Toronto Star critic Christopher Hume predicts a lackluster 2011 for Toronto -- both in terms of architecture and urbanism.
"Though the city's new mayor, His Worship Rob Ford, has nothing to do with it, his appearance on the civic stage sums up what the next few years will be all about: Two steps forward, three steps back; right now we're taking the three steps back.
Architecture is what economists might call a lagging indicator; fewer buildings get built in recessionary times, but the backlog of projects keeps construction going for years after the axe has fallen. In other words, the effect of the most recent economic debacle won't become evident until later in the decade."
Hume predicts that the city's cultural renaissance of the past decade will not survive.
Read the full story: Hume: Toronto a few bricks short of a cultural renaissance
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
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Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
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Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
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Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
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Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority