Tag Archives: Toronto

The rise of slender toothpick skyscrapers

A recent trend in skyscraper development, especially in New York City, has been pencil-thin, almost toothpick-like skyscrapers built on very small/narrow parcels. These slender towers look almost anorexic in appearance compared to many of their predecessors (see comparison graphic below).  … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, branding, cities, downtown, economic development, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, Statistics, technology, traffic, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Five Chinatown Gates in eleven days

Here are photographs taken of Chinatown Friendship Gates in Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Victoria, Canada; as well as Seattle Washington during our recent train trip across Canada and the Pacific Northwest. In Winnipeg, there is an especially lovely Chinese Garden … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, Asia, Canada, China, cities, diversity, downtown, geography, land use, landscape architecture, North America, peace, pictures, placemaking, third places, tourism, Travel, Welcome | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Issues of tall (sky) sprawl

I have asked myself at times whether in some places around the globe we humans are simply exchanging horizontal land sprawl with a tall (or sky) sprawl? Don’t get me wrong, I love to admire an impressive skyline just as … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Animals, architecture, art, Canada, charities, China, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Communications, downtown, environment, geography, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, nature, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, skylines, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, technology, tourism, Travel, UK, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

25 Most transit-friendly cities of Canada

Below is a list of the 25 most transit-oriented cities in Canada based on data provided by MoneySense utilizing 2006 Census transit data. The percentage given represents the percent of commuters who utilize mass transit. As one can see, the race for the top spot … Continue reading

Posted in bicycling, Canada, cities, civics, climate change, culture, density, energy, environment, geography, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, North America, planning, pollution, rail, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, technology, transit, transportation, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Cities in history: review of “Ten Green Bottles”

Vivian Jeanette Kaplan’s book (Ten Green Bottles) about her parent’s harrowing escape from Nazi-controlled Vienna, Austria to Japanese-controlled Shanghai, China is a captivating and disturbing true story of one family’s efforts to escape Nazi aggression. The book primarily covers from the … Continue reading

Posted in art, Asia, bicycling, book reviews, cities, civics, culture, diversity, Europe, history, human rights, poverty, psychology, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

By any Metric, a superb album (NSFW)

I have been eagerly awaiting Metric’s newest album entitled Synthetica ever since their previous release Fantasies came out.  Fantasies was clearly one of the best alternative/indie rock releases of the first decade of the 21st century. The foursome from Toronto, … Continue reading

Posted in art, culture, entertainment, fun, music, music reviews, sustainability, technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment