Weird Wednesdays on Urban Planet takes a look at obscure, absurd, and curious things about cities around the world.

Everyone has probably seen the footage of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge and its crazy wobbling at one time or another. Most people would think about it as soon you say "earthquake" and "bridge", but what caused the bridge to twist and bend and eventually collapse was actually the wind... and cost cutting.

There had been talk of building a bridge to connect Tacoma and Kitsap Peninsula in Washington since the 1880s. Almost 50 years later, engineer Clark Eldridge came up with the original blueprints. It was supposed to be a fairly standard suspension bridge costing $11 million. By the time the bridge was being constructed however, the design had undergone some tweaks by Leon Moisseiff, a New York engineer. Moisseiff already had a name for himself after working on both the Manhattan and Golden Gate bridges, and his redesign slimmed down the bridge at Tacoma Narrows, making it more "elegant" and also knocked about $4 million off the price tag.

Though it stretched almost 6,000 feet across the Narrows, the bridge was only built for two lanes of traffic and was considered quite narrow for a structure that length. What's more, based on theoretical advances Moisseiff had co-published in 1933, his re-design got rid of the originally-proposed 25-foot-deep supports of lattice beam trusses (which allow air to pass through), and replaced them with a plated support system that was a third the depth.

Even before it was opened in July of 1940, the bridge was nicknamed "Galloping Gertie" by the construction workers who, as the stories go, suffered from motion sickness as winds would force the bridge to rise and fall in a transverse wave (see the up-and-down rippling during 0:06-0:11 in this video).  Though the bridge was considered strong enough to remain sound, some attempts were made during construction to dampen the movement but none were effective (two of the three proposed solutions were either destroyed or broken before construction even finished). A study by the University of Washington proposed installing curved outriggers along the sides to make the desk more aerodynamic.

However, only five days after the study concluded, strong winds had caused excessively-violent swaying along a never-before-seen torsional wave (the side-to-side "twisting" motion shown the video above) that eventually brought the bridge down.

Interestingly, though the footage of the collapse is usually scene in black and white, it was actually captured on Kodachrome by a local camera shop owner. In 1998 the footage was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Last month, the fantastic podcast series 99% Invisible did a feature on the bridge's collapse (which includes a story about the attempts to rescue the collapse's only victim, a cocker spaniel named Tubby) and the quirky Minute Physics explains how aeroelastic flutter caused the destruction.

Extra credit: Leave a comment if you remember what '90s-era music video featured a clip of it — it's been bugging me all day!

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

Through bold, bright sidewalk art, an alleyway in Manhattan’s Lower East Side is being reclaimed as a space for creation, recognizing Extra Place’s cultural past and ensuring its artistic future.

Extra Place was a former through-street that once connected East 1st and East 2nd Streets between the Bowery and 2nd Avenue in the East Village. In the 1900s, Extra Place teemed with speakeasies and garages, and from the ‘70s–‘90s it was a hub for activist and feminist organizing, home to the No Wave and punk music scenes and the legendary CBGB music club. With the loss of CBGB and the subsequent closures of most of the surrounding cafes and bars, Extra Place has been completely transformed, with building renovations and new luxury condos taking over this formerly gritty back alley.

In recognition of Extra Place’s contribution to the cultural, artistic, and musical identity of the East Village, New York-based artists Jon Burgerman, Ellis Gallagher, and Abe Lincoln Jr. have used the concrete sidewalk as canvas to create “Groundbreak”, a temporary street art installation in Artist Alley @ Extra Place.  Through vibrant sidewalk paintings, “Groundbreak” transforms Extra Place into an inviting pedestrian corridor and asserts its presence as a creative hub in the neighborhood.

“Groundbreak” is the inaugural exhibition of the Artist Alley @ Extra Place, a program managed by East Village non-profit Fourth Arts Block. The Artist Alley program seeks to reinvigorate Extra Place as a center for creative exchange through public art installations. Amidst the encroaching gentrification of the East Village, this program sustains the area’s artistic and political identity and supports its right to cultural self-determination.

Photos by fourthartsblock.

