News, Monday October 5, 2009
A “Library!” becomes….Creating the new cultural salon Reference library’s $30M reno aims to bring stars of word and music to the heart of the city
This time around, the library is encouraging talking.
The new Bram and Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library will host ongoing forums and public debates where citizens join in.
“People do want a place to come out to meet and listen to interesting ideas,” said Tina Srebotnjak, of the library’s communications and marketing department. “There’s a real appetite for discussion and debate, meeting writers, all that stuff.”
She said the library has held events before that attracted big crowds, but didn’t have adequate space. Now the $6 million Appel Salon is part of the reference library’s $30 million renovation. It’s an elegant, light-filled room on the second floor.
“It’s a better venue for people in the city to meet: thinkers, writers and newsmakers,” Srebotnjak said.
The library’s central location (on Yonge, just north of Bloor) makes it a good place to gather a mix of people for enlightening discussions and forums. The idea is to create something like a modern version of the 17th-century French salons that offered a place for the intellectual and social elite to gather and exchange ideas.
How to Get More Bicyclists on the Road
To boost urban bicycling, figure out what women want
Getting people out of cars and onto bicycles, a much more sustainable form of transportation, has long vexed environmentally conscious city planners. Although bike lanes painted on streets and automobile-free “greenways” have increased ridership over the past few years, the share of people relying on bikes for transportation is still less than 2 percent, based on various studies. An emerging body of research suggests that a superior strategy to increase pedal pushing could be had by asking the perennial question: What do women want?
In the U.S., men’s cycling trips surpass women’s by at least 2:1. This ratio stands in marked contrast to cycling in European countries, where urban biking is a way of life and draws about as many women as men—sometimes more. In the Netherlands, where 27 percent of all trips are made by bike, 55 percent of all riders are women. In Germany 12 percent of all trips are on bikes, 49 percent of which are made by women.
“If you want to know if an urban environment supports cycling, you can forget about all the detailed ‘bikeability indexes’—just measure the proportion of cyclists who are female,” says Jan Garrard, a senior lecturer at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and author of several studies on biking and gender differences.
Women are considered an “indicator species” for bike-friendly cities for several reasons. First, studies across disciplines as disparate as criminology and child rearing have shown that women are more averse to risk than men. In the cycling arena, that risk aversion translates into increased demand for safe bike infrastructure as a prerequisite for riding. Women also do most of the child care and household shopping, which means these bike routes need to be organized around practical urban destinations to make a difference.
An Ontario mayor’s DIY stimulus plan Claude Doughty of Huntsville, Ont. – which will host the G8 in June – ordered thousands of dollars of steel on his personal credit card
Two thousand post-secondary student renters in Oshawa, zero rental licences issued
Despite a bylaw that says all rental properties near campus require a licence, the City hasn’t issued a single one for this school year.
Jerry Conlin, the City’s director of municipal law enforcement and licensing, said the reason is twofold.
A 2008 court ruling has made it more difficult for rental properties to qualify for a licence and City staff are overwhelmed by the time and resources it takes to complete inspections.
Making Roofs Cooler in New York City
Under a new service program called NYC Cool Roofs, volunteers are painting New York’s rooftops white to try to lower urban temperatures and save energy.
“While the Building Code now requires many new buildings to have white roofs, the city’s sustainability czar, Rohit Aggarwala, noted that 85 percent of buildings that will exist by 2030 are already built. ‘As a result, we must include existing buildings in our efforts to cool the City,’ he said.”
It’s part of an effort to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 30% by 2030.
7 Groundbreaking Electric Vehicles Built Before the 1900s
One might be surprised that the EV dates all the way back to the 1800s. In fact, in its heyday, there were 4,192 cars made in the U.S. and 28-percent of them were electric! Here are some defining moments from New York City’s first fleet of electric taxis to setting the very first land speed record.
Waste Not Want Not: City Living is the Way to a Wealthier Nation
In Green Metropolis, a new book that has been getting a lot of attention lately, cities are held up as models of environmental sustainability. While this may seem counterintuitive to some, residents of dense cities have a much smaller environmental impact that those living in suburban or rural areas. The fact is: city residents use less gasoline, electricity, water, and land than the average American.
Are Two-Way Streets the Way of the Future?
Today on the Streetsblog Network, we’re featuring a post from San Francisco’sPedestrianist about two-way street conversions in Minneapolis and how such changing traffic patterns could benefit pedestrians and other users:
The city of Minneapolis is about to return two of its downtown streets to two-way traffic after nearly 30 years of one-way flow. Those streets, like many in downtowns across the country, were converted to one-way couplets by auto-centric traffic engineers in the middle of the last century.
Social Networking for Skyscrapers
Mary Newsom recently argued that social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter don’t create a “third place”. But what if the network is hyperlocal, like within a skyscraper? STACKD is a new site that does just that.
