Book Review: Urban Acupuncture
Author: Jaime Lerner (Island Press, 2014) Jaime Lerner is a living legend among urbanists. Often mentioned in the same breath is Jane Jacobs and William Whyte, Lerner is an architect, urban planner,...
View ArticleBook Review – Farming Cuba: Urban Agriculture from the Ground Up
Author: Carey Clouse (Princeton Architectural Press, 2014) In light of growing urban populations and diminishing resources, the issues around food security and the importance of urban agriculture have...
View ArticleCreating citizen spaces through Indigenous soundscapes
As a little girl, my Dad used to take my little sister and I for long walks in the river valley that winds through Amiskwacî (the nêhiyawêwin [Plains Cree] name for the Beaver Hills, which the city of...
View ArticleBook Review – Why I Walk: Taking A Step in the Right Direction
Author: Kevin Klinkenberg (New Society Publishers) Ever since I read Jeff Speck’s Walkable City, I’ve noticed just how many books on walking there are. It’s that state of awareness similar to when...
View ArticleMoving Millennials: how a generation is changing mobility
In the past decade, a term has been tossed around to describe a generation who began coming of age in the early 2000s. Called the “Millennials”, this group is comprised of those born between 1981 and...
View ArticleBook Review – The Public Library: A Photographic Essay
Author: Robert Dawson (Photographer) with Bill Moyers (Foreword)and Ann Patchett (Afterword) – (Princeton Architectural Press, 2014) It is rare to find a book where the first sentence powerfully sets...
View ArticleMoving Millennials: the future of mobility in the dispersed city
As I wrote in Part One of this series, Millennials are currently playing a significant role in how cities adapt to moving large numbers of citizens efficiently. Urban and transit planners are working...
View ArticleWhy cycling advocacy matters, and how you can help
Most cities in North America are making some effort to fit bikes in, but given the huge interest in transportation cycling, and the mobility needs of increasingly large populations, they’re not doing...
View ArticleAquaponics: urban growers gaining ground
A generator resting on wood planks sits shut off in a corner and large metal racks line otherwise bare walls at Aqua Greens’ warehouse during a recent visit. Yet in just a couple months’ time,...
View ArticleReclaiming Spacing/Places: Restoring indiginous street names in Toronto
Reclaiming Spaces/Places is an ongoing series written by Lacey McRae Williams that shares stories of Indigenous resurgence through public art and planning across Canada, Turtle Island (North America)....
View ArticleBook Review – The Architecture of Art Museums: A Decade of Design
As a building type, art museums are unparalleled for the opportunities they provide for architectural investigation and experimentation. They are frequently key components of urban revitalization and...
View ArticleSpacial continuity in the urban realm
Developing cities sensitive to human needs is a vital task as the world continues to urbanize. A person cannot lead a rich, full life if the urban fabric ignores their psychological necessities. In...
View ArticleUpdating St. John’s accessibility
If you’ve ever tried to get around St. John’s at any time of year, (but particularly in the winter), you know one thing: the city is historic, and charming, and blessed with beautiful views — but it...
View ArticleBook Review – Le Corbusier Redrawn: The Houses
Author: SooJin (Steven) Park (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012) Le Corbusier needs no introduction in the architecture and urban planning circles. As a person who many consider a master of modern...
View Article12 simple ways Auckland gets walking right
We at Modacity recently spent five days in the beautiful city of Auckland, New Zealand, having been invited by Auckland Council to share some lessons from Vancouver’s recent implementation of an AAA...
View ArticleWhen the Numbers Don’t Add up: The Need to Study Comprehensive Transportation...
Many of Canada’s major regional municipalities are expected to grow significantly over the coming decades. Among the myriad of challenges to be faced by professionals and authorities will be how to...
View ArticleBook Review From The Stacks – (re)Designing Nature: Current Concepts for...
Authors: Susanne Witzgall, Florian Matzner, and Iris Meder (Hatje Cantz, 2011) The relationship between nature and the the built world has changed dramatically over the ages. In fact, the rise of...
View ArticleIs Uber part of the Sharing Economy?
For years now, long term changes in consumer priorities, coupled with the global economic downturn, have driven many innovators to test new business models which focus less on ownership and disposable...
View ArticleBook Review: Derrida for Architects
Even the most prosaic oppositions of architecture can be cast in terms that indicate something is really at stake. This is Derrida for architects. There is always something at issue, and the stakes...
View ArticleReclaiming neighbourhood planning
A Community Planning Board (CPB) can be an effective democratic platform to support meaningful citizen engagement and push forth social justice and equity in planning. While neighbourhood associations...
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