[ March 05, 2007 ]
YouTube - 24Hours - Background & Interview to Portage PlaceFeature piece one week before the opening of Portage Place.
gord [3:53 PM]
[ August 10, 2006 ]
Sony GPS tracker for photographers: Digital Photography ReviewThis could be very handy for spacially organising photos.gord [2:22 PM]
[ August 09, 2006 ]
The Bridges of Winnipeg An article on the Main/Norwood public participation.gord [8:19 PM]
[ August 02, 2006 ]
Hybrid lanes catch on (finally)!The hybrid lane was proposed as a compromise where a standard bike lane was either physically or politically unwarranted. Now dubbed "sharrows", they seem to be catching on outside of their Denver birthplace.gord [2:50 AM]
[ January 15, 2006 ]
simon hughes [othergallery] With one mixed-media image, Hughes sums up Winnipeg these days.gord [5:01 PM]
[ October 27, 2005 ]
20 Lessons About Smart Growth | Planetizengord [6:28 PM]
[ August 05, 2005 ]
What's happening at Emily@McDermot near Health Sciences Centre?
This 1914 building was demolished this week. I don't know why. There are no signs indicating what will replace it.
gord [2:04 AM]
[ May 30, 2005 ]
PLANETIZEN: News > The dark side of GIS's origins A new book traces early GIS concepts to the Nazis and US Defence Department.gord [10:59 PM]
[ May 07, 2005 ]
The Glidehouse is a pre-fab updating of the Eichler Home that is famous for its clean modern lines and interior courtyard. Eichelr himself was inspired to mass produce houses along the lines of the Wright Usonian. Pehaps not the most practical in Manitoba, but pretty cool nonetheless.gord [9:58 PM]
[ April 04, 2005 ]
Winnipeg | WCities Check out the pic of Winnipeg on this tourist site. It captures the essense of the Peg perfectly! ;-)gord [8:56 PM]
[ January 22, 2005 ]
The Narrow Base of the New Urbanists Michael Pyatok slams the New Urbanists for their white-middle aged-male view of urban design, and their emphasis on physical design over all other factors that make a community work.gord [1:20 PM] System 21[tm] Monobeam A very elegant monorail design that would work well in Winnipeg. It features an elevated guideway that could be installed on major routes within the existing right of way. The single beam guideway enables bi-directional and all-weather service. Its proponents expect a relatively low cost of less than $50M per mile for the completed system, including guideway, stations, power substations, vehicles, maintenance facility and train control.
gord [1:04 PM]
[ January 18, 2005 ]
The Realities of Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy Report Urges Caution on Convention Centers"A new analysis by Heywood Sanders for the Metropolitan Policy Program shows that the convention and tradeshow business is ailing, that the decline began even prior to 9-11, and that a large number of new cities are entering the competition for these events. The upshot: As with stadiums and sports teams, state and local leaders should think carefully before making big bets on these facilities. Simultaneously, they should consider other options for scarce public funds, such as attracting and increasing residential life and 24-hour activity in business areas."
gord [9:04 PM]
[ November 18, 2004 ]
Do Ballparks Really Spur Revitalization? The literature on arenas/stadia shows an almost even split between success and failure as far as local revitalization goes. This article looks at a success in Denver and a failure in Seattle.gord [11:04 PM]
[ November 11, 2004 ]
Projet Montréal A new municipal political party based on sustainable urbanismgord [4:14 PM]
[ November 07, 2004 ]
Characteristics of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for Decision Making This report "was prepared to provide transportation planners and decision makers with basic information and data to support the development and evaluation of bus rapid transit concepts as one of many options during alternatives analyses and subsequent project planning. This report provides information on BRT systems in a single, easy to use reference tool for transportation planners in selecting from the large array of BRT elements and integrating them into comprehensive systems."gord [3:39 PM]
[ October 18, 2004 ]
(Winnipeg) Councillors Guide to Civic Administration A very nice summary of the City of Winnipeg's "planning framework" and departments. Includes the names and reporting structure of upper management.gord [11:00 AM]
[ October 14, 2004 ]
PLANETIZEN: News >Insurance fees kill Safe Routes to School programsgord [9:42 AM]
[ October 05, 2004 ]
theboxtank A cheeky blog about Wal*Mart and other features of the retail landscape.gord [2:22 AM]
[ July 06, 2004 ]
Trying to be hip won't save citiesA reality check from Joel Kotkin.gord [5:10 PM]
[ June 19, 2004 ]
How anarchists came to embrace regulations "What's remarkable about the urban planning of Burning Man is how this social experiment illuminates what is essential about what we need to live together. Do we need money? Maybe not as much as we think we do. But do we need roads -- oh, yes. In any case, nothing can be left to the whims of freedom. Safety requires control, giant groups demand intelligent design and culture thrives in smaller tribes. Form must bend to function, but function is elevated by beauty. And perhaps most enlightening is what is learned as a result of the continual remaking of this temporary city, allowing Black Rock City's urban planners to experiment with creating the perfect city."gord [2:34 PM]
[ June 10, 2004 ]
Top Planning Web Sites: The 50 best planning and development websites according to Planetizen."gord [12:10 PM]
[ June 02, 2004 ]
Citing Electronic Sources: A Bibliography from Library and Archives Canadagord [1:34 AM]
[ May 05, 2004 ]
Safeway's Portland Store Redefines Green Grocer This Safeway in Portland has apartments above, underground parking, and is applying for LEED certification as a "green building"!gord [11:42 PM] Place Branding A timely article, since the Province currently has a committee looking into a brand for Manitoba.
