Gastown tower rejected by Vancouver's urban design panel @cbcnewsbc

Post by The Sidewalk Ballet.

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Cities are designed to accommodate cars. How do we redesign them to benefit people? @CBCTheNational

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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#CBCCities Tweets

Cities are designed to accommodate cars. Is this dangerous? Check out these scary statistics.

Post by CBC News: The National.

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"Great cities know that streets are places to linger and live..." @BrentToderian

"Great cities know that streets are places to linger and live; not just move through." @BrentToderian #northvan pic.twitter.com/g4RWYO8bHZ

— NorthShoreSRA (@NorthShoreSRA) January 15, 2015

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From Smart Growth America — A national epidemic of pedestrian deaths

A national epidemic 
of pedestrian deaths

We’re walking more often, for fun and to get to places in our neighborhood. We turn to WalkScore when figuring out where to live and our most walkable places often are among the most economically vibrant in the country. Hundreds of cities have adopted Complete Streets policies to ensure walking is in the forefront of our decisions regarding street design. Public health officials from the Office of the Surgeon General to the local doctor’s office are encouraging us to get out for a walk for physical activity and to combat chronic disease.

But we are still dealing with a legacy of roadways that fail to account for the safety of people on foot. In the decade from 2003 through 2012, more than 47,000 people died while walking on our streets. That is 16 times the number of people who died in natural disasters during in the same ten years, but without the corresponding level of urgency.

In 2012, pedestrians accounted for nearly 15 percent of all traffic deaths, up 6 percent from 2011 and representing a five-year high.  Read more: A national epidemic of pedestrian deaths | Smart Growth America

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From Urban Toronto.ca — First Capital Realty to Invest $1 Billion in Major Canadian Urban Centres

CEO Dori Segal of First Capital Realty (FRC) has announced $1 Billion in investments over the next five years in major Canadian urban centres, that is to say Quebec City, the Greater Montreal Area, Ottawa/Gatineau, the Greater Toronto Area & Southwestern Ontario (London), Edmonton, Calgary, and the Greater Vancouver Area. The company focuses on the (re)development of shopping centres and projects with a large retail component, as 38.9% of their income coming from rents is from supermarkets, liquor and drugstores, banks and other financial institutions, spread-out across the country in 163 properties representing a surface of 24.6 million square feet. Read more: First Capital Realty to Invest $1 Billion Over the Next 5 Years | Urban Toronto

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Vancouver deems 26-storey Waterfront Tower “too tall” Nanaimo oks 35-storey tower on harbour sea walk

Can we do better? MT @VancityBuzz: New 'Origami' office tower proposed next to Waterfront Stn http://t.co/HxADEJQosZ pic.twitter.com/d3hXRG1FAT
— Mike Klassen (@MikeKlassen) January 12, 2015

What kind of fresh Liebeskind hell is this? @MikeKlassen @VancityBuzz
— TheSidewalkBallet (@1sidewalkballet) January 12, 2015

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Author of The High Cost of Free Parking @DonaldShoup will find you a parking spot...

Author of The High Cost of Free Parking @DonaldShoup will find you a parking spot... http://t.co/Y48y2gfKb5 http://t.co/dffBFaT72B

— NanaimoCommons (@NanaimoCommons) January 9, 2015

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From Toronto Star — Spending for public benefit is no scandal

In so many cases where expenses are legitimately enraging, the trouble lies with whom public money is being spent to benefit. An expensive car to drive a politician around or a first-class trip overseas represent more public money than necessary spent on the comfort of those public servants responsible for spending it. A magnificent piece of infrastructure put in place to last a generation or more is public money is spent to improve the city.  That’s what public money should be spent on, and more often we ought to insist public servants spend the dollars necessary to do the job right. Read more: Spending for public benefit is no scandal: Keenan | Toronto Star

"No New Roads" — @clmarohn @StrongTowns

Post by Strong Towns.

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From CityLab — The Tragic Comedy of Small Business Permitting

It’s as if as soon as there is activity in an urban setting, local government springs into action to regulate it. Cities and towns are well-known for imposing all kinds of of rules and codes, a great maze to be navigated both in the creation of buildings and their occupation and operation. On a proportional basis, the tight control exceeds anything decreed at the state or federal level. So it was with great interest to learn of an initiative in one of the regulatory regime’s most guilty parties, San Francisco, to loosen up a little bit. And the rebellion, to its great credit, began in the Planning Department. More: CityLab — The Tragic Comedy of Small Business Permitting

San Bernardino’s E Street voted ‘best urban street transformation of 2014’ @StreetsblogNet

Post by Nanaimo Commons.

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