Urban rail: new engine for development
Richmond, B.C., makes the most of new Canada Line with ‘mini-villages’ for residents, shoppers and employers
Compact Cities, Cooler Climate
The chart is from a new study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, comparing greenhouse gas emissions in 10 global cities. The lessons are pretty clear: compact cities in temperate climates, powered by low-carbon electricity, are the ones with the lowest carbon emissions. It seems pretty obvious — but sometimes you need a bunch of fancy math to teach you what you already know.
A World-Class Waterfront Once Again
San Pedro, a port city near Los Angeles, is looking to boost its image with a 1.2 billion dollar makeover. Plans include a promenade, a cruise terminal, and a vibrant commercial district and could take up to 10 years.
“Attached” to Urban Economic Growth
A new study suggests that cities for which residents have a higher degree of emotional attachment and loyalty have greater levels of economic growth.
Those cities in the study that were able to inspire such attachment were also those leading in economic growth, the study found.
In a recent study (the findings of which won’t be news to readers of Richard Florida’s work), researchers found that:
“perceptions of economic prosperity are not the leading drivers of attachment feelings among residents. Instead, most of the 14,000 respondents rated social offerings (such as entertainment and other venues that promote interconnectivity among residents), openness (acceptance of diversity) and community aesthetics as the top qualities that influenced decisions on where to anchor their lives and careers.”
Will aging baby boomers transform downtowns?
Now comes the Wall Street Journal with a Sept. 19 special report on suburban towns’ rush to become more accommodating to an aging population. “That sense of urgency is understandable,” said the journal, “The nation’s sprawling suburbs – home to as much as half of the U.S. population and more than 30 million people age 55-plus – may have been a good place to grow up. But the suburbs are proving a tough place to grow old.”
This change in living patterns offers the opportunities for cities to transform themselves, but first they must provide what these baby boomers now want – pedestrian-oriented streets and greenways, parks, and condominiums in the place of large-lot, single-family homes.
Persuading for Pedestrian Zones (Part 1)
As mayors, urban planners, and people create new transport and design strategies for their cities, they revive common elements from livable cities past such as pedestrian spaces common to the eras before the invention of automobiles. How well cities fare in implementing simple solutions, although, appears to be based on how well they can overcome nay-sayers and the status quo. In other words, cities choke amidst skyrocketing traffic volumes not for lack of reasonable solutions, but rather because of the ever-present fear of change.
How to Speak Senior Citizen
Elaine Cogan gives these tips for talking about planning issues with senior citizens and getting the most out of them throughout the planning process.
“First, realize their worth. They have longevity and history, and well remember what may or may not have aroused controversy in the past. Certainly, times change, but it is always helpful to be apprised of any context that would help smooth the way for current ideas.
Public (and private) universities and transportation planning
Certainly most of the universities have shuttle bus systems, but most of them aren’t dealing very broadly with nonautomobile based solutions, unlike say Ripon College (see “Ripon College gives freshmen free bikes for no-car pledges” from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) or Oregon Health Sciences University, which has a great program andbrochure on bicycle commuting (not to mention they run the Aerial Tramway there).
What an Art Prize in Michigan Can Teach Us About Building Better Cities
Rick DeVos is an unlikely urban hero. A Grand Rapids native, he is a scion of the famous (and famously conservative) Rich DeVos, co-founder of Amway. Yet, here he is, reinventing the rules of art, with his creation of ArtPrize, now underway in his hometown (and covered previously on GOOD). If urban leaders are paying close attention, they will use DeVos’ art inspiration as a way to transform the way they do business.
Will California become America’s first failed state?
Los Angeles, 2009: California may be the eighth largest economy in the world, but its state staff are being paid in IOUs, unemployment is at its highest in 70 years, and teachers are on hunger strike. So what has gone so catastrophically wrong?
Living in a green ‘hood
Never mind recycling or solar panels – if you want to cut your carbon footprint, move downtown and throw your garbage down the chute
PEI’s big immigration boom
In a risky move for one of Canada’s most picturesque places, there’s not one picture in eight minutes. Instead, words like “time” and “balance” flash across the screen, promising a land without rush hours, where the streets are safe and parents have more time with their kids.
An aggressive marketing strategy – focused on selling a lifestyle over poster-perfect vistas – along with investment and settlement help for newcomers may be paying off for PEI: Recent numbers from Statistics Canada show the province reporting one of its largest population spikes in more than 20 years, mostly because of immigrants choosing island life for a fresh start. Although statistics bounce up and down, in the second quarter of 2009, the population growth of PEI was second among provinces only to Alberta and well ahead of the rest of the Maritimes, continuing a trend that started in January.
Social Networking for Skyscrapers
Mary Newsom recently argued that social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter don’t create a “third place”. But what if the network is hyperlocal, like within a skyscraper? STACKD is a new site that does just that.
Urban rail: new engine for development
Richmond, B.C., makes the most of new Canada Line with ‘mini-villages’ for residents, shoppers and employers
Compact Cities, Cooler Climate
The chart is from a new study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, comparing greenhouse gas emissions in 10 global cities. The lessons are pretty clear: compact cities in temperate climates, powered by low-carbon electricity, are the ones with the lowest carbon emissions. It seems pretty obvious — but sometimes you need a bunch of fancy math to teach you what you already know.