TRANSPORTATION
• CP Rail strike looms; deal reached to keep GO trains running [Toronto Star]
• Politicians must engage citizens if they want them to pay for better transportation: Mississauga mayor [National Post]
• After Toronto's Victoria Day ferry fail, can we talk about a fixed link again? [Torontoist]

FORD
• Councillor Shelley Carroll to Mayor Rob Ford: ‘Come back to City Hall’ [National Post]
• Carroll accuses mayor of not showing up at the office [Globe and Mail]
• Carroll accuses Ford of being absentee mayor [The Sun]
• As 2014 campaign takes shape, everything Ford said he'd do this term will have to wait [Torontoist]

CITY HALL
• Doors Open to City Hall observation deck [The Sun]
• Wong-Tam wants Toronto to bid for Expo 2025. What could possibly go wrong? [Torontoist]

PRIDE
• Pride Toronto funding jumps first hurdle but still under threat [Toronto Star]
• Councillors oppose funding Pride Toronto if anti-Israel group decides to march [National Post]
• Pride grant in limbo as Queers Against Israeli Apartheid plan to march [Globe and Mail]
• QuAIA in parade will put Pride's grant in jeopardy. councillor says [The Sun]

SCOTIABANK
• Scotiabank's landmark Toronto tower sells for record $1.27-billion [Globe and Mail]
• Scotia Plaza Sold for $1.27 Billion [Torontoist]

ROAD HOCKEY
• He shoots, he applies for a permit: City comes up with road hockey exemption plan [Toronto Star]
• Plan to repeal Toronto's ball hockey ban comes to committee [The Sun]

OTHER NEWS
• The Fixer: Readers stumped by dead street trees that are cut off and left to languish [Toronto Star]
• Posted Toronto Political Panel: Should Bill Blair resign? [National Post]
• Family sues TTC, police in 2010 death of teen [Globe and Mail]
• Peter Kuitenbrouwer: Privatization rumours eat at St. Lawrence Market merchants after city transfers supervisor  [National Post]
• Poll on Toronto casino issue reveals a strong NIMBY factor [Toronto Star]
• Signs of Summer: Kensington Garden Car Gets a Makeover [Torontoist]
• Toronto's cabbies want you to know they're not the problem—you are [Torontoist]

EDITOR: This is a continuation in our series looking at the laneway housing projects created in a University of Toronto Architecture Faculty's Laneway Housing studio led by Brigitte Shim & Don Chong. This work and text is by Sonia Ramundi , whose bio you can find below.

Berryman Avenue, located in Yorkville is home to the "Myer's Residence" at 19 Berryman, one of the first residential infill projects in our city.  The steel frame house, designed by architect Barton Myers, allows for large spans that provide an interior courtyard, making natural light a prominent feature of the house.  Inspired by the idea that a structural system or technique can control the presence of natural light, a site was chosen for this project on the same street and with the same orientation to the sun, but with an additional constraint: a small Victorian house at the front of the lot.

Building on such a site comes with several limitations; one can only build a minimum distance of 7.5 meters from the back of the existing structure on the lot and 1.2 meters from the adjacent house, while respecting the minimum distance one can build from laneway itself.  Whether or not to build higher than the existing two-storey structures in this historical neighbourhood or to maintain the existing datum is also something that needs to be considered.

The project:

The intervention behind the house and facing the green space associated with Jesse Ketchum Public School explores this relationship between structure and light.  The proposal included a live/work building for a photographer needing a variety of flexible spaces such as an office, dark room and display space, while accommodating two different living arrangements - two parties working together and living separately, or both parties living and working together.

Three levels, including the basement, were necessary to accommodate this flexible living scenario with two separate entrances, with the ultimate challenge being the provision of ample natural light into all spaces.

A hung structure allowed the sunken lower floor to be free of obstructions, and therefore allowed the maximum possible amount of light to penetrate the space.  This structural system also provided enough flexibility for light to penetrate the space through a series of setbacks and reveals.

