February 4th, 2012
Spacing Saturday highlights posts from across Spacing’s blog network in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic region.
A new city was founded this week, the city of Spacington . Spacing staffers will use Sim City to attempt to turn Spacington into a 21st century utopia over the coming weeks using feedback from reader commentary. Comment early, comment often and help build the city.
Gordon Price uses the Prince Points feature to look into the story of a cluster of towers at Lougheed Town Centre. Through the work of David Pereira, Price explores the tower's connections to Simon Fraser University and why such density was built in the midst of what was significant greenfield at the time.
While many questioned the future of the skyscraper after September 11th, Sean Ruthen shows that the last decade may have precipitated a century in which the tall building will be zeitgeist. Through his review of Andres Janser's new book Highrise Idea and Reality, Ruthen discusses the global phenomenon which has seen the number of high rise buildings on earth double in the past 10 years.
Jay Baltz reports on the ongoing effort to enact guidelines on Ottawa's use of Section 37, the portion of Ontario's Planning Act that facilitates density bonusing, and criticizes how the guidelines have changed over a year of consultations.
Eric Darwin uses the Walkspace feature to highlight some of the difficulties Ottawa pedestrians face this time of year through a photo series of a good samaritan getting no respect from drivers.
Joel Thibert explores the hotly debated question of what really influences people's decisions on where to live. Delving into a variety of related studies conducted around the world Thibert proposes ways to make increased density more acceptable to the next generation.
Devin Alfaro provides a glimpse inside Montreal's complex municipal governance, analyzing the potential outcomes in an upcoming by-election that promises to be a tough fight with implications for the city's opposition parties.
As Saint John enjoys the completion of its new Official Plan, Morgan Lanigan comments on how the next step will be a thorough review of the Zoning By-law in light of the lessons learned over the 40 years of urban planning.
As disagreement on council continues to leave Toronto's transit planning in shambles, John Lorinc weighs in on the roles of various actors in the debate and who needs to step up to restore order.
Shawn Micalleff uses the Toronto Flaneur feature to react to John Tory's appointment to head up the revitalization of Ontario Place, making a compelling argument that the rethink should stay rooted in the site's rich past while emphasizing its role as a public space.
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February 3rd, 2012
Street Scene will appear each week showcasing the illustrations of local artist
Jerry Waese.
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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.
Mark Lamster and Alexandra Lange at Places:The Design Observer discuss Supertall - a recent exhibit on the world's tallest buildings at New York's Skyscraper Museum. The exhibition focuses on buildings built between 2001 and 2016 that are taller than the Empire State Building (100 stories plus) - a total of 48 projects worldwide. Lamster notes, "The irony is that these supertall buildings are designed to be iconic, memorable signs for the cities that build them, but their similarity works against that desire, and instead we seem to be creating placeless modern places that look great in ads for luxury automobiles."
Image from Places:Design Observer
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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I was in Berlin in December for a few weeks wandering around. It's a good walking city. East. West. Amazing differences and amazing activity going on there right now. Walking up one of the central avenues (see map here, and the picture below, for context) I had a brief feeling that I was still in Toronto when I saw the remnants of an Andrew poster pasted to a wall. Torontonians noticed 1000 of these posters put up around the city in 2010. Everybody wondered who was responsible, until BlogTO broke the story that it was artist Shaan Syed's project, a memorial to his late partner Andrew Hull who was killed while cycling in London. He has continued the project in the last year, putting 1000 posters up around Berlin. Check out Syed's website to see photos of the posters, and the alterations people have done to them -- ephemeral public art can take on a life of its own. Continue reading this post
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CITY HALL
• Majority of Toronto residents don't approve of 'jobs for life' clause: poll [The Sun]
• Toronto labour fight: as lockout date looms, CUPE reports 'significant progress' [The Star]
TRANSIT
• The state of Toronto transit [The Grid]
• Fact check: Ford on traffic, Forum on subways [The Grid]
• How to pay for the Sheppard subway [The Star]
• James: what transit needs is better politics [The Star]
• Hume: Ford digs himself a hole on Eglinton [The Star]
• Road tolls, parking fees needed to pay for Sheppard subway, Chong report concludes [The Star]
• Transit adviser backtracks on touchy subject of road tolls [Globe & Mail]
• Rob Ford opposes tolls to finance subway [National Post]
• Critics rail on Sheppard subway report [The Sun]
• Toronto falling behind pack in averting bicycle collisions, data reveals [Globe & Mail]
• Use Ontario Place to generate transit funding [The Sun]
OTHER NEWS
• Hazel McCallion: conflict of interest hearing involving Mississauga mayor moves to Brampton [The Star]
• Toronto zoo eager to get Chinese pandas - and will find the cash, vice chair says [The Star]
• Kensington Market stalwart is on the block [Globe & Mail]
• Kensington Market's pedestrian Sundays to be more frequent [Torontoist]
• Here's what $1-million will buy you east of the DVP [National Post]
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February 2nd, 2012
Editor's Note: Last week, Toronto's liscencing committee voted against the idea of lifting the (rarely-enforced) ban on owning backyard chickens. Although the debate inspired a large number of egg related puns by councillors and the media, the idea didn't get a lot of serious consideration. While some concerns seem completely legitimate (especially concerning the role of Animal Services), a lot of the contention seemed to circle around the notion that chickens would be a pest. Mairin Piccinin has spent years living beside an owner of urban chickens and shares her experience with us.