gord [1:39 AM]
[ April 28, 2004 ]
Project for Public Spaces (PPS) - Placemaking for Communities - The Pantheon of Placemakers: "PPS's new 'Placemaker Profiles' highlight visionaries who have inspired the placemaking movement."gord [1:25 AM]
[ April 15, 2004 ]
A Review of the Fiscal and Competitive Advantages of Smarter Growth Development Patterns "This paper makes the case that more compact development patterns and investing in projects to improve urban cores would save taxpayers' money and improve regions' overall economic performance. To that end, it relies on a review of the best academic empirical literature to weigh the extent to which a new way of thinking about growth and development can benefit governments, businesses, and regions during these fiscally stressed times." (From The Brookings Institution)gord [11:21 PM]
[ April 08, 2004 ]
Canada Lands Company wins brownfield award for the Moncton Shops project. This agency may potentially be redeveloping the Kapyong Barracks site on Kenaston Blvd.gord [1:11 PM]
[ March 01, 2004 ]
Chris Alexander's 15 Rules for Good Formgord [1:27 PM]
[ September 15, 2003 ]
GeoConnections: "GeoConnections is a national partnership initiative working to build the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI), which will make Canada's geospatial databases, tools and services readily accessible on-line."gord [12:06 AM]
[ August 26, 2003 ]
MIT OpenCourseWare | Urban Studies and Planning MIT Urban Studies and Planning courses on-line. It is just the PowerPoint presentations though.gord [10:38 PM]
[ August 22, 2003 ]
Zip & Jaz Drive Click DeathIf you use a ZIP drive (and you will in City Planning) you should read this.gord [1:52 AM]
[ August 13, 2003 ]
Geospatial Solutions - Simulating Urban Growth on the Web: "To help manage urban growth at the community level, Kent State University's AGL developed a GIS-based, community-accessible urban sprawl impact assessment tool for a 15-county region in Ohio. "gord [10:04 PM]
[ August 01, 2003 ]
Where Canadians work and how they get there: Commuter data from the 2001 Censusgord [3:35 PM]
[ July 21, 2003 ]
The Waterfront Center: "The Waterfront Center, a non-profit education and urban planning organization, was formed in 1981 in the belief that waterfronts -- where the land meets the ocean, bay, lake, river or canal -- are unique, finite resources. Like the cities they help define, urban waterfronts are dynamic places, undergoing profound change. Waterfronts often represent the best opportunity for community enhancement and enrichment."gord [2:08 PM]
[ July 12, 2003 ]
ArcExplorer -- Free GIS Browser "ArcExplorer 4.0.1 is a complete, easy-to-use GIS data viewer that displays and queries locally stored GIS data as well as MapServices from ArcIMS. ....[it] is absolutely free!" This is a big improvement over version 3.1. It isn't ArcView, but at least you can now do things like select by buffer and query the database.gord [7:15 PM]
[ June 26, 2003 ]
The Pristine Myth Were the Americas dotted with cities and towns and the land extensively cultivated before the arrival of Columbus?gord [12:45 PM]
[ May 30, 2003 ]
Capital Region - Bibliographygord [12:11 PM] Compendium of Winnipeg Planning Literature
"This bibliography compiled in 1996, is a compilation of planning-related literature focused on the City of Winnipeg. The 16 sections of this document included: Community/ Neighbourhood Planning; Downtown Planning; the Forks/ East Yards; Heritage/ Conservation Planning; Housing; Land Use/ Zoning; North Portage Redevelopment; Parks/ Recreation/ Open-Space/ Riverbends; Sustainable/ Fringe Development; Transportation Planning; Urban Design; Winnipeg Chinatown; the Winnipeg Core Area Initiative (WCAI); the Winnipeg Development Agreement (WDA); Social Planning; and General Information."
gord [11:58 AM]
[ May 21, 2003 ]
Downtown Winnipeg Environmental Journal Holdings Searching for an enviro journal? THis page lists the holdings of the libraries of 4 Winnipeg environmental organisations: ACML Alice Chambers Memorial Library (Mb EcoNet), C&EL Conservation and Environment Library, CIER Center for Indigenous Environmental Resources, IISD International Institute for Sustainable Developmentgord [1:16 PM]
[ April 11, 2003 ]
Fehr & Peers Publication Set Looks like there might be some good transportation reports here.gord [3:37 AM] Exploiting GIS for Sketch Planning
gord [2:57 AM]
[ April 08, 2003 ]
Community Planning Handbook The on-line version of Nick Wates' classic Community Planning Handbook on public participation methods! gord [7:27 PM] Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) "The Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database is the world's largest and most comprehensive bibliographic resource on transportation information. TRIS contains over 535,000 records of published and ongoing research on all modes and disciplines in the field of transportation. Last year over 30,000 new records were added to TRIS."
