what is brookyln,bronx,manhatten,queens,and harlem.

what are brooklyn,bronx,harlem,queens,and manhatten. i never been to ny but i always wonder wat are these others place to the city are. like are they other parts to ny just thay named them. someone please tell me.>

Paris is not only historic

Modern Paris is not only CBD La Defense
I will present modern Paris by Ward
Paris map ward


Paris 1er arrondissement

ministry of culture


offices, shops


Louvre


Forum des halles mall


Paris 2eme arrondissement

offices, housing


Paris 3eme arrondissement

block of housing


Paris 4eme arrondissement

atelier Brancusi


photography house


lÂ'IRCAM extension


Centre Pompidou
>

$100,000 Annual Income...Places where its a pittance.

Per The US Census Bureau

There are 907 Communities in the State of California(or at least, 907 Census Designated Places, i.e. CDPs) Here are the Average Family Income for All San Francisco Bay Area Communities-183 in all

There are 183 communities in the San Francisco Metro out of 907 total communities for the entire State of California

State Rank/ City,State/County, State/Average Family Income

$100,000+ 71
1 Atherton, CA San Mateo, CA 361,092
5 Portola Valley, CA San Mateo, CA 303,494
6 Hillsborough, CA San Mateo, CA 297,162
7 Woodside, CA San Mateo, CA 296,378
8 Belvedere, CA Marin, CA 294,739
10 Los Altos Hills, CA Santa Clara, CA 265,026
11 Kentfield, CA Marin, CA 242,912
12 Tiburon, CA Marin, CA 235,782
14 Piedmont, CA Alameda, CA 227,776
16 Loyola, CA Santa Clara, CA 220,153
17 Orinda, CA Contra Costa, CA 211,298
19 Saratoga, CA Santa Clara, CA 205,791
20 Blackhawk-Camino Tassajara, CA Contra Costa, CA 204,862
21 Monte Sereno, CA Santa Clara, CA 200,312
22 Emerald Lake Hills, CA San Mateo, CA 199,285
23 Alamo, CA Contra Costa, CA 198,525
25 Los Altos, CA Santa Clara, CA 196,666
30 Sausalito, CA Marin, CA 181,639
31 Mill Valley, CA Marin, CA 180,746
32 Beverly Hills, CA Los Angeles, CA 178,439 Obviously not in the Bay Area, but interesting to see BH compared to Bay Area towns
36 West Menlo Park, CA San Mateo, CA 170,209
37 Lexington Hills, CA Santa Clara, CA 166,688
39 Los Gatos, CA Santa Clara, CA 165,625
42 Danville, CA Contra Costa, CA 159,676
43 Ross, CA Marin, CA 159,470
44 Menlo Park, CA San Mateo, CA 158,295
45 Lafayette, CA Contra Costa, CA 156,716
46 Palo Alto, CA Santa Clara, CA 156,683
49 Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, CA Marin, CA 153,513
50 Strawberry, CA Marin, CA 153,068
52 Moraga, CA Contra Costa, CA 150,962
54 Larkspur, CA Marin, CA 150,196
56 Highlands-Baywood Park, CA San Mateo, CA 147,047
57 Kensington, CA Contra Costa, CA 145,121
58 Black Point-Green Point, CA Marin, CA 144,683
64 San Carlos, CA San Mateo, CA 133,922
65 Cupertino, CA Santa Clara, CA 133,435
69 Burlingame, CA San Mateo, CA 130,602
73 Pleasanton, CA Alameda, CA 126,758
74 Corte Madera, CA Marin, CA 126,242
76 Half Moon Bay, CA San Mateo, CA 125,532
77 Foster City, CA San Mateo, CA 125,473
79 El Granada, CA San Mateo, CA 124,228
81 San Ramon, CA Contra Costa, CA 123,568
82 Green Valley, CA Solano, CA 122,703
83 Montara, CA San Mateo, CA 121,866
84 Moss Beach, CA San Mateo, CA 121,269
85 Clayton, CA Contra Costa, CA 120,276
86 Stanford, CA Santa Clara, CA 120,044
87 Belmont, CA San Mateo, CA 119,949
90 San Anselmo, CA Marin, CA 117,905
97 Lucas Valley-Marinwood, CA Marin, CA 114,061
98 Discovery Bay, CA Contra Costa, CA 113,845
105 Morgan Hill, CA Santa Clara, CA 111,356
107 East Foothills, CA Santa Clara, CA 110,085
109 San Rafael, CA Marin, CA 108,759
110 Sunol, CA Alameda, CA 107,512
111 Boulder Creek, CA Santa Cruz, CA 107,313
113 Walnut Creek, CA Contra Costa, CA 107,106
114 Morada, CA San Joaquin, CA 106,770
117 Woodacre, CA Marin, CA 105,436
123 Scotts Valley, CA Santa Cruz, CA 103,549
125 Rio del Mar, CA Santa Cruz, CA 103,029
126 San Mateo, CA San Mateo, CA 102,775
127 Milpitas, CA Santa Clara, CA 102,320
129 Cambrian Park, CA Santa Clara, CA 101,116
131 Mountain View, CA Santa Clara, CA 100,454
132 San Martin, CA Santa Clara, CA 100,412
133 Millbrae, CA San Mateo, CA 100,225
134 Inverness, CA Marin, CA 100,183
135 Redwood City, CA San Mateo, CA 100,142
136 Fremont, CA Alameda, CA 100,141

