January 27th, 2012
Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
Highways can carve up and scar urban neighbourhoods, which is why many North American cities are looking for ways to cover this infrastructure and restore community. The Chicago Tribune explores the experience of Columbus, Ohio which saw increased pedestrian traffic and business for local stores following the installation of the "Cap at Union Station". But with a $10 million+ price tag, is the cap a viable option for other centres?
Image from PlasticsSafety
For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter. Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca
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LOCAL
• First contracts awarded for the construction of the Evergreen Line [The Buzzer Blog]
• Vancouver city councillor reveals B.C. Place ties [Vancouver Courier]
INTERNATIONAL
• Towers of Dreams: One Ended in Nightmare [The New York Times]
• Popuphood: How To Revitalize A Struggling Neighborhood In Six Months [Fast Company]
• Why Every City Should Be Planting Rain Gardens [The Atlantic Cities]
• Who Pinched My Ride? [Outside Magazine]
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WHAT: Spacing's 2nd national issue release party
WHEN: Friday February 3rd, 2012, 9pm-1am
WHERE: Canvas Lounge (99 Powell St. in Gastown)
HOW MUCH: free! (mag costs $5)
RSVP: Let us know if you can come at our Facebook event listing
The editors of Spacing and contributors of Spacing Vancouver are excited to announce that the magazine will host a release party at the Canvas Lounge in Vancouver to celebrate the publication of the newest national issue. We will have some fun activities and a few door prizes.
This event is held in conjunction with the annual conference for the Canadian Association of Planning Students (CAPS).
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January 26th, 2012
Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
Spiegel speaks with starchitect Rem Koolhaas about the magazine's new building, generic urban design, the changing role of the architect and the negative outcomes of commercial and bureaucratic impulses.
Image from Spiegel
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The HD version is highly recommended and available at its Vimeo page.
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Winter in Vancouver is not quite like winter in other Canadian cities. There is a unique beat that arrives in the city as the days get longer and the nights get shorter.
Even on cold days, Granville Island is bustling with people. Les Finnigan, a regular busker with a gentle demeanour, plays his soothing acoustic tunes as our eyes wander out to sea.
Sometimes it only takes a bit of skipping - preferably in your bright pink snowpants - or bouncing on your feet side-to-side to warm yourself up. Robson Street is where many of us use shopping as an excuse to walk while spending time with friends and family.
Whether young or old, skaters at Robson Square do not tire of their happy round-a-bouts. Since reopening after the Olympics, the outdoor rink has returned to locals. The rink fills up during the day and well into the night.
Who said bright yellow ponchos are cumbersome? Beaming a nice glow as you ride down Dunsmuir will get you enough attention no matter how heavy the rain pours down. The Dunsmuir and Hornby lanes are continuing to be used by cyclists throughout the wet months. Once in a while, a jogger can even be spotted using the lane. It's the lanes' first full winter and a successful one at that worthy of high-fives amongst our fellow riders.
The last week of December ended with bitter blasts of chilly air, followed by intense rain showers. Vancouverites bear this kind of weather triumphantly, year after year, saving the evenings to be outdoors discovering their very own winter solstice beat. We find the time to be colourfully lit skaters in Robson Square, blinking cyclists with white front and red rear lights, and most popular of all, joyful walkers exploring our downtown community.
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Kathleen Corey likes tiny apartments over shops, hikes with panoramic city views, and flowing urban landscapes. While in the San Francisco Bay Area, she led design processes for the India Basin community farm and Wilkie Creek outdoor classroom. Kathleen completed the Urban Design certificate at SFU's City Program and is working toward her Master of Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph.
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A selected image from the Spacing Vancouver Flickr pool. Image courtesy of waferboard.
A weekly roundup of noteworthy news in municipalities across B.C.
The City of Surrey is having a little bit of trouble convincing residents of a plan to construct an alley and coaches houses despite assurances that it will be sympathetic to the surrounding context.