gord [2:45 PM]
[ March 30, 2003 ]
Quotations about "change"gord [8:32 PM]
[ March 27, 2003 ]
Segway Initiates Community Study of Segway Riders "MANCHESTER, N.H. - January 28, 2003 — Segway LLC announced today that it is beginning a community study to observe the impact and benefits resulting from a concentrated number of people using Segway™ Human Transporters (HTs). During the yearlong study, which begins on February 1, 2003 in Celebration, Florida, Segway will observe how and when people use their Segway HTs to commute to work, improve their mobility and how riders interact with their community and neighbors."gord [9:50 AM]
[ March 25, 2003 ]
Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits Check out the Free Management Library, an excellent resource to help organisations get organised!gord [1:35 AM]
[ March 09, 2003 ]
A NEW ERA FOR Affordable Housing Includes a project by Michael Pyatok.gord [1:11 PM]
[ March 04, 2003 ]
Welcome to Great Streets! "The purpose of this site is to provide useful images for local advocates of good design who want to make a difference in their community."gord [4:58 AM]
[ March 01, 2003 ]
.: THE NEXT AMERICAN CITY :. "A new magazine by a new generation of urban leaders and thinkers that takes on the challenging question of how cities, through design, policy, and entrepreneurship, can remain economically competitive while addressing critical environmental and social issues."gord [1:58 PM]
[ February 28, 2003 ]
Winnipeg Capital Region - Bibliographygord [1:28 PM]
[ February 13, 2003 ]
Michael Pyatok - Publications Affordable housing expert, architect Michael Pyatok's articles critical of New Urbanism and "internally subsidized" affordable housing.gord [11:41 PM]
[ February 01, 2003 ]
The Realities of New Urbanism in Canada "New urbanist-inspired approaches to suburban development are common in contemporary Canada. Suburbs influenced by new urbanism and featuring modified grid layouts, narrow streets, small lots and limited street setbacks are increasingly common. "Traditional" houses with front porches and pitched roofs are proliferating across the landscape. The new urbanist model has promoted new values: reduced car usage, well-designed public spaces, "eyes on the street" and urban diversity. It hoped to become a town-centred, anti-suburban approach. Beyond the superficial architectural details, however, are the new urbanist goals of equity, environmental protection and economic efficiency being achieved? Is new urbanism "re-urbanizing" the city, or simply creating cuter cookie-cutter suburbs? Is it creating sustainable development?"gord [4:14 AM]
[ January 28, 2003 ]
The Narrow Base of the New Urbanists A critical look at the New Urbanists. "It is interesting to note that CNU’s founders (who remain its leaders today) share certain characteristics–their ages narrowly range between forty-five and fifty-five, all are white and nearly all are men except for two women architects related by marriage to two of the men. Also, nearly all are architects. For a movement that has proclaimed itself to be the savior of all things wrong with North American suburban and urban living, this is certainly a narrow base from which to launch such a crusade. This narrow cultural perspective has limited the organization’s ability, almost from its inception, to frame issues about and propose solutions for North American development patterns."gord [3:07 PM]
[ January 26, 2003 ]
IT and Environment Initiative Think that the IT industry is environmentally benign? "Recent research estimates that production and use of 1 2-gram memory chip requires 1.7 kg of fossil fuels and chemicals."gord [10:54 AM]
[ January 14, 2003 ]
City of Winnipeg Charter The Charter replaces the City of Winnipeg Act. It is supposed to grant the City more authority.gord [10:03 PM]
[ December 05, 2002 ]
APA Style for Referencing Electronic Citations "The following is excerpted from the new 5th edition of the Publication Manual. The material provided covers commonly asked questions regarding how to cite electronic media."gord [8:31 PM]
[ November 26, 2002 ]
Statutes of Manitoba Know them, love them. Get your Municipal and Planning Acts here! These are in HTML. I sure wish I could find them in PDF (I have the Planning Act in PDF so I know they exist somewhere).gord [2:48 AM]
[ November 24, 2002 ]
Book Reviews "We read a lot of books about cities, regions, economic development, demographics and leadership at Civic Strategies. Here are some we're excited about."gord [3:14 PM]
[ November 17, 2002 ]
Ken Wilber runs an Internet Service Provider! (ISP) "Switch now and Save the Earth while you Surf!"gord [10:35 PM]
[ November 06, 2002 ]
Reis.com: Wal-Mart: We Are the World, We Are Your Landlord "the real storyline unfolding in Wal-Mart's growing hegemony is about its real estate prowess, not its role as fashion muse. The late Neiman Marcus czar, Stanley Marcus, can now rest in peace. Wal-Mart already rings up substantial annual sales in apparel. However, Wal-Mart's aspiration is not to become the next "fashionista", but the next biggest landlord in the world. This was Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton's original vision (as outlined in Sam's autobiography "Made in America"). Sam viewed Wal-Mart as being in the business of moving goods. To do so required stores and shelves, not to mention manageable aisles and parking lots. These would prove to be the company's primo assets that would be leased and released to suppliers (a model based on the supermarket). Wal-Mart would pay low rents to the landlord and charge suppliers a hefty premium for a corner aisle. This real estate strategy was better than all the risk-limiting "straddle and butterfly" options that hedge funds have thought up. All upside, no downside. Just ask Procter & Gamble, or the average REIT."gord [2:19 AM]