Sonia Ramundi is currently in her thesis semester at the Daniel's Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto.  She holds an Honours B.A.  from the same institution with a double major in Architecture and Fine Art History, and a minor in Visual Studies.  Sonia's work explores the intersection between art, architecture and landscape, and investigates issues and possibilities associated with light, material, and decay.

The most recent TedxToronto featured a wide range of speakers discussing topics pertaining to "redefining." Among the speakers was David Miller who had an inspiring speech on redefining citizenship. Miller focused his speech on how the citizens within Toronto can commit to making the kind of city they believe in and how together we can redefine the government to meet those needs.

WHAT: Spacing release party for Summer 2012 issue
WHEN: Tuesday, May 29th, 7:30-midnight
WHERE: Evergreen Brick Works, BMO Atrium
COST: free! (mag costs $5  ///  discount subscriptions at the door)
RSVP: Check out the event listing on Facebook or email us

What would Toronto look like if a disaster hit our city? What would an earthquake do to our buildings? Are tornadoes a part of our future? What about an extended fuel shortage or a drought in the farmlands of Ontario? And what would happen if the CN Tower fell over? The Americans wouldn't invade us for our water — would they?

In Spacing's most cynical and apocalyptic issue ever, our contributors examine all the big, bad scary things that could rock the foundation of Toronto. And what better place to have it than along the edges of the Don River at the Evergreen Brick Works, one of the many places hit hard by floods during Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

Come out to our release party on Tuesday May 29th at the Evergreen Brick Works. We will have prizes to be won in our raffle (Patagonia stuff, movie passes, bike accessories, etc), a handful of disaster themed activities, and a few new merchandise items for sale.

Magazines will arrive in subscribers' mailboxes during the last week of May and into the first week of June. You'll be able to pick up a copy on newsstands starting June 5th.

cover illustration by Steve Murray

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.

Given the complexity and contentiousness of subway network design, it is tempting to think that there might be a science behind network development. An article published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface looks at hundreds of subway systems worldwide and defines some key patterns that the systems share. The paper suggests that networks can be divided into a core and branches, with the core often lying beneath the city’s center and the branches extending outwards. Branches tend to be about twice as long as the width of the core and roughly 20 percent of the stations in the core link two or more lines. (Scientific American)

Image from Fat Panda Productions

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

While Christmas is a long way off, Mayor Rob Ford decided to dangle a shiny bauble in front the eyes of North York and Scarborough voters, pledging during his radio campaign commercial, uh, show, that privatizing garbage collection east of Yonge will be on his to-do list for the 2014 election.

This obvious diversion tactic must be considered in the light of a pair of new polls that offer some key insights into the changing complexion of voter attitudes towards the city’s most vexing problem, which, it must be said, is not garbage.

Last week, Stratcom (whose principals worked on George Smitherman’s mayoral campaign) released a poll showing that Ford’s approval ratings fell sharply in both Scarborough and North York since February. In North York, his numbers plunged from 56 to 40%, while Scarborough’s approval rating dropped from 48 to 41%. Just over a third of Toronto respondents overall felt he is doing a good job — a figure that nudges up against David Miller’s all-time low of 29%, during the garbage strike. (Stratcom’s poll of 954 voters is accurate within 3.2%, 19 times out of 20.)

Voters in those parts of the city, it would be reasonable to surmise, may be growing weary of Ford’s empty and undeliverable transit promises. Indeed, according to a new Environics survey of GTA residents, Ford looks to be on the wrong side of one of the region’s most top-o’-mind concerns: transportation.

The Focus GTA poll results, which Environics generously agreed to share with Spacing Toronto readers, reveal that the number of respondents who cited transportation as the GTA’s single most pressing issue jumped sharply, from 22% to 38% between last fall and this spring. Six in ten found commuting to be stressful or very stressful, although that figure is somewhat smaller (52%) within the 416. (Environics’ results are based on 1,436 responses to an online survey.)

The stressed-out commuter story isn’t new or surprising. But the Focus GTA survey also begins to add texture to the picture of how chronic gridlock — and the associated lack of investment in transit — affects health, commerce and travel habits.

