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. It's well known that Detroit has experienced a large population decline leaving large swaths of land abandoned. The oft cited number is 40 square miles. But as Kate Davidson at Changing Gears reports, nobody is quite sure where that number ...

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. Hydro pylons can be a bit of an eyesore. In response, Russian creative collective Design Depot has proposed a set of creative approaches to beautify this challenging piece of infrastructure. Spacing asks: is there potential to use these modified pylons in ...

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. “You can’t get me for premeditated selling of a cupcake,” says Chicago truck vendor Lupita Kuri. A police officer noted her intended location from a Facebook post and ticked her for parking in a loading zone. Food trucks are very popular ...

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. Colossal reports on the artistic exploits of a group of garbagemen in Hamburg, Germany. By drilling a hole and suspending a sheet of photo paper inside, this group has turned dumpsters into pinhole cameras. The results are incredible - check ...

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. Launched in 2007, Walk Score is a popular website for evaluating the walkability of a particular address or neighbourhood. Embraced (for the most part) by both the planning and real estate communities, Walk Score provides a single number which translates a ...

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. Google Maps has revolutionized the way we approach cartography, but really old specimens have a je ne sais quoi that is tough to replicate in digital form. Old Maps Online, an initiative of the The Great Britain Historical GIS Project ...

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. The classic brick and limestone building pictured above is a beautiful feature of Michigan State University’s campus. But would you believe that this gem is actually a 730 car parking facility? Rana Florida of the Creative Class Group catalogues some architectural ...

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. What happens when a Los Angeleno rides Toronto's TTC and Montreal's Metro? Blogger Tim Adams did just that and his discovered some interesting contrasts between the three transit systems. Adams take-aways include: Canadian politicians don't take transit; our subways are graffiti-free; ...

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. Move over Ektorp and Lack - Ikea is moving out of the living room and into the world of urban planning. The furniture giant's land development arm, LandProp, is developing a series of all-rental private neighbourhoods. The first, Strand East, will ...

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. The population of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward has decreased by 85% since 2000. Without owners to tend the lots and given the region's fertile soil, much of the neighbourhood has been reclaimed by nature. Nathaniel Rich at the New ...