[ October 28, 2002 ]
Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation "The newest primer in the ongoing series from the Smart Growth Network and International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The publication serves as a roadmap for states and communities that have recognized the need for smart growth, but are unclear on how to achieve it."gord [8:42 PM] Smart Communities Network: Land Use Codes/Ordinances Land Use Codes/Ordinances
gord [8:16 PM]
[ October 22, 2002 ]
Conf on Public Participation GIS "Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) refers to a range of topics raised by the intersection of community interests and GIS technology. The PPGIS Congress will bring together participants with a rich diversity of experiences that include citizens and citizens groups, public officials, administrators, technicians, planners, librarians, policy scientists, and researchers. Speakers will present on issues that range from urban neighborhoods to indigenous people, developing nations, environmental organizations, and virtual communities."gord [3:22 PM]
[ October 13, 2002 ]
Municipal Art Society "The Municipal Art Society is a private, non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote a more livable city. Since 1893, the Society has worked to enrich the culture, neighborhoods and physical design of New York City. It advocates excellence in urban design and planning, contemporary architecture, historic preservation and public art."Winnipeg could use an organisation like this!
gord [7:57 AM]
[ September 29, 2002 ]
Urban Ecosystem and Human Health by Trevor Hancock "Human health is ultimately dependent on the health of the planet and of the natural ecosystems within which we live. But since we now spend most of our time in human-created ecosystems that we call cities and towns, which have both physical and social dimensions, our health is also significantly dependent upon the health of those urban ecosystems. We need to learn how to manage our urban settlements as ecosystems in ways that will enhance both human health and the health of natural ecosystems."gord [2:24 PM]
[ September 16, 2002 ]
City of Winnipeg : City Clerk's Department : Consolidated By-Lawsgord [3:35 AM] The Fountain Gallery Some decent looking indoor fountains and waterfalls.
gord [2:51 AM] More Indoor Fountains than you can shake a stick at!
gord [2:02 AM]
[ September 14, 2002 ]
Strunk, William, Jr. 1918. The Elements of Style The 1st edition of Strunk is on-line. "Asserting that one must first know the rules to break them, this classic reference book is a must-have for any student and conscientious writer. Intended for use in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature, it gives in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style and concentrates attention on the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated." The 4th edition has just been published recently.gord [9:50 PM]
[ September 03, 2002 ]
Learning from Copenhagen Jan Gehl talks about the making of Copenhagen and other cities into people-friendly places.gord [6:33 PM]
[ September 01, 2002 ]
ZVA ONLINE "Zimmerman/Volk Associates, Inc. has a national reputation for innovative market analysis based on its proprietary target market methodology. The It specializes in the analysis of compact and sustainable development; mixed-income, mixed-tenure redevelopment; mixed-use urban revitalization; traditional neighborhood developments; and integrated-use master-planned communities."gord [10:03 PM]
[ August 31, 2002 ]
Smart City: Home "Smart City is a weekly, hour-long public radio talk show that takes an in-depth look at urban life, the people, places, ideas and trends shaping cities. Host Carol Coletta talks with national and international public policy experts, elected officials, economists, business leaders, artists, developers, planners and others for a penetrating discussion of urban issues." Shows are archived.gord [1:46 PM]
[ August 29, 2002 ]
GIS Map of Winnipeg and Southern Manitoba This site was constructed for flood management, but the extensive layer list may find many other uses. Layers include: Buildings, Contours, Cultural Features, Culverts, Emergency Response Infrastructure, Historic Sites, Hydrography, Hydrometric Stations, Landuse, Lidar (Elevation) , Lidar (Extent), Pads and Dikes, Populated Places, Quarter Sections, Rivers and Lakes, Road, Rural Municiplities, Spot Elevations, Transportation, Utilities, Vegetation, Winnipeggord [4:48 PM]
[ August 26, 2002 ]
Garage-first houses banned in Sacramento and Portland "In proposing the new set of standards, city officials say they're aiming for more neighborly, safe developments. Critics of the L-shaped-style house say it creates an isolating streetscape in which people come and go largely by car and nobody watches what's happening outside. "Garages tend to replace active living spaces, like front porches and windows, that would provide views to the street," said Jim McDonald, a senior planner for the city.Former Portland city commissioner Charlie Hales, who led that city's push to ban garage-dominated houses, put it more bluntly. "There's no way to nice this up; those buildings are hostile to community life," he said.
