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.
• Three Southern California cities are taking dramatic steps to improve the health and well-being of residents. Using a program designed by Dan Buettner, the cities are attempting to make the healthy choice the easy choice for local residents. Measures include walking schools buses for children, improving access to healthy food, enhancing bike infrastructure and pedestrian access and encouraging personal interactions. (CNN)
• Edmonton moved one step closer to a new home for the Oilers this week when council voted in favour of a new arena cost-sharing arrangement with team owner Daryl Katz. The new rink is the centrepiece of a slate of revitalized commercial-residential downtown development. But with the deal $100 million short and both the provincial and federal governments refusing to pony up tax dollars to fund private enterprise, the way forward for the new rink is somewhat unclear. (Globe and Mail)
• Meanwhile in L.A., plans to build a downtown football stadium as a way to boost the city’s bruised economy are being met with scorn by Joel Kotkin at New Geography. Kotkin says “urban vanity projects like sports teams and convention centers add little to permanent employment or overall regional economic well-being… Certainly mega-stadiums have done little to boost sad-sack, depopulating cities such as St. Louis, Baltimore or Cleveland.”
• Planetizen (in partnership with Project for Public Spaces) lists the top 100 public spaces in the US and Canada. While the list features many well-worn Canadian spots (Waterloo’s Public Square, Antigonish’s Town and County Library, Montreal’s Underground City and Mount Royal Park, Edmonton’s River Valley, Winnipeg’s The Forks, Vancouver’s Stanley Park, Granville Island and Seawall, Toronto’s Brick Works, Calgary’s Memorial Park, Quebec City’s Carré d’Youville), the crowdsourced list also showcases many lesser known places boosted by their local communities.
• Many of us have less than fond childhood memories of local historic sites. Enter Leslie Koch, President of the Trust for NYC’s Governor’s Island, who has spearheaded an initiative to bring life back to this historic site. Battling lack of connectivity and a poor reputation, Koch and her team created an entertaining experiencing for visitors evoking summer vacation with features such as hammocks, swings, festivals and badminton tournaments. Koch speaks in Toronto on November 3rd as part of the Big City, Big Ideas series at the University of Toronto.
Image from Safe Routes to School
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