A World-Class Waterfront Once Again
San Pedro, a port city near Los Angeles, is looking to boost its image with a 1.2 billion dollar makeover. Plans include a promenade, a cruise terminal, and a vibrant commercial district and could take up to 10 years.
“Attached” to Urban Economic Growth
A new study suggests that cities for which residents have a higher degree of emotional attachment and loyalty have greater levels of economic growth.
Those cities in the study that were able to inspire such attachment were also those leading in economic growth, the study found.
In a recent study (the findings of which won’t be news to readers of Richard Florida’s work), researchers found that:
“perceptions of economic prosperity are not the leading drivers of attachment feelings among residents. Instead, most of the 14,000 respondents rated social offerings (such as entertainment and other venues that promote interconnectivity among residents), openness (acceptance of diversity) and community aesthetics as the top qualities that influenced decisions on where to anchor their lives and careers.”
Will aging baby boomers transform downtowns?
Now comes the Wall Street Journal with a Sept. 19 special report on suburban towns’ rush to become more accommodating to an aging population. “That sense of urgency is understandable,” said the journal, “The nation’s sprawling suburbs – home to as much as half of the U.S. population and more than 30 million people age 55-plus – may have been a good place to grow up. But the suburbs are proving a tough place to grow old.”
This change in living patterns offers the opportunities for cities to transform themselves, but first they must provide what these baby boomers now want – pedestrian-oriented streets and greenways, parks, and condominiums in the place of large-lot, single-family homes.
Persuading for Pedestrian Zones (Part 1)
As mayors, urban planners, and people create new transport and design strategies for their cities, they revive common elements from livable cities past such as pedestrian spaces common to the eras before the invention of automobiles. How well cities fare in implementing simple solutions, although, appears to be based on how well they can overcome nay-sayers and the status quo. In other words, cities choke amidst skyrocketing traffic volumes not for lack of reasonable solutions, but rather because of the ever-present fear of change.
How to Speak Senior Citizen
Elaine Cogan gives these tips for talking about planning issues with senior citizens and getting the most out of them throughout the planning process.
“First, realize their worth. They have longevity and history, and well remember what may or may not have aroused controversy in the past. Certainly, times change, but it is always helpful to be apprised of any context that would help smooth the way for current ideas.
Public (and private) universities and transportation planning
Certainly most of the universities have shuttle bus systems, but most of them aren’t dealing very broadly with nonautomobile based solutions, unlike say Ripon College (see “Ripon College gives freshmen free bikes for no-car pledges” from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) or Oregon Health Sciences University, which has a great program andbrochure on bicycle commuting (not to mention they run the Aerial Tramway there).
What an Art Prize in Michigan Can Teach Us About Building Better Cities
Rick DeVos is an unlikely urban hero. A Grand Rapids native, he is a scion of the famous (and famously conservative) Rich DeVos, co-founder of Amway. Yet, here he is, reinventing the rules of art, with his creation of ArtPrize, now underway in his hometown (and covered previously on GOOD). If urban leaders are paying close attention, they will use DeVos’ art inspiration as a way to transform the way they do business.
Will California become America’s first failed state?
Los Angeles, 2009: California may be the eighth largest economy in the world, but its state staff are being paid in IOUs, unemployment is at its highest in 70 years, and teachers are on hunger strike. So what has gone so catastrophically wrong?
Living in a green ‘hood
Never mind recycling or solar panels – if you want to cut your carbon footprint, move downtown and throw your garbage down the chute
PEI’s big immigration boom
In a risky move for one of Canada’s most picturesque places, there’s not one picture in eight minutes. Instead, words like “time” and “balance” flash across the screen, promising a land without rush hours, where the streets are safe and parents have more time with their kids.
An aggressive marketing strategy – focused on selling a lifestyle over poster-perfect vistas – along with investment and settlement help for newcomers may be paying off for PEI: Recent numbers from Statistics Canada show the province reporting one of its largest population spikes in more than 20 years, mostly because of immigrants choosing island life for a fresh start. Although statistics bounce up and down, in the second quarter of 2009, the population growth of PEI was second among provinces only to Alberta and well ahead of the rest of the Maritimes, continuing a trend that started in January.
Post Feedback
Aye carumba. What happened to the font size from “Will aging baby boomers transform downtowns?” and on?
Regarding PEI’s immigration boom, it is going to be something to behold. The demographic of the Island is changing, a change that even I have been able to detect in a short 18 months here. There is real concern about whether or not the immigration was manufactured by the controversial PNP program, which is more likely, or whether there is a real desire for foreign immigrants to land in PEI.
The article does not note the number of people coming to the Island from within Canada as part of a change in lifestyle. In the 18 months I have known 7 families who have moved from across Canada, mostly Ontario, and only 2 of them have family links to the Island. Three of the families are in my shoes, having never been to the Island before but her now for work in the IT industry.
Is PEI actually undergoing a renaissance? I think the answer is yes and its small size will make incremental changes very apparent in a very short time frame.
(Anyone care to join the change in PEI?
)