gord [9:38 PM] PLANETIZEN: Announce > Announcement Invitation To Submit an Editorial to PLANetizen
gord [9:34 PM]
[ August 23, 2002 ]
Students for Sustainability U of Manitoba student group. "Through community outreach initiatives and the efforts of University students, we are committed to the promotion of environmental and ecological sustainability in Manitoba."gord [12:50 AM]
[ August 21, 2002 ]
3rd Annual Manitoba Summer Institute on Population Health Promotion "Building Supportive and Influential Communities: Public Policy, Community Development and Population Health Promotion"gord [4:56 PM] PLANETIZEN: Top Sites Planetizen's choices (from a US perspective).
gord [11:07 AM]
[ August 17, 2002 ]
Earthship Biotecture Solar Affordadable Housing "The Earthship has been designed to reduce our impact on the planet and increase our connection to it by utilizing recycled and low embodied energy materials, passive solar heating and cooling, photovoltaic power system, catchwater, solar hot water, gray water and black water treatment systems."gord [8:31 AM]
[ August 08, 2002 ]
BedZed: Sustainable Housing "BedZED, the Beddington Zero Energy Development, is an environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient mix of housing and work space in Beddington, Sutton.gord [3:31 AM]
[ August 07, 2002 ]
City of Winnipeg : Maps Available "The Land Information Services Branch manages the creation, maintenance, and distribution of digital land information in both graphical and tabular formats. This includes data for three corporate information systems, the property parcel database, the street centre line database and the property address database, as well as numerous other departmental layers of data such as zoning parcels and city owned land parcels.Maps and land related information are provided to customers to assist them in performing their professional duties in a variety of industries such as real estate, surveying, cartography, travel, engineering, environmental management, facilities management or public utilities, public service, education, health, and safety.
Included is a brief listing of the types of data maintained by the Branch."
gord [5:51 PM]
[ July 21, 2002 ]
Houston Wet "a web documentary about the city of Houston, a subdivision that sunk, the flag on the moon . . .and how we're building on Earth."gord [1:13 PM]
[ July 17, 2002 ]
AIA/COTE SELECTS TOP TEN GREEN PROJECTS "In recognition of Earth Day, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) selected its annual Top Ten "Green" Projects, 10 examples of architectural design solutions that protect and enhance the environment."gord [1:32 PM]
[ July 10, 2002 ]
BLM - LSI Homepage "The Land Survey Information (LSI) Web site contains a collection of geographic information from the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Geographic Coordinate Data Base (GCDB) representing the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) of the United States. The Land Survey information is available to download free of charge. The GCDB grid is computed from BLM survey records (official plats and field notes), local survey records, and geodetic control information."gord [1:55 PM]
[ July 06, 2002 ]
Utilitarianism's bad breath? A re-evaluation of the public interest justification for planning "The purpose of this article is to explore the 'public interest' justification of planning and whether it has outlived its usefulness in an increasingly fragmented society. Following an introduction, the argument is presented in three stages. First, we explore the concept of 'interests' in the modern period. Second, we consider the way in which the 'public interest' has been regarded in the planning literature. Third, an evaluative framework is established which distinguishes deontological as well as consequentialist conceptualizations of the public interest through which we seek to demonstrate that it remains the pivot around which debates concerning the role and purpose of planning must revolve."gord [3:12 PM]
[ July 05, 2002 ]
The New Century’s Boom in Planning School Enrollments (PLANETIZEN: Op-Ed) "As we move into the 21st century, planning schools nation-wide are experiencing a profound boom in applications for their graduate professional degrees in urban planning. Many of the schools are hard-pressed to cope and have been forced to cap their enrollments at levels dictated by limitations of room capacities or available faculty."gord [1:56 PM]
[ July 02, 2002 ]
Infiltration: the zine about going places you're not supposed to go "Infiltration offers a mix of the practice and theory of urban exploration in areas not designed for public usage." Focus is on Toronto.gord [8:44 PM]
[ June 13, 2002 ]
Urban renaissance / Shops, restaurants, parks grow up around Caltrain stationsgord [1:27 PM]
[ June 11, 2002 ]
Sustainable Community Planning at CMHC CMHC has some reports on "sustainable" urban form. Includes some case studies and reports on regulatory impediments.gord [3:07 PM]
[ May 29, 2002 ]
The Postmodernism Generator Communications from elsewhere. The title says it all.gord [9:17 PM]
[ May 09, 2002 ]
PLANETIZEN: Op-Ed > The Segway: A Pedestrian Friend or Foe? "What are the major planning issues involved in the use of the Segway, and should motorized transporters be allowed on sidewalks?"gord [1:27 PM]
[ May 06, 2002 ]
The Interim Report of the Prime Minister’s Caucus TaskForce on Urban Issues "Building on existing federal government partnership programs, the Task Force recommends three priority initiatives to be the initial building blocks for the Strategy: a national affordable housing program; a national infrastructure program; and a national transportation program."gord [12:39 AM]
[ April 24, 2002 ]