$75,000-$99,999 55
139 Sunnyvale, CA Santa Clara, CA 99,564
143 Deer Park, CA Napa, CA 98,715
144 Pleasant Hill, CA Contra Costa, CA 98,401
145 Bodega Bay, CA Sonoma, CA 98,233
148 Day Valley, CA Santa Cruz, CA 97,516
149 Novato, CA Marin, CA 97,059
150 Berkeley, CA Alameda, CA 96,396
151 Fairfax, CA Marin, CA 96,306
152 Campbell, CA Santa Clara, CA 96,090
153 Dublin, CA Alameda, CA 96,066
157 St. Helena, CA Napa, CA 95,407
158 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, CA Santa Cruz, CA 95,344
161 Corralitos, CA Santa Cruz, CA 94,992
166 Livermore, CA Alameda, CA 94,485
170 Santa Venetia, CA Marin, CA 92,860
172 Aptos, CA Santa Cruz, CA 92,729
173 Santa Clara, CA Santa Clara, CA 92,702
174 Pacifica, CA San Mateo, CA 92,569
175 San Jose, CA Santa Clara, CA 92,553
182 Benicia, CA Solano, CA 90,948
183 San Francisco, CA San Francisco, CA 90,928
186 Brisbane, CA San Mateo, CA 90,557
189 Hercules, CA Contra Costa, CA 90,405
194 Castro Valley, CA Alameda, CA 89,693
196 El Verano, CA Sonoma, CA 89,506
197 Fairview, CA Alameda, CA 89,251
199 El Cerrito, CA Contra Costa, CA 88,608
200 Lagunitas-Forest Knolls, CA Marin, CA 88,530
210 Union City, CA Alameda, CA 86,438
216 Alameda, CA Alameda, CA 85,981
218 Martinez, CA Contra Costa, CA 85,675
220 Forestville, CA Sonoma, CA 85,248
226 Petaluma, CA Sonoma, CA 84,394
228 Bolinas, CA Marin, CA 84,184
234 Sonoma, CA Sonoma, CA 82,880
236 Larkfield-Wikiup, CA Sonoma, CA 82,633
240 Newark, CA Alameda, CA 81,663
244 Brentwood, CA Contra Costa, CA 81,270
246 Windsor, CA Sonoma, CA 80,647
247 San Bruno, CA San Mateo, CA 80,612
248 Daly City, CA San Mateo, CA 80,512
253 Opal Cliffs, CA Santa Cruz, CA 79,299
256 Santa Cruz, CA Santa Cruz, CA 79,102
257 Soquel, CA Santa Cruz, CA 79,101
259 South San Francisco, CA San Mateo, CA 78,861
260 Gilroy, CA Santa Clara, CA 78,482
264 Tara Hills, CA Contra Costa, CA 77,421
266 Colma, CA San Mateo, CA 77,387
272 Concord, CA Contra Costa, CA 76,493
273 Pinole, CA Contra Costa, CA 76,474
275 Yountville, CA Napa, CA 76,307
276 Temelec, CA Sonoma, CA 76,249
277 El Sobrante, CA Contra Costa, CA 76,155
278 Broadmoor, CA San Mateo, CA 76,079
280 Albany, CA Alameda, CA 75,957

