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.
• WebUrbanist has a series of stunning photos documenting the speed of development in Dubai (pictured above), Shanghai, Bangkok, Panama City, London, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Paris, New York and Shenzhen.
• Buses can be an unwieldy option for unfamiliar transit users; unlike fixed route systems, it can be more difficult to tell where you might end up. Unless you find yourself in Seoul where they are making it easier for bus riders to find their way. Using a colour coded system which differentiates between trunk, feeder, intercity, and circular routes, and route numbers which signify origin and destination, the city improved travel times, held transit modal share steady and decreased the transit operations subsidy by US $421 million. (Re:Place Magazine)
• “Those who predict the demise of libraries—and that goes back to the 1860s—are forgetting about the human factor. People love to be with people.” The human factor has been dramatically improved in Roseville Library in Roseville, Minnesota. The award winning redesign re-purposes much of the original building to create a central marketplace feel with easily distinguishable subject areas. (Metropolis Mag)
• Suzuki cries foul on “the war on cars” claiming that government priorities, injury statistics and modal stats suggest that there is no such thing. (Yahoo)
• In Indianapolis, the most walkable and densely populated census tracts have shown robust growth while the rest of the urban core shrinks. As greenfield options run out and downtown amenities like transit improve, walkable neighbourhoods could prove an important solution to stem the exodus. (UrbanOut)
Image from WebUrbanist
Do you have a World Wide Wednesday worthy article you’d like to share? Send the link to www@spacing.ca