And the Winners Are: 18 Projects Honored with Congress for the New Urbanism's Second Annual Charter Awards "In mid-March, a distinguished jury spent a weekend perusing more than 200 submissions from over 170 firms to select winners of the Congress for the New Urbanism's second annual Charter Awards. The 18 projects chosen represent the best in New Urbanist practice and all scales of development and planning, from individual blocks and buildings to neighborhoods and regional plans. Surprisingly, all of the award winners are infill projects."gord [1:56 PM] OrlandoSentinel.com: Central Florida News Austin's rebirth
gord [1:42 PM]
[ April 23, 2002 ]
Partners for Livable Communities Home Page "A non-profit organization committed to improving community well-being through economic development, social equity, amenity assets and quality of life."gord [3:07 PM]
[ April 18, 2002 ]
the National Charrette Institute "The National Charrette Institute is a non-profit educational institution, committed to teaching professionals the theory and practice of facilitating public planning Charrettes and sharing with them the lessons learned from hundreds of successful Charrettes."gord [2:30 PM]
[ April 16, 2002 ]
Canadian Cohousing Network "The Canadian Cohousing Network (CCN) is a non-profit organization that promotes the creation of cohousing communities as a model for sustainable development by raising public awareness about cohousing and by bringing people together to form communities."gord [5:41 PM]
[ April 12, 2002 ]
Mercury News | 03/27/2002 | Recession eases South Bay commute "Traffic jams eased by 32 percent last year on Santa Clara County freeways, the biggest one-year decline in nearly a decade and an indication of how hard the recession has hit the South Bay."Many have said that the information age will mean less congestion on our roads. This news story appears to contradict that assumption.
gord [4:04 PM] The Hubbert Peak of Oil Production "Named after the late Dr. M. King Hubbert, Geophysicist, this website provides data, analysis and recommendations regarding the upcoming peak in the rate of global oil extraction."
gord [3:56 PM]
[ April 11, 2002 ]
APA Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook "States and their local governments now have new practical tools available to help combat urban sprawl, protect farmland, promote affordable housing, and encourage redevelopment." This work provides model legislation in all areas of land use regulation. Theh Guidebook and User Manual are available as PDF downloads.gord [7:13 PM] Growth Without Growth: An Alternative Economic Development Goal For Metropolitan Areas A February 2002 report for Brookings by Paul D. Gottlieb.
"Some argue that population growth is not an appropriate indicator of the economic health of metropolitan areas since negative effects such as increased traffic congestion, rising home prices and loss of open space are often associated with such growth. Per capita income growth may be closer to policy makers' true goal: to improve the economic welfare of its constituents. This thought paper examines whether it is possible for metropolitan areas to "grow without growth" -- increase per-capita income without expanding population. It analyzes long-term population and per capita income growth trends in the 100 largest metropolitan areas, categorizes these metro areas by their ability to achieve income growth without adding more people, and determines policy implications for regional economic development strategies."
gord [2:43 PM]
[ April 08, 2002 ]
TIME.com: How Much Is A Living Wage? "Driving the movement [for a Living Wage] is new evidence that may dispel early fears that the social benefit from higher wages would be wiped out by job cutbacks among businesses subject to the living-wage laws. Last month a study of 36 cities with living-wage laws ... found that the slight job losses caused by the higher wages are more than offset by the decrease in poverty among working families. "The impact on businesses and governments is very small," says Robert Pollin, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "If there were any evidence otherwise, it would have shut down the living-wage movement a long time ago."gord [10:47 PM] A Pedestrian Pocket in Calgary? "This site visits one of Calgary’s newest development communities. Located in northeast Calgary, The Colonial is designed to entice and cultivate a feeling of community."
gord [11:50 AM]
[ April 06, 2002 ]
The Gentry, Misjudged as Neighbors [free password required]"Gentrification does not cause an exodus of the poor and the working class, according to a study in New York and another in Boston. Just the opposite happens: people with relatively little income and education become more likely to stick around. The rate of turnover declines, apparently because people don't like to leave a neighborhood when it's improving."
gord [8:04 PM] The Paradox of Infrasructure Investment
This article illuminates how infrastructure aimed at developing greenfield sites undermines a city's productivity.
gord [7:05 PM]
[ April 04, 2002 ]
Downtown Research & Development Center – urban and economic revitalization, business and Main Street improvement The Downtown Research & Development Center publications focus on downtown development and revitalization, including urban and economic development, Main Street programs, business improvement districts and the marketing and promotion of downtowns.gord [1:43 PM]
[ March 29, 2002 ]
GeoGratis Mission statementTo provide free Canadian Geospatial data for educational and research purposes.
gord [3:46 PM] The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit "Now, as for centuries, tourists behold those ruins with awe and wonder. Yet today, a vast and history laden ruin site passes unnoticed, even despised, into oblivion.