For example, the poll showed that a growing number of Torontonians feel they are spending too much time commuting to maintain a healthy lifestyle. And almost 40% have changed their shopping patterns specifically to avoid traffic (a result that doesn’t necessarily favour downtown retailers).

Others still are altering their commuting habits, with a fifth of Toronto respondents choosing to walk or ride to work more frequently. Environics also found that 18% are driving less frequently because of traffic headaches.

These numbers strongly suggest that driver irritation is beginning to lead to demonstrable changes in travel behaviour — a crucial finding that builds on other well-documented trends, such as ever increasing rush-hour crowds on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line due to boardings at north-end stations. What’s more, the growth in condo starts, and the associated decline in housing starts, suggest that more people who move to Greater Toronto are willing to locate in more urbanized areas rather than in car-dependent subdivisions built on the periphery.

To my eye, these results indicate pent-up demand for better transit in those parts of the city-region that aren’t well served by the same.

The political architecture of the question of how to deliver more and better transit is well known: Metrolinx is investing heavily in LRTs (Toronto), BRTs (Mississauga and York Region) and an expansion of GO, while the TTC’s Spadina extension up to Vaughan is well underway. But tens of billions in new transit infrastructure is needed to accommodate future GTA population growth, and the province has yet to signal how it plans to raise the cash.

In April, Spacing reported that 74% of Environics respondents supported an Los Angeles-style regional sales tax to fund transit and road improvements. In the Focus GTA survey, Environics asked its respondents to rank various funding tools. In Toronto, 41% supported a parking tax, while 31% of all GTA residents backed a vehicle registration tax (that’s the levy that Ford jettisoned immediately upon taking office). While those numbers are still a long way from majority territory, fully 71% approved of one or more funding tools.

According to Environics analyst Darren Karasiuk, these numbers indicate a clear change in public opinion compared to last year, when most respondents said they felt governments had enough money and didn’t much care for new levies or taxes. But the March transit showdown between the Fords and the Stintz 26 was a gamechanger in every way, resulting in a discernible shift in public attitudes towards earmarked taxes (including tolls) for transit investment. “We’ve grown up as a city,” says Karasiuk. “Many cities have road pricing system in place. World class cities cost something to build. They don’t come free.”

What the Stratcom and Environics polls say to me is that a growing number of voters across the GTA are waking up from the magical-thinking politics of 2010 and 2011, and have begun to realize that the Ford solution is no solution at all.


Postscript: Speaking of congestion, news reports over the weekend of massive crowding at the Toronto ferry docks raises, yet again, a question I’ve posed previously in this space: why isn’t there a fixed pedestrian link to the Toronto Islands? The ferry service is an antiquated municipal monopoly that impedes access to one of the city’s pre-eminent public spaces.

Yes, the views from the ship are gorgeous. But if connectivity is the sine qua non of urban living, why can’t we come up with other ways to get to the island? A fixed link over the eastern gap? Or, perhaps, an extension to the passageway now being built to Toronto Billy Bishop Airport that would allow cyclists and pedestrians to safely reach the western end of the island? After all, we are paying for that tunnel.

Just asking…

photo by Michael Gil

CP STRIKE
• GO Transit disruptions possible if CP Rail strike takes place [Toronto Star]
• CP strike would disrupt Milton GO service [The Sun]

BUILDINGS
• Hume: Is Toronto having a mid-rise crisis? [Toronto Star]
• Neighbours ‘going to war’ over plans for University of Toronto residence [Globe and Mail]
• Affordable housing: It’s not just for government anymore, roundtable report says [Toronto Star]

STREETS
• The Fixer: Someone needs to draw the lines on Sherbourne St. for pedestrians, drivers [Toronto Star]
• Cabbies gripe about T.O.'s streets [The Sun]

OTHER NEWS
• Art of the Danforth: Paintfight turns street into messy human canvas [Toronto Star]
• Portraits of a PaintFight [National Post]
• Environment minister’s office urged bureaucrats to blame media for recycling controversy [National Post]
• Past Pieces of Toronto: The Mynah Bird [Open File]

Street Scene will appear each week showcasing the illustrations of local artist
Jerry Waese.

