Augsburg College faculty members Lars Christiansen and Nancy Fischer, known for their avid bicycling, recently were featured in The Line, a Twin Cities-based online journal.
In the article, Christiansen describes how he and Fischer have never been happier living “car-ownership-free” after selling their car two years ago and relying on their bicycles and, if necessary, the metro transit system.
Christiansen also revealed his tips for healthy living as well as his reasoning for choosing a car-free lifestyle, noting that the sense of community gained in such a lifestyle could easily be reason enough.
“…when you ride a bus, train or bike, you’re in public,” he said. “You encounter a greater diversity of people with whom you develop camaraderie.”
To learn more about living car-free, read “How being ‘car ownership free’ led to healthy living, community organizing and embracing transit.”
In summer 2008, Professors Lars Christiansen and Nancy Fischer led students to Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia to explore sustainability in an urban context. The professors and students from the “Sustainable Cities in North America” course, will share insights gained in these cities and our own Twin Cities on Thursday, Oct. 16 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Lindell 301. The event will be of particular interest to those concerned about environmental issues, cities, business practices, comparative government, and the culture of the Pacific Northwest. 
How can a major metropolitan area — with all its concrete, glass, and steel — be green? How can it be eco-friendly and implement measures that will ensure its healthy future? That is precisely what students in the Sustainable Cities summer course are attempting to discover. Sociology professors Nancy Fischer and Lars Christiansen are leading a group of students through Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia to examine different facets of sustainability in an urban context. The course is a faculty-led seminar through Augsburg Abroad.