"Come, travel with me, as I guide you on a tour through the fabulous and vanishing ruins of my beloved Detroit."
gord [12:36 PM]
[ March 05, 2002 ]
Planning the Post-Sprawl Era: Proceedings of the Conference 2001gord [9:56 AM]
[ February 12, 2002 ]
On Blogs "Web journals by pros are a font of insight."gord [12:55 AM]
[ January 17, 2002 ]
National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure "The National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure: Innovations and Best Practices is a project funded under the Infrastructure Canada Program and implemented by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) in partnership with the National Research Council (NRC). The total project over four years is estimated to cost $25,700,000. FCM will contribute to the project, through in-kind contributions from public and private stakeholders, work that is estimated at $10,700,000. NRC will contribute to the project $2,500,000. Treasury Board Secretariat, through the Infrastructure Canada program, will contribute $12,500,000 in two phases. The Guide will provide a road map to the best available solutions for addressing municipal infrastructure issues. It will also be the focal point for the Canada-wide network of practitioners, researchers and municipal governments focused on infrastructure operations and maintenance. "Mission: "For the protection and enhancement of quality of life, the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure identifies and disseminates best practices and encourages innovation to support sustainable municipal infrastructure decisions and actions"
gord [2:02 AM] Heritage Canada Announces New Research Report on Environmental Impact of Building Demolitions "Although the link between the preservation of existing building stock and the conservation of natural resources is not widely understood, an awareness of this relationship is critical in achieving our goal of sustainable development in cities and towns across the country."
gord [1:24 AM]
[ January 11, 2002 ]
Land Use and Development "The Department provides planning and development advisory services to local government and its agencies outside the City of Winnipeg."gord [12:19 AM] Provincial Land Use Policies
"The Provincial Land Use Policies, adopted under The Planning Act reflect the Provincial interests in land, resources and infrastructure. The PLUPs serve as a guide to the Provincial and local planning authorities in reviewing and amending land use development plans."
gord [12:18 AM]
[ December 12, 2001 ]
Al Gore and the Creation of the Internet One might see these consequences as the natural - and deserved - outcome of Gore's own exaggeration. There is only one problem with this evaluation. It simply isn't true. Just as Rick never said "Play it again, Sam," in Casablanca, Al Gore never claimed to have "invented the Internet." That simple fact apparently isn't important to the journalists and comedians who repeat the claim.gord [6:42 PM] Back From Chaos - 98.03 "Enlightenment thinkers knew a lot about everything, today's specialists know a lot about a little, and postmodernists doubt that we can know anything at all. One of the century's most important scientists argues, against fashion, that we can know what we need to know, and that we will discover underlying all forms of knowledge a fundamental unity" by Edward O. Wilson
gord [4:54 PM]
[ December 01, 2001 ]
Private car & garden "At October 8th 1999 the Dutch capital Amsterdam made acquaintance with the phenomenon ‘car garden’ (in Dutch: autotuin). On that day, Fokke van Katwijk sawed off the roof of his Toyota Corolla, filled the car with one and a half cubic meters of fatty gardening soil, and subsequently furnished it according to his own taste with all the good stuff garden centres have to offer this season of the year."gord [6:01 PM]
[ November 15, 2001 ]
Spiral Dynamics"Emerging from the original work of Dr. Clare W. Graves' bio-psycho-social systems perspective, SPIRAL DYNAMICS® is a way to think about complex things, both in organizations and individual lives. The framework offers a fresh, powerful, and holistic approach to problem solving, change, and transformations."gord [9:15 PM]
[ November 13, 2001 ]
Malthus' Essay on Population An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it Affects the Future Improvement of Society with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers.gord [12:05 AM]
[ October 31, 2001 ]
Man in Nature: The Fiasco of SuburbiaJames Howard Kunstler
As a public commentator on suburban sprawl issues I've been engaged in a low-grade war of ideas with the environmental community. The fiasco of suburbia, so acute and so damaging to our culture in general, has otherwise intelligent and educated people adopting foolish positions on our national land-use crisis. The most common is the idea that nature is the antidote for problems of bad urbanism.
gord [1:57 AM]
[ October 22, 2001 ]
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) United NationsCentre for Human Settlements (Habitat) - the new URL.
gord [8:10 PM]
[ October 21, 2001 ]
ACHIEVING LIVABLE CITIES - Transportation Association of Canada Today, municipal leaders face the challenge of planning and delivering livable cities with shrinking financial resources. The past half century of unrestrained urban sprawl and auto dependency has led to a host of social, economic and environmental problems in Canadian urban areas. New official planning documents in the 1990s recognize these problems and establish goals to deal with them. The next step is to translate those long term goals into practical, daily decisions and actions.This briefing suggests a way to do that. It proposes a new urban development model, based on eight guiding principles and a process of change. Transportation is a critical element in this new model. Therefore, the briefing also reviews A New Vision for Urban Transportation, first presented by TAC’s Urban Transportation Council in 1993 and widely endorsed since then. Applying the new model to achieve more livable and sustainable cities will not be easy. But the social, economic and environmental benefits to all urban Canadians will be substantial.