GARBAGE
• Ford makes trash collection promise [The Sun]
• Mayor Rob Ford won’t outsource garbage collection east of Yonge this term [Toronto Star]

FORD
• James: Can Ford burn on or will he burn out? [Toronto Star]

CASINO
• Architect Hendrik Op’t Root on Toronto casino plans: If you build it, it better be grand [National Post]
• Gambling on the waterfront: Casinos around the world that could serve as inspiration for Toronto [National Post]
• Kelly McParland: Casino dream has visions of Las Vegas dancing in Toronto heads [National Post]

JAMIE BELL
• Mike Holmes lends a hand to rebuild High Park playground that was torched in March [National Post]
• Mike Holmes to rebuild High Park playground’s wooden castle [Globe and Mail]
• How the Jamile Bell Adventure Playground will be rebuilt [Open File]

OTHER NEWS
• U of T and its neighbours in conflict over secrecy surrounding planned highrise residence [Toronto Star]
• Toronto councillor looks into bid for Expo 2025 [Toronto Star]
• Councillor wants Expo 2025 in Toronto [Globe and Mail]
• 300-unit YWCA residence opening for low-income women [Globe and Mail]
• How the Toronto Islands came to be [Open File]
• Levy: Putting the TTC on the right track [The Sun]

People have jobs. The "slum" we discussed last week has begun to come around and seemingly, it was an easy fix. This particular neighborhood had a couple bus stops, usually with only a 30% usage. But after noticing a few empty corners with no bus shelters or transit, we added a few more. That worked. Within a couple sim days the no jobs logos disapeared and transit boosted its use to something we now don't know how to handle.

The photo above shows a neighborhood corner in Spacington- our slum neighborhood from last week -with one of the new bus stations. This station since its beginning has had usage of about 134% and seen 1340 Sims in and out its doors in just one month. More than it can handle, more than we know how to handle -there is already stations of almost every corner.

Needless to stay, the bus and slum problems we used to know aren't really problems anymore. So then what's next?

For next week: What if we did subways? Just what if?

Spacington: Want to see previous posts about Spacington? Click on the "Sim City: Spacington" link in the "RELATED" box just below.

Keep up on the action and follow Spacington on Twitter.

Hi Spacing readers. I'm pleased to announced that while continuing write and edit Spacing things, I've just started a new weekly column over at the Toronto Star exploring how and where we live in the GTA. I'll wander from downtown to wherever the farm fields start (and maybe, once in a while, hang out there too). The first one went up today, looking at Mississauga City Centre. Thanks for coming along for the walk all these years.

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.

Booooooom.com has a great collection of unique and colourful Japanese manhole covers.

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

Street Scene will appear each week showcasing the illustrations of local artist
Jerry Waese.

CITY HALL
• Environmental advocate chastises council’s record [The Sun]
• Toronto gets good credit report from Moody’s [The Sun]

TRANSIT
• Is the TTC’s expansion plan absurdly expensive? Depends on who you ask [Open File]
• TTC driver faces careless driving charges after nine passengers sent to hospital [National Post]

G20
• Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair must own up to G20 mistakes or step down [The Star]
• Toronto police officers face charges over G20 misconduct [National Post]
• High-ranking and frontline Toronto police officers face charges [The Star]

CASINO
• OLG takes first step in major gambling expansion [CBC]
• OLG eyes 29 "gaming zones" across Ontario [The Sun]
• Vaughan accuses OLG of “throwing darts at a map” [The Sun]

OTHER NEWS
• This canary sings a pretty tune for Toronto [Globe & Mail]
• Lastman Square: A campus quad in the making? [The Star]

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.

If you've dreamed of living in LEGO paradise since you were a child, Dwell has the home for you. In partnership with Pacific Standard Time, the magazine launched a challenge to architects and lego-tects alike to construct a model of an original home inspired by Californian mid-century modern architecture using only using LEGO bricks. The results are well worth checking out.

