe established the ‘Nightingale approach’, working with several other architects in a growing movement that led to buildings in Melbourne, regional Victoria, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth.
Homes were sold at-cost for set prices, through a ballot process which has continued as the method for offering fair access to Nightingale homes.
Nightingale Housing became an official not-for-profit organisation in 2016 and continues the philosophy that homes should be built for people, not for profit.
Free E-Bikes for US Sustainable Neighbourhood
US sustainable suburbs initiative Culdesac has entered into its own partnership with an e-bike company.
The real estate developer and property manager is creating the US’s first car-free neighbourhood built from scratch and, as part of its Culdesac Tempo project, is offering residents a free e-bike.
The company is saying residents at the Arizona development “only need to cover a small service charge” to receive a Lectric XP 2.0 e-bike.
“Residents interested in a different Lectric e-bike model will receive a $300 credit toward an e-bike of their choice,” it says.
Join the conversation
What do you think is the future of these types of partnerships, with the potential for more sustainable housing?