Many great public spaces have ebbs and flows. Like Nathan Philips Square, and it still works brilliantly, for every + special days. @lavrys
— jennifer keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) March 1, 2014

— jennifer keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) March 1, 2014

Post by Humans of New York.

From ourcitiesourselves.org —10 Principles for Transport in Urban Life

Click image for link to the pdf document http://www.itdp.org/documents/2010-OurCitiesOurselves_Booklet.pdf

From Better! Cities & Towns Online —Housing Shortage or Urbanism Shortage?

Greenwich Village, New York City.  www.http://millefiorifavoriti.blogspot.com

In case you hadn't yet noticed, urban living is pretty hot right now. Preference surveys show time and time again that a strong share of the overall American public would prefer to live in a walkable urban neighborhood than a suburban subdivision which caters only to the automobile. A majority still prefers suburban living, but the minority which craves city living is large and getting larger.

This trend is especially pronounced in younger people, indicating that it will probably be long-lasting. Millennials, the generation born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, have markedly different preferences than previous generations. By and large, they are much more inclined to gravitate toward city living and away from automobiles than their Baby Boomer parents. Many say they'd give up their cars before their computers or cell phones. Read more: Housing shortage or urbanism shortage? | Better! Cities & Towns Online

Vid about Waterloo-Kitchener LRT emphasizes abundance of access, role in a larger network, not just techno-thrill. http://t.co/EIPoLTvDpF

— Jarrett Walker (@humantransit) February 27, 2014

"It took me 40 years to get rid of my education” — Jan Gehl @citiesforpeople

"It took me 40 years to get rid of my education” — Jan Gehl @citiesforpeople http://t.co/1D77L1b4jN

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) February 27, 2014

@CeasingFuzzball Cars flow into infrastructure build for them. Ergo... divert funds away from road building... @LitmanVTPI @citiesforpeople

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) February 22, 2014

The last of the Horse Drawn Carriages, side by side with an electric tram in New York, 1917. By The Brown Brothers. pic.twitter.com/eiaH51pFhx

— Historical Pics (@HistoricalPics) February 26, 2014

From BBC News — Jaywalking: How the Car Industry Outlawed Crossing the Road

The idea of being fined for crossing the road at the wrong place can bemuse foreign visitors to the US, where the origins of so-called jaywalking lie in a propaganda campaign by the motor industry in the 1920s.

The California Vehicle Code states: "No pedestrian shall start crossing in direction of a flashing or steady "DON'T WALK" or upraised hand symbol." It also forbids crossing between controlled intersections, or "jaywalking". Read more: BBC News - Jaywalking: How the car industry outlawed crossing the road

—@lisahelps Science degrees in traffic engineering a “fraud upon students and upon the pubic” —Jane Jacobs Dark Age Ahead @BrentToderian

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) February 25, 2014

Urban Walking is a Legal High —So Why Are Cities Cruel to Pedestrians?

.@Globeandmail "Better crosswalks, more benches, improved sidewalks…require an act of public and political will..." http://t.co/ibpRfO6yWv
— VPSN (@vpsn) February 25, 2014

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

From urbanSCALE.com — The Truth About Traffic Congestion

This post is all about why traffic congestion is a good thing for your city. If you’re looking for advice on how to get rid of the traffic jams that take place every day on your city’s highways, you’re in the wrong place. Here goes… Read more: The Truth About Traffic Congestion - urbanSCALE.com

A city needs anchors. La Bocheria Barcelona: exuberant human interaction & commerce confirm centuries-old tradition pic.twitter.com/j7RLk14uoB

— Sprawl Repair (@SprawlRepairMnl) February 14, 2014

Car trips didn't just "disappear" during the 2010 #Vancouver #Olympics. They switched to walking, biking & transit: pic.twitter.com/Sa0BlJn75b

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 23, 2014

Todd Litman in Planetizen — Do Planners Lead Or Follow?

Todd Litman

To its credit, the California Department of Transportation took a bold step recently by inviting the State Smart Transportation Initiative to perform an assessment of the agency’s performance. The results, published in the just-released report, The California Department of Transportation: SSTI Assessment and Recommendations, is an amazingly honest and insightful review of the organization’s structural problems, and recommendations for improvement. This type of critical assessment is a priceless gift to practitioners ready to embrace change. Read more: Do Planners Lead Or Follow? | Planetizen: The Urban Planning, Design, and Development Network

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Attractive and accessible booklet describes how cities can become more sustainable through better transport planning. http://t.co/lf4gZH7q9T

— Todd Litman (@LitmanVTPI) February 20, 2014

Must-watch — Jan Gehl The Human Scale

Rent it on iTunes - Movies - The Human Scale

From PlaceMakers.com —Zen & The Art of Traffic Calming

In the view of most urbanists, walkability is a measure of how healthy a city is. It essentially describes how safe and how well-planned a city is for pedestrians, which will in turn determine how often citizens interact with their city. There are so many factors that go in to making a city walkable. The factor that I find to be the most important, in pretty much all cases, is how safe the walkways are in terms of traffic. Traffic calming methods become incredibly important when improving an urban space. Read more: Zen & The Art of Traffic Calming | PlaceMakers

From Urban Land Magazine — Keeping an Urban Authenticity Alive: Vancouver's Granville Island

In the early 1970s, Ron Basford, a Canadian Cabinet minister and loyal Vancouverite, seized on the idea of converting Granville Island—a modestly sized pancake barely a half mile (0.8 km) south of the emerging downtown—into a special place. Until the mid—20th century, the island had prospered as an industrial hotbed, jammed with shipyards, metal fabricators, wire rope manufacturers, and warehouses. But with the shift in the post–World War II economy away from industrial production, tenants departed, leaving the island derelict and the remaining structures vulnerable to arson. Read more: Keeping an Urban Authenticity Alive: Vancouver's Granville Island - Urban Land Magazine

Only one speed fits the "Life-Sized City," argues @copenhagenize. pic.twitter.com/BzJsokovdS It's about street design, not just posted speeds.

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 17, 2014

Place Capital: The Shared Wealth that Drives Thriving Communities

Post by Project for Public Spaces.

I have become convinced over my 22+ years of practice that municipal requirements for traffic studies & parking studies are usually a waste.

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 17, 2014

U can’t add ped/bike to car—U can add ped/bike to what you take from car.

U can’t add ped/bike to car—U can add ped/bike to what you take from car. #Nanaimo @spirit_of_urban @G_Anderson1 @LitmanVTPI @BrentToderian
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) February 16, 2014

From Lewis Villegas — A Great Work at 53

Among the first 10 books I was assigned to read at the start of my career in architecture this one still stands as the odd ball. Fifty three years after its publication I return to its pages to highlight and debate its most important points. I have found recently that although Death and Life is much talked about, its principal thesis and ground-breaking assertions are not read much less understood. The book opens with crushing salvo and an enormous boast: Read more: A Great Work at 53 | lewisnvillegas

Jan Gehl says that #Vancouver's @granville_isle is the best example of all his principles of life between buildings. pic.twitter.com/cvkM09V39G
— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 8, 2014

From Reurbanist — Pedestrians or Drivers: Who is More Important?

In planning retail and mixed use environments, it is important that we accommodate for all modes of travel. Studies have shown that there is a tendency among retailers to overestimate the volume of customers arriving by vehicle, and underestimate the numbers arriving by other modes. Combined with the significant infrastructure costs required to accommodate cars, this perception has historically led to strategically poor investments in road improvements and municipally subsidized parking garages. Read more: Pedestrians or Drivers: Who is More Important? | Reurbanist

RT @bponsot: Which American municipalities have filed for bankruptcy? http://t.co/Zl1Jx7mYVt | pic.twitter.com/zYgtSZoyg1

— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) February 8, 2014

Your brain after a 20 min walk; why walking to school is linked to academic performance. http://t.co/elybCQFrFf pic.twitter.com/QmCu0foTWW

— jennifer keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) February 6, 2014

From Planetizen — #Sneckdowns: Nature's Street Safety Pilot Project

It's hard to imagine how the wintry mess blanketing cities across midwest and northeast could improve street safety. But recent snows provide one benefit being touted by safety advocates: temporary curb extensions or "neckdowns" caused by snow banks. Having trouble convincing local officials or neighbors that curb extensions or "neckdowns" can improve pedestrian safety without taking necessary space away from vehicles? Maybe all you need is a good snowstorm, so that "nature's tracing paper" can create a temporary, but educational, snowy neckdown–or "sneckdown". Read more: Sneckdowns: Nature's Street Safety Pilot Project | Planetizen: The Urban Planning, Design, and Development Network

Vancouver Cycle Chic: Another adorable video http://t.co/iABgQVcjhb

— pricetags (@pricetags) February 5, 2014

Myth: Commuting takes longer than the bus ‪#‎Aukland‬ transit ad @PortGroup @AklTransport

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

From FastCoDesign.com —The Car As You Know It Is Dead

The tech world has been abuzz about the developments of the self-driving car, visions that are supplanting the earlier visions that would have filled the sky with flying cars. But beyond the hype and the promise, how will autonomous vehicles--and their accompanying technologies--really enter our lives? Read more: The Car As You Know It Is Dead | Co.Design | business + design

"Driving across the country is a joy; driving to work is folly." @VishaanNYC

"Driving across the country is a joy; driving to work is folly." @SkyMuseum book-talk with @VishaanNYC here http://t.co/Gncljb9og6
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) February 4, 2014

Jennifer Bradley & Bruce Katz; Vishaan Chakrabarti; Presidential Libraries on @CharlieRose: http://t.co/mxkBFIrFlw @VishaanNYC
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) February 4, 2014

Science degrees in traffic engineering a “fraud upon students and upon the public” — Jane Jacobs

Science degrees in traffic engineering a “fraud upon students and upon the pubic” —Jane Jacobs Dark Age Ahead @BrentToderian @TODUrbanWORKS
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) February 4, 2014

From vibrantvictoria.ca — Dockside Green Mega-Project Goes Back to the Drawing Board

The 15-acre Dockside Green development in Victoria’s Vic West neighbourhood remains idle nearly 5 years after the second of multiple phases was completed in 2009.

Midway through the previous decade when Dockside Green initially got off the ground then-development partner Windmill West, hand-in-hand with current owner VanCity Credit Union, anticipated full build-out of the 1.3-million square meter LEED® Platinum Certified mixed-use mega-project by 2015 with some 2,500 residents calling the neighbourhood home.

Despite global publicity for its bold plans to build the “greenest” development anywhere in the world and the rapid pace of construction early on, Dockside Green lost its momentum shortly after the economic collapse of 2008 and unlike other projects in the region, never recovered. More at: Dockside Green mega-project goes back to the drawing board

City Government is Now WalmartCitizens Customers and Clients

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

More on the Vancouver Urban Forum here

From University of Oregon — Planning, Public Policy and Management Rethinking Streets

Four faculty members and students from A&AA have collaborated on a book about transforming streets that were originally designed more to accommodate motor vehicles rather than pedestrians and bicyclists. Rethinking Streets: An Evidence-Based Guide to 25 Complete Street Transformations, documents twenty-five case studies from around the country that helped facilitate more walking, biking, and transit use while enhancing commercial activity, with minimal to no negative impact on automobile access. The book was released December 2013. More at: Book simplifies street redesigns | Planning, Public Policy and Management