$50,000-$74,999 55
290 Antioch, CA Contra Costa, CA 74,690
291 Santa Rosa, CA Sonoma, CA 74,633
292 Rohnert Park, CA Sonoma, CA 74,604
297 Occidental, CA Sonoma, CA 74,308
302 Napa, CA Napa, CA 74,086
306 Crockett, CA Contra Costa, CA 73,419
308 East Richmond Heights, CA Contra Costa, CA 73,209
311 Vacaville, CA Solano, CA 72,858
313 Capitola, CA Santa Cruz, CA 72,720
316 Rio Vista, CA Solano, CA 72,300
319 Oakley, CA Contra Costa, CA 72,012
322 Alum Rock, CA Santa Clara, CA 71,802
326 Suisun City, CA Solano, CA 71,611
329 Felton, CA Santa Cruz, CA 71,488
335 Emeryville, CA Alameda, CA 71,038
338 San Leandro, CA Alameda, CA 70,930
339 Sebastopol, CA Sonoma, CA 70,834
343 Ben Lomond, CA Santa Cruz, CA 70,020
347 North Fair Oaks, CA San Mateo, CA 69,760
350 Cotati, CA Sonoma, CA 69,646
354 San Lorenzo, CA Alameda, CA 69,225
355 Waldon, CA Contra Costa, CA 69,010
357 Graton, CA Sonoma, CA 68,808
360 Healdsburg, CA Sonoma, CA 68,558
362 Rodeo, CA Contra Costa, CA 68,171
368 Fairfield, CA Solano, CA 67,786
375 Hayward, CA Alameda, CA 66,904
379 Dixon, CA Solano, CA 66,649
380 Vallejo, CA Solano, CA 66,604
382 Live Oak CDP, CA Santa Cruz, CA 66,556
396 Oakland, CA Alameda, CA 65,014
409 Boyes Hot Springs, CA Sonoma, CA 63,775
411 Pacheco, CA Contra Costa, CA 63,418
412 East Palo Alto, CA San Mateo, CA 63,417
414 Bayview-Montalvin, CA Contra Costa, CA 63,340
416 Pittsburg, CA Contra Costa, CA 63,148
423 American Canyon, CA Napa, CA 62,841
424 Bethel Island, CA Contra Costa, CA 62,770
440 Twin Lakes, CA Santa Cruz, CA 61,807
443 Calistoga, CA Napa, CA 61,700
444 Amesti, CA Santa Cruz, CA 61,693
446 Interlaken, CA Santa Cruz, CA 61,560
447 Seven Trees, CA Santa Clara, CA 61,532
460 Richmond, CA Contra Costa, CA 60,457
470 Vine Hill, CA Contra Costa, CA 59,916
491 Mountain View CDP, CA Contra Costa, CA 58,642
496 Bay Point, CA Contra Costa, CA 58,451
513 Eldridge, CA Sonoma, CA 57,736
526 Rollingwood, CA Contra Costa, CA 57,091
533 Freedom, CA Santa Cruz, CA 56,848
567 Roseland, CA Sonoma, CA 55,068
569 Watsonville, CA Santa Cruz, CA 54,716
573 Ashland, CA Alameda, CA 54,541
612 Cherryland, CA Alameda, CA 52,231
636 San Pablo, CA Contra Costa, CA 50,832