gord [12:04 AM]
[ October 18, 2001 ]
Future City Competition"The mission of the National Engineers Week Future City Competition is to provide a fun and exciting educational engineering program for seventh- and eighth-grade students that combines a stimulating engineering challenge with a "hands-on" application to present their vision of a city of the future. "
gord [2:35 AM]
[ October 16, 2001 ]
Master Street Tree Plan - Winnipeggord [9:37 PM] Location Map of Nature Parks - Winnipeg
gord [9:14 PM] Nunatsiaq NewsNews from Nunavut.
gord [4:58 PM]
[ October 11, 2001 ]
UM Architecture/Fine Arts Library - Winnipeg Building Index The Winnipeg Building Index is an ongoing project to identify buildings in Winnipeg and some of the sources of information on these buildings available in the Architecture/Fine ArtsLibrary.
gord [11:45 PM] The Winnipeg Free Press - City may expand Kenaston after base closes, But first nation may get first bid on Kapyong Barracks property YEARS before soldiers vacate Kapyong Barracks, the city already has plans to use land at the site for expanding busy Kenaston Boulevard.
gord [7:35 PM] The Winnipeg Free Press -Gerrard backs bid to save Eaton's LIBERAL leader Jon Gerrard called on Premier Gary Doer to wait a month before dismissing the latest redevelopment proposal for Eaton's, hoping it will be enough time to persuade Doer to rethink tearing down the downtown landmark.
gord [7:34 PM] Penn Station Demolition The demolition of Penn Station in New York some 40 years ago has many parallels to what Winnipeggers are now going through with the Eaton's building.
gord [6:25 AM]
[ October 06, 2001 ]
The Global Change Game The Global Change Game is an award-winning program which educates people about global issues and empowers them to make decisions on these issues. Participants of all ages and backgrounds enjoy a powerful and personal learning experience which provides an enriched global understanding. The Game develops creative problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, negotiation, and leadership skills. It shows the participants how people and resources are distributed in the world, how and why peoples' priorities differ, and how global decisions are -- or can be -- made."gord [10:05 PM]
[ October 01, 2001 ]
Letchworth The First Garden City Virtual Tour , Letchworth's History and Letchworth Nowgord [9:46 PM] Community Transformations - Sierra Club (Photo re-imaging example.)
"What do smart growth and infill development look like? These computer-generated simulations are designed to demonstrate how sprawling communities can be revitalized and made more livable."
These images were prepared by Urban Advantage. Check their site for more examples.
gord [6:42 PM] Child and Youth Friendly Calgary (Michael Gray) "Goal: To lead in providing meaningful opportunities for youth to contribute to our community." Achieving CYFC's goals will mean Creating opportunities for children and youth to participate, volunteer, practice philanthropy and have their voice heard in their community, and Calgary in general; Raising the self-esteem in Calgary's children and youth by encouraging them to understand they have infinite capacity for growth and achievement. ; Enabling youth to be more active and productive citizens by encouraging the charitable and non-profit sectors to welcome youth as volunteers.
gord [6:03 PM]
[ September 30, 2001 ]
The Winnipeg Free Press - Lengthy legal battles force postponement of Eaton's demolition"THE demolition of Eaton's has been postponed until spring, raising doubts about whether the True North Project will be ready in time for the 2003 hockey season."
gord [11:57 AM] Defensible Space - The Book (CPTED)
Concern over high crime rates and deteriorating inner-city neighborhoods
has reawakened interest in Defensible Space, architect Oscar Newman's
groundbreaking physical design approach to crime prevention. Creating
Defensible Space, written by Newman and recently published by HUD's Office
of Policy Development and Research, draws on Newman's experience
carrying out and analyzing "Defensible Space" projects since the early
1970s. This publication provides an expert review of the "Defensible Space"
concept and three step-by-step Case Studies to help communities redesign
neighborhoods for greater safety.
You can download Creating Defensible Space in PDF format
gord [12:23 AM]
[ September 29, 2001 ]
The Center for Universal Design Home page THE source for Universal Designgord [1:52 AM]
[ September 27, 2001 ]
Business Improvement Zones in Winnipeggord [11:24 PM]
[ September 21, 2001 ]
PLANETIZEN: Planning & Development News, Jobs, & Events."PLANetizen is a public-interest information exchange for the urban planning and development community. We provide a daily, one-stop source for urban planning news, job opportunities, commentary and events."
gord [9:21 PM]
[ September 15, 2001 ]
1996 Census Demographic Community ProfilesSome 1996 census data for Winnipeg by district
gord [9:35 PM]
[ September 14, 2001 ]
save the eaton's building coalition (Winnipeg)gord [10:42 PM] City of Winnipeg - Planners and Planning Assistants
A PDF file (dated Oct '99) showing the City's planners and a map of their district of responsibility.
gord [6:57 PM] City of Winnipeg - Planning, Property & Development Department
gord [6:54 PM]
