From The Atlantic Cities — What It Really Takes to Foster an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

RICHARD FLORIDA Innovation and entrepreneurship are the engines of economic growth. For decades now, cities and communities across the United States have tried to infuse themselves with those two properties by emulating Silicon Valley, a never-ending quest to become the next Silicon Somewhere. Brad Feld’s terrific new book, Startup Communities, takes us inside the real ecologies of innovation and entrepreneurship. Feld, co-founder of venture capital firm Foundry Group, serves on the boards of numerous high-tech companies. He recently chatted with Cities about his new book.

Read more: What It Really Takes to Foster an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - Technology - The Atlantic Cities

Ever notice how shopping malls don't contribute to civic pride?
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) December 12, 2012

Promenade, Garonne River, Toulouse

South of France Autumn light through the Plane Trees along the Garonne River. Picture by my friend Jenny, now living in Toulouse. Exquisite public space. Look how the walkway along the river's edge isn't lined with railings as it would be here in North America. "Street wall" of 2-3 stories set well back. Appears about 25% of the space is for car use. 75% pedestrian and bikes, seems about right.

From Witold Rybczynski's Blog — Films Starring Architecture

... Roman Polanski’s 1966 film Cul-de-Sac. Lionel Stander and Donald Pleasance are first-rate, but they share star billing with Lindisfarne Castle, which is the location of this one-setting film. Lindisfarne is a sixteenth-century castle that was restored and converted into a country retreat by Sir Edwin Lutyens, whose austere architecture contributes greatly to the tense atmosphere of the film. It reminded me how few movie director’s have exploited outstanding architecture.

Read more: Blog | Witold Rybczynski

From StreetFilms.org — The High Cost of Free Parking

In some city neighborhoods, cruising [in search of a parking spot] makes up as much as 40 percent of all traffic. All this unnecessary traffic slows down buses, endangers cyclists and pedestrians, delays other motorists, and produces harmful emissions. The key to eliminating it is to get the price of parking right... says UCLA Urban Planning Prof Donald Shoup. Part of StreetFilms.org series Moving Beyond the Automobile
 
MBA: The Right Price for Parking from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

From StrongTowns.org — A Project Engineer Explains Street Improvements to a Resident

A resident has a conversation with a project engineer about the proposed improvements to her street. http://www.youtube.com/user/strongtowns

From CBC BC — Pedestrian Deaths Dominate Vancouver Traffic Fatalities

"The records show in each of the past five years, more pedestrians have been killed in Vancouver than drivers, passengers, cyclists, and motorcyclists combined."

Read more: Pedestrian deaths dominate Vancouver traffic fatalities - British Columbia - CBC News

It seems increasingly clear that it will take a court challenge to force cities and their Planners and Traffic Engineers to design streets safe and accessible for all. This vast and expensive public space has to be reclaimed and they won't be doing voluntarily. As drivers, we make an implicit agreement: I'll go along with it as long as it's somebody else's grandparent or teenager killed.