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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

World Wide Wednesday: London, Bangkok, and New Delhi

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Each week we will be focusing on 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.

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• Though still incomplete, New Delhi’s subway system is already being hailed as “a runaway success”. According to the The New York Times not only is the Delhi Metro “scrupulously clean, impeccably maintained and almost unfailingly punctual” it also boasts cheap fares, and, even more incredibly, manages to turn an operating profit.

• London’s Routemasters, the red doubledecker buses the city is famous for, are getting replaced. While still the iconic red, the new fleet, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Wrightbus, will be significantly more sustainable and sleeker than the older models. The Architects Newspaper hosts a video on the design features of the new bus, scheduled to hit the road by 2012.

• Bangkok’s city street continue to be the site of escalating violence between the Thai military and Red Shirt political protesters. A series of poignant photographs on Boston.com shows an urban landscape transformed into a war zone.

• A New York advocacy group, The Right to the City Coalition, has come up with a bold plan for housing the city’s homeless: transforming New York’s 264 vacant luxury residential developments into temporary shelters.

photo of Delhi Metro by David Lisbona

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