Michael Dudley

With the passing in February 2010 of Canada&#39;s last surviving Great War veteran, we no longer have a living link to that conflict. Its infamous miseries, desolate battlefields, poison-gas attacks and industrial-scale slaughter are known to us now only through history. <p> While the veterans themselves are silent, Manitoba historian Jim Blanchard reminds us in his new book <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Winnipegs-Great-War-City-Comes/dp/088755721X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1287069475&amp;sr=1-1"><em>Winnipeg&#39;s Great War</em></a> that the city of Winnipeg has its own story to tell about the First World War.

President Obama has announced plans to spend an additional $50 billion on the nation's infrastructure as a means of remaining competitive internationally and boosting employment.

The human-powered monorail concept Shweeb recently gained a huge boost from a $1 million investment from Google, but urban thinkers question the relevance of the unusual transportation system.

<span>My hometown of Winnipeg is going through a <a href="http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Bike-path-should-be-finished-before-lawsuit-settled--103638144.html">particularly nasty battle over cycling infrastructure</a>. Its current mayor, Sam Katz, while he may be reviled by rapid transit advocates for cancelling one BRT scheme and <a href="http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/epc-endorses-light-rail-transit-98007694.html">then muddling another </a>(will it be a bus? A train? A streetcar?), has nonetheless managed to accomplish more for cyclists than his predecessors. In recent years we have seen new bikelanes, multiuse pathways and a cycling culture invigorated by such events as Winnipeg&#39;s <a href="http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com/home/events/ciclovia/">Cyclovia</a>.</span>

In his new book, Arrival City, Doug Saunder explores how cities can ease the planet's "final migration" by creating "arrival" neighborhoods that allow newcomers to make connections with each other, their home villages and especially their new cities.