Celebrating a New Public Plaza in Brooklyn: You Can Feel It All Over

Putnam Block Party from adele pham on Vimeo.

Project for Public Spaces: 

Want to see how good public space can make people feel? Watch this beyond awesome video by documentary filmmaker Adele Pham, of people celebrating the opening of the new Putnam Triangle plaza in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, last weekend.

WNET New York Public Media Asks:

What Would Jane Jacobs Say?
Sam Lewis | METRO FOCUS September 16, 2011


Transforming NYC Streets: A Conversation with Janette Sadik-Khan from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Vancouver Sun's Daphne Bramham and Architect Stanley King Walk Around & Talk About Their S. False Creek Neighbourhood

Sun story here.

To the Editor, Sat. Sept 17 2011

The tenure of the current Nanaimo Mayor and Councilors is coming to an end. As the November civic election approaches it might be a good time for this administration to reflect on whether or not they leave the institution — one of the key governing bodies in our democracy — in better shape than they found it. At the end of their watch is our City Hall more or less respected and trusted by Nanaimo citizens?

They might want to consider some or all of the following:

The City's top public servant — then City Manager Jerry Berry — was allowed to walk away from his post with a very rich severance package the details of which, though often promised, were never made public.

The contract to construct a very expensive state of the art City Hall Annex to house City departments and workers has been awarded in a behind closed doors process without consultation with any stakeholders who might be impacted by this decision.

PARK(ing) Day

Parkingday.org

Providing temporary public open space . . . one parking spot at at time.

PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco. Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals (operating independently of Rebar but following an established set of guidelines) creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world.

The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat … at least until the meter runs out! Read more...

A Study in Hubris: 1964

CMHC and the City of Vancouver

Attack "Blight" in the Downtown Eastside

Home, Home on the Lane

First laneway house in Vancouver. Photo by Krista Jahnke

Four Great Things About
Vancouver’s Laneway Houses.

Sightline Daily
News and Views for a Sustainable Northwest, Sept 8, 2011

There’s an alley renaissance going on around the world. It was born of a renewed love for urbanity that came along with the droves of young, artistic types shunning the ‘burbs and re-populating North America’s inner cities. They brought with them a desire to turn what have traditionally been neglected and ugly inner-city dumping grounds into vibrant, art-adorned, pedestrian-friendly public spaces.

Read more...