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

WHAT: All of Spacing's heritage-style t-shirt on sale
WHEN: Monday until Sunday (May 14-20, 2012)
WHERE: on Spacing's e-store
COST: $22 (usually $30) with promo code and includes shipping

We've been having another stretch of great weather and that's put us in the mood for another t-shirt sale! Each of our town heritage shirts display the coat of arms or corporate seal of former towns and villages that have been absorbed into the city of Toronto.

All week, Spacing is offering a special discount on our Toronto Town heritage t-shirts.  You can pick up on for East York, The Junction, and Etobicoke!

Usually, our t-shirts run for $30 each, but we're slashing prices this week: only $22! The Spacing e-store is the only place this t-shirt is available, so we encourage you to act now.

PROMO CODE: If paying by cheque, enter the code after you've confirm your address (the last checkout stage). If you're paying by credit card/PayPal, enter the promo code during the last step once you've confirmed your info and shipping address on PayPal.
• East York promo code: eastyork2012
• Junction promo code: junction2012
• Etobicoke promo code: etobicoke2012

PRICE: This is just a note that the price will remain at $30 throughout the transaction — the discount will be applied once the promo code is entered during the last step of the transaction — Your total cost before taxes will be $22. PLEASE NOTE: If buying multiple t-shirts you have to make separate purchases because the promo code only works on one item per transaction.

SHIPPING: We will be doing mailings peridically through the week via Canada Post Xpresspost. When your order is shipped, you will receive an automated fulfilment email that will include your tracking number. You can always pick the product up at our office too, just let us know by emailing tshirts@spacing.ca.

CITY HALL
• Metro Hall sale won’t net City much: Report [The Sun]

TRANSIT
• Bike plan blazes trails instead of lanes [NOW]
• Gardiner Expressway work will cause years of traffic chaos [The Star]
• Plan to tear down the Gardiner has died [The Sun]

G20
• Blair not yet ready to act on OIPRD G20 findings [The Sun]
• Five key findings of the G20 watchdog report on G20 summit in Toronto [National Post]
• Chief Blair reacts to scathing police watchdog report on G20 police conduct [The Star]

REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT
• Brampton may be ready to play ball—in a new baseball-cricket stadium [The Star]

OTHER NEWS
• Toronto’s Inside Out Film Festival aims to avoid clichés [National Post]
• Pride funding in peril as Queers Against Israeli Apartheid plans to march [Globe & Mail]
• How Toronto is failing when it comes to food access [OpenFile]
• Porter: We should adapt Seattle’s neighbourhood matching grants to Toronto [The Star]
• Strike helped Toronto Public Library’s books [The Sun]

Weird Wednesdays on Urban Planet takes a look at obscure, absurd, and curious things about cities around the world.

It's been in international headlines throughout the past few weeks over false reports that it will be changing its name, but this tiny Austrian hamlet has been "Fucking" (or close to it) since the Dark Ages.

Nestled right near the Austrian-German border, Fucking is home to just over 100 residents. It's credited as being named after  a Bavarian noble named Focko who lived in the area during the 6th century (-ing being an old Germanic suffix meaning "people of"). The first documentation of the settlement was in 1070, when it was called Vucchingen. The next mention, two decades later, was of the local lord, Adalpertus de Fucingin. The name evolved to Fukching in 1303, then Fugkhing in 1532, with the current spelling taking over in the 18th century.

The community got its first international attention during World War II as British and American soldiers had their pictures taken beside the four traffic signs, which simply read "Fucking." British tourists have become very popular in last half century and are notorius for taking lewd photographs and even stealing the signs. The community recently replaced the signs with welded steel and concrete ones to deter theft. While the taxpayers weren't happy with constantly replacing the old (costing €300 each), it did make for some unintentionally funny quotes from local officials:

"We will not stand for the Fucking signs being removed. It may be very amusing for you British, but Fucking is simply Fucking to us. What is this big Fucking joke? It is puerile."

However, it seems the community does also embrace its English meaning. Starting in 2008, Fucking has been home to the Festival of the Fuck Bands, a gathering of similarly-named bands from all over the world.

photo by gemskiii

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