Urban Planet is a daily roundup of  blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.

If you've dreamed of living in LEGO paradise since you were a child, Dwell has the home for you. In partnership with Pacific Standard Time, the magazine launched a challenge to architects and lego-tects alike to construct a model of an original home inspired by Californian mid-century modern architecture using only using LEGO bricks. The results are well worth checking out.

For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter.  Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca…

Last month, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that as a matter of law under the present Ontario Municipal Act, the City's June 2010 decision to move ahead on development of Lansdowne Park by the Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group (OSEG) was OK, despite financial errors that would need to be corrected.

Earlier, the City had cancelled its own public design competition for the Park, to become a partner proponent with OSEG, without competition, of a development project that would turn control of most of the park over to private commercial development — predominantly high intensity retail, residential and entertainment, with a promise of return of CFL football as the draw.

In an op-ed following the Court ruling, the head of the Friends of Lansdowne detailed improvements needed in the deal:

1) clearer financial information and projections and Council accountability on costs to taxpayers;

2) definition and long term protection of the promised public benefits;

3) assured ongoing public voice in the governance of Lansdowne as a public asset.

This long story about a focused private push to take over an irreplaceable public asset in Canada's capital will be one of the best-documented, fully elaborated, and professionally analyzed stories of its …

Weird Wednesdays on Urban Planet takes a look at obscure, absurd, and curious things about cities around the world.

It's been in international headlines throughout the past few weeks over false reports that it will be changing its name, but this tiny Austrian hamlet has been "Fucking" (or close to it) since the Dark Ages.

Nestled right near the Austrian-German border, Fucking is home to just over 100 residents. It's credited as being named after  a Bavarian noble named Focko who lived in the area during the 6th century (-ing being an old Germanic suffix meaning "people of"). The first documentation of the settlement was in 1070, when it was called Vucchingen. The next mention, two decades later, was of the local lord, Adalpertus de Fucingin. The name evolved to Fukching in 1303, then Fugkhing in 1532, with the current spelling taking over in the 18th century.

The community got its first international attention during World War II as British and American soldiers had their pictures taken beside the four traffic signs, which simply read "Fucking." British tourists have become very popular in last half century and are notorius for taking lewd photographs and even stealing the signs. The …

Urban Planet is a daily roundup of  blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.

From the makers of Walk Score and just in time for "Bike to Work Week" comes Bike Score - the online tool for assessing neighbourhood bikeability. The tool uses data including the locations of bicycle infrastructure, amenities and hills. And Canadian cities are featured too!

With files from the Calgary Herald and Forbes

Image from Bike Score

For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter.  Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca…

This Wednesday May 16th at 7:30pm is your last chance this season to come out and participate in the Next City Cafe

Seeing the Suburbs

Wednesday May 16th 7:30pm

Alpha Soul Cafe 1015 Wellington Street West, Hintonburg

Join:
Julia Valley - Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre
Mandy McCrone- Barrhaven Without a Car -Jane's Walk 2012
Akash Sinha - Dharma Developments
Arras Hopkins - AOE Arts Council

What are the misconceptions and realities that are shaping them? What does the future hold?  What are the possibilities?

Join the conversation, share your experiences and ideas.

Join us on twitter at #nextcity

Help Spread the Word! Pass it on.

Suburbs Courtesy of www.infrastructurist.com

 …

Urban Planet is a daily roundup of  blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.

Did you ride your bike to school as a kid? According to this piece on NPR, back in 1969 nearly half of children got to school on foot or by bike. Today, that figure is closer to 13%. Reporter David Darlington talks about what has changed - from concerns about liability to sprawling neighbourhood design to a changing understanding of bikes as recreation rather than transportation.

Image from sfbike

For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter.  Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca…

Urban Planet is a daily roundup of  blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.

A Friday treat: listen to the sweet sounds of the Copenhagen Philharmonic serenading Danish commuters. (Huffington Post)

Image from Huffington Post

For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter.  Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca…

Like we mentioned a few weeks ago, Spacington has developed a bit of a slum. As displayed above, this once thriving neighborhood has become an area of little growth, dirty abandoned buildings, and a limited amount of available work. We get it, this slum isn't nearly as "slummy" as it could be- there is still a strong mix of wealths, mixed use, and utilized transit- but the neighborhood has lost it's drive.

Usually in the game, a no job logo hovering above a building represents the lack of jobs in a commutable distance. Basically, it takes too long for a Sim to get to work, or they can't find work.

The neighborhood shown above is thriving. The area consistently reinventing itself, changing it's buildings, and doubling it's density. The neighborhood shares the same amount of transit and zoning (high density for the most part) as the previous neighborhood but has a healthy growth thriving workforce.

So give us your thoughts, taken from examples or not: How do we reinvent and begin growth in our semi-slum?

Spacington: Want to see previous posts about Spacington? Click on the "Sim City: Spacington" link in the "RELATED" box just below.

Keep up on the …

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 31st

Spacing magazine presents the CREATIVE MAPPING CONTEST

Do you love maps? Are you an illustrator, graphic designer, or visual storyteller? Spacing wants you to submit your original creative maps inspired by a Canadian city.

To date we have received an amazing assortment of submissions. But we also had a whack-load of requests for late submissions. In the spirit of openness, we've extended the deadline until the end of May.

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Thursday, May 31st, 2012

COST: Free!

WHAT MAKES A MAP CREATIVE (see examples at bottom of page)?
The art of map-making has taken tremendous strides in the digital age. In the last decade, there has been an explosion of maps that are not necessarily meant to be used for directions, but instead are considered works of art and inspired imagination. We want you to create an illustrative map that reflects a Canadian city (or a neighbourhood, community) or is inspired by the urban elements that make up a city (examples: waterfront, transit, cycling, walking, graffiti, parks, architecture, laneways/alleys, streets, traffic, taxis, weather, sewers, infrastructure, etc....)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW TO ENTER: You must register to enter. Send us an email and …

Urban Planet is a daily roundup of  blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.

Is a neighbourhood defined by geographical borders or by the set of people that flow in and out of it? This is the hypothesis being tested by researchers at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Their platform, Livehoods, uses foursquare check in data to map out who is visiting what venues where and when. This information is grouped into patterns which are then used to map neighbourhoods. (Flowing Data)

Image from Flowing Data

For more stories from around the planet, check out Spacing on Facebook and Twitter.  Do you have an Urban Planet worthy article you'd like to share? Send the link to urbanplanet@spacing.ca…