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.
• The Pop Up City profiles infrastructure art in Madrid created by Luzinterruptus. The project, Pedaleo Seguro (Safe Biking) created lit bike lanes on three of the city’s central streets.
• As part of their 10 Trends for 2010 series, The Pop Up City considers the changing relationship between the web and the urban realm as articulated through wireless technologies, GPS, and the smartphone.
• CEOs for Cities and the Rockefeller Foundation present a fascinating info-graphic entitled: The Future of the Crowd Sourced City
• North American major transit projects fail to keep pace with those in China; James Russell (Bloomberg) asks why. Beyond differences in labour costs and public consultation requirements, Russell cites quick decision making and greater political ease with megaprojects.
• That said, many US cities are beginning the long journey towards greater transit accessibility. The Minnesota Daily reports on a $900,000 federal grant to study the impacts of new streetcar routes in Minneapolis.
Photo by The Pop Up City
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One comment
The Guangzhou-Hong Kong High-Speed Rail (HSR) project cited in the Bloomberg article has stirred a lot of controversy in Hong Kong. It is criticized for being poorly planned with limited public consultation. The approval of government funding for the project by Hong Kong’s legislature took place under very suspicious circumstances. The village of Choi Yuen Tsuen is currently being razed to make way for the HSR project, which is a rallying point for Hong Kong’s heritage activists and others who are opposed to the HSR.
The protest against the HSR in Hong Kong was comparable to the “freeway revolts” of North American cities during the 1960s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_the_Guangzhou-Hong_Kong_Express_Rail_Link
http://www.expressrailtruth.com/newsclipping_20090807_01.pdf