Like many Torontonians, I’ve become aware of the growing debate over whether to lift the ban backyard chickens in the city. We’ve all heard the arguments about noise, smell, and attracting vermin. We’ve heard the dire warnings about avian influenza.
These arguments seem like no brainers to most city folk. But I find myself wondering how many are basing their views on first-hand experience. So, for those fellow citizens who have only had the pleasure of getting to know a chicken on their dinner plate, I’d like to share a bit about my own fowl urban experience.
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Well, here it is: Spacington. The new look of 21st century urbanism- well, kind of. The truth is there is nothing here yet, and that is because this is just the beginning. Every week this plot of land, slowly or quickly, will become our Sim City version a 21st century urban city.
During the week the Spacing team and myself will attempt to develop Spacington into a walkable, densely populated, diverse cityscape. Borrowing some suggestions from urban theorists such as Jane Jacobs, Jan Gehl, and Ken Greenberg, as well as the LRT focus of 21st century urbanism, Spacington will become a simulated version urban city we all want. Check the blogs every Thursday and keep on track with our city's evolution.
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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.
Grist talks to urbanist Witold Rybczynski about his recent efforts to call out Richard Florida for playing "fast and loose" with income statistics for American urban centres. Florida posited a positive relationship between density and household income, using figures for metropolitan areas rather than city centres. Rybcyznski wants to shed light on what we believe to be true about the city and whether we have the data to back up those beliefs.
Image from The Atlantic
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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Cross-posted from No Mean City, Alex's personal blog on architecture
The architects Atelier Kastelic Buffey are definitely worth watching. I wrote last week for The Globe and Mail about a chalet they designed, at a ski resort near Collingwood, that is minimal and extremely well-detailed - all on a reasonable budget.
More pictures after the jump.
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CITY HALL
• Integrity commissioner scolds Mayor Rob Ford and Councillor Doug Ford in separate reports [The Star]
• Doug Ford violated code of conduct with 'intimidating language,' integrity commissioner says [The Star]
• Doug Ford refuses to reissue apology despite integrity commissioner's request [Globe & Mail]
• Doug Ford: integrity commissioner's call for apology a 'bunch of horse s--' [National Post]
• Doug Ford blasts code of conduct violation ruling [The Sun]
• Doug Ford may be forced to apologize to activist [Torontoist]
• The Fords vs. the integrity commissioner [NOW]
• Rob Ford to take a pass on cost-of-living raise [Globe & Mail]
• Council pay raise draws fire [The Sun]
• City offers union workers annual raises, while seeking concessions [The Star]
• Holyday to Ferguson: let's talk [The Sun]
• How catchphrases took over city hall [The Grid]
TRANSIT
• Timeline: how Toronto's transit mess unfolded [The Star]
• TTC timeline [NOW]
• Mayor Rob Ford goes on the offensive for his transit plan [The Star]
• Ford to Stintz: it's the subway or the highway [Globe & Mail]
• Doug Ford says TTC needs a shakeup - 'a complete enema' [Globe & Mail]
• Checking Rob Ford's polling: do Scarborough residents want a subway? [The Star]
• Ford makes push for transit below ground in Scarborough [National Post]
• Rob Ford did not have the authority to cancel Transit City, Hazel McCallion says [National Post]
• Mississauga mayor says Ford transit plan can't come at other cities' expense [The Star]
• Ford: Eglinton LRT promise sticks [The Sun]
• Thumbs up for Sheppard subway extension: report [The Sun]
• TTC not serving T.O.: Chong [The Sun]
• Adam Giambrone: Picking up the pieces [NOW]
• TTC in tatters [NOW]
• Cost confusion on the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown [Torontoist]
ONTARIO PLACE
• John Tory to head Ontario Place revitalization [The Star]
• Casino not ruled out as an option to revive Ontario Place [Globe & Mail]
• Much of Ontario Place to close indefinitely; John Tory to lead revitalization charge [National Post]
• Surgery needed for Ontario Place [The Sun]
OTHER NEWS
• The Fixer: 'cyclists dismount' signs will soon ride away [The Star]
• Real Jerk wins injunction to delay eviction [The Star]
• Sandra Bussin having a hard time saying goodbye to politics [National Post]
• Derelict Delights: West Toronto railpath buildings [The Grid]
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