Under $50,000 2
719 Guerneville, CA Sonoma, CA 46,311
784 Buena Vista, CA Santa Clara, CA 42,374

$100,000 a year doesnt get you luxury in these parts, what about other places?>

Sandbanks Poole Dorset fourth most expensive place to live in the World

The £3m bungalow
By Richard Savill
The Telegraph
(Filed: 02/11/2005)


A run down Bungalow bought recently for £3 million

A dilapidated three-bedroom bungalow on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula in Poole, Dorset, has sold for £3 million; its 21ft by 8ft concrete garage is valued at £200,000.

Sandbanks is the fourth most expensive place to live in the world, behind Shoto in Tokyo, Barker Road on The Peak in Hong Kong, and Eaton Square, London, said a recent survey conducted by a New York estate agent.

The new owner, believed to be a businessman with a publishing house, plans to knock down the bungalow and spend £1 million building a family house.


Sandbanks Poole Dorset

Francis Payne, a partner in the estate agents Tailor Made, which sold the property, said he was not surprised by the price. "It just goes to show how sought after property is on Sandbanks at the moment. It really is pretty run-down inside and would need total renovation."

The bungalow, called Flintshore, has a beach-front location with views across the sea to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage and out to The Needles of the Isle of Wight.

Neighbours include the Computacentre owner Sir Peter Ogden, the Southampton football manager Harry Rednapp and the Body Shop partner Ian McGlyn.

Gill Emeny, of Tailor Made, said the value of the bungalow was "in the plot which is next to the sea and has wonderful views."

She added: "Sandbanks is extremely popular, especially with plc chairmen.

"There are no arcades, amusements or nightclubs. It is quiet and private with lovely beaches and moorings.

"We have sold about £20 million worth of property in two months on Sandbanks - from luxury apartments to a £5 million house.">

Sandbanks Poole Dorset fourth most expensive place to live in the World

The £3m bungalow
By Richard Savill
The Telegraph
(Filed: 02/11/2005)


A run down Bungalow bought recently for £3 million

A dilapidated three-bedroom bungalow on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula in Poole, Dorset, has sold for £3 million; its 21ft by 8ft concrete garage is valued at £200,000.

Sandbanks is the fourth most expensive place to live in the world, behind Shoto in Tokyo, Barker Road on The Peak in Hong Kong, and Eaton Square, London, said a recent survey conducted by a New York estate agent.

The new owner, believed to be a businessman with a publishing house, plans to knock down the bungalow and spend £1 million building a family house.


Sandbanks Poole Dorset

Francis Payne, a partner in the estate agents Tailor Made, which sold the property, said he was not surprised by the price. "It just goes to show how sought after property is on Sandbanks at the moment. It really is pretty run-down inside and would need total renovation."

The bungalow, called Flintshore, has a beach-front location with views across the sea to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage and out to The Needles of the Isle of Wight.

Neighbours include the Computacentre owner Sir Peter Ogden, the Southampton football manager Harry Rednapp and the Body Shop partner Ian McGlyn.

Gill Emeny, of Tailor Made, said the value of the bungalow was "in the plot which is next to the sea and has wonderful views."

She added: "Sandbanks is extremely popular, especially with plc chairmen.

"There are no arcades, amusements or nightclubs. It is quiet and private with lovely beaches and moorings.

"We have sold about £20 million worth of property in two months on Sandbanks - from luxury apartments to a £5 million house.">

Promotion Videos for the FIFA WC 06 Host Cities

I've found some nice videos about the host cities of the World Cup 2006
Link. Just click on the city name and then on the "video"-button above the city-profile.

I must say though that the video for Berlin is a bit disappointing. It completely leaves out the nightlife aspect. And they could have left out the raveparade in the Leipzig-Video and show some "normal" nightlife instead.
What do you think?>

Downtown Parts: How are they being linked?

Downtown Parts: How are they being linked?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As downtowns across the US grow and thrieve, the need becomes greater and greater to integrate their component parts into a workable whole. That is, to consider issues of public transit, walking, and creating dramatic physical links where these areas abut.

I'm talking about areas such as:

• Chicago's Loop with the Magnificent Mile

• San Francisco north of Market (i.e. Union Sq, finanacial district) with areas to the south (i.e. YB Gardens, Bloomies, Soma, So Beach, SBC)

• Midtown and downtown Atlanta

• LA's traditional downtown with Bunker Hill

• Downtown Boston with Back Bay (Pru Center, Cop. Pl., etc.)

• Mpls's east and west bank downtown riverfronts (including U of M east and west riverfronts)

What high energy parts of your city's downtown are being linked up today or have plans to link up on the drawing boards? What are the plans to make the parts more of a whole?

*>

What do you think about the new Madrid that is being born? (With photographs)

I would like to show you some of the buidings that have been finished right now and that are changing my city:


The new Barajas airport:















The light is the most important element of this building, as you see, and also it´s very easy to find your way to the fingers and very difficult to get lost.>

How do you rate these cities?

I have some major cities around the world. How do you rate these cities using the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best (skyline & overall development)?

Americas:
Toronto
New York
Chicago
Los Angeles
Mexico City
Sao Paulo
Rio de Janeiro
Buenos Aires
Bogota

Oceania:
Sydney

Asia:
Tokyo
Osaka
Seoul
Beijing
Shanghai
Hong Kong
Singapore
Bangkok
Kuala Lumpur
Jakarta
Manila
New Dehli
Calcutta
Bombay
Karachi
Tehran
Dubai
Riyadh
Tel Aviv

Europe:
Moscow
Frankfurt
Prague
Zurich
Paris
Athens
Istanbul
Amsterdam
London
Madrid
Rome

Africa:
Cairo
Lagos
Johannesburg>

Up and coming cities...

I am a 16 year old living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I have a great interest in cities and I am almost positive that I want to take Urban and Regional Planning in University when I graduate high school in a couple of years. I realise I am looking too far ahead, however I have always planned to eventually start my own condo conversion or development business after I have worked in Urban planning for a few years, and have gotten to know the city I work in inside out. Well I do love the city of Toronto, I feel it is way too big and developed already for someone like me to start off small and work my way up in as a developer, and that I would be better off going to a smaller city that appears to be real up and coming, with a bright future, especially for downtown development. (Please correct me if this theory is wrong)

Therefore my question is, what U.S. sunbelt cities should I be starting to think about looking into once I have my Masters degree in Urban Planning (since I want to start off working in planning in the same city I will eventually be developing buildings in) Like I mentioned earlier, I want to be looking at smaller cities, or cities with small or empty downtowns, which look like they could start turning around and promoting downtown living and development in the next 10 years or so, so that I would likely be able to ride the front of the wave once I have graduated, and worked in planning for about 5 years or so. (So probably about 10 years from now) I realise that it may be too far away to tell, however I am just looking for some possible options. Also, I am looking for cities in the U.S. with a warmer climate.

Thanks in advance.>

Who will host the Gay Games 2010?

Hi all,

Some of you may know, and some might not, but the announcement as to who hosts the Gay Games in 2010 is due this Sunday (13 November). The contenders are Johannesburg, Cologne and Paris. The Gay Games is quite a big event, and Sydney (who last hosted the games) attracted 12 000 participants in 2002. Chicago is expecting even more when they host the games next year.

Websites:

Johannesburg: http://www.gaygamesjohannesburg.com