The Tsawwassen First Nation is one step closer to building a major shopping and entertainment complex on its land near the ferry terminal. Rumours buzzing around speak to the construction of a Metrotown-type development that would cover 1.8 million square feet.
The City of Langley has been selected to participate in a three-month pilot project to help keep plastic bags and Styrofoam out of landfills. This new curbside collection system will lay the groundwork for recycling procedures across the province.
Metro Vancouver continues climbing the ranks as it bumps Sydney, Australia to take second position in least affordable areas to buy a home - behind Hong Kong - in the annual Demographia survey of 325 cities. Come on everybody…we can do better than that!
Controversy stirs as a recently released engineering report puts the total money spent by the City of Abbottsford on the failed Stave Lake water supply proposal at $3.54 million.
White Rock goes high-tech as its mayor and councillors switch to iPads to reduce waste and improve efficiency. I wonder what happens to the iPads if it is shown that they have minimum impact on the City processes?
An internal audit of Metro Vancouver’s new plan to boost drinking water quality found 17 “opportunities for improvement” especially in the fields of risk assessment and records control but the organization isn’t speaking up about the findings yet.
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LOCAL
• $1.4B Evergreen Line to open by 2016 [CBC News]
• The Politician’s Quandary – Vancouver and the Insatiable Auto (7) [Price Tags]
CANADA
• Can Ontario Really Deliver North America's Best Smart Growth Plan? [The Atlantic Cities]
INTERNATIONAL
• On Infrastructure, Hopes for Progress This Year Look Glum [the transport politic]
• An Ambitious Arab Capital Reaffirms Its Grand Cultural Vision [The New York Times]
• How the rise of the megacity is changing the way we live [The Guardian]
• Creating ‘The Most Bicycle Friendly City in America’ ... In Southern California [The Atlantic Cities]
• Families living in vehicles need 'Safe Parking' [Crosscut]
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January 25th, 2012
Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
We often think of architecture as a permanent art form, but temporary installations are becoming more and more pervasive. Think pop-up shops, post-disaster shelters, mobile food carts, streets cafes and pocket parks. Allison Arieff at the New York Times considers the challenges and advantages that temporary architecture poses to buildings and the planning process.
Image from Alliance for Downtown New York
For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter. Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca
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Sometimes we need to see our city in a new way to realize what has always been there. That is the case with graphic designer and photographer Emmanuel Buenviaje. Buenviaje is an Emily Carr graduate and an experienced graphic designer with a passion for typography who first picked up a camera in 2006.
Although he is a Vancouver native, photography gave Buenviaje a different perspective on our city. It forced him to slow down and view the city in a different way. Buenviaje places great importance on exploring a neighbourhood by foot, allowing him to witness details not seen on the saddle of a bike, the seat of a bus, or behind the wheel of a car.
Viewing his neighbourhood from behind a camera gave Buenviaje a new perspective on Vancouver. He had long been fascinated by the complexity of Vancouver's urban landscape, but photographing it opened his eyes to the layers, texture and history all around him that he overlooked before. Buenviaje's photo walks allowed him to see the city's various neighbourhoods in what he feels is a more genuine way. According to Buenviaje, “There is a more authentic Vancouver. While it may be grittier, it isn’t ugly—rather it is real.”
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LOCAL
• 400,000 pieces of evidence moved to sleek new crime warehouse [Globe and Mail]
• Polling website helps reap Harvest in Vancouver [Vancouver Courier]
• Tuesday Round-up [Stephen Rees's Blog]
• Landlords laud proposed rental database [Vancouver Courier]
INTERNATIONAL
• David Lewis: An Urban Legend [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
• When it Comes to Wetlands, It's Hard to Improve on the Original [GOOD Magazine]
• The City’s Best Tech Tools [Next American City]
• Infographic Of The Day: Could Twitter Help Us Create Smarter Transit Routes? [Fast Company Co.Design]
• Today's dynamic Seattle: born at the Space Needle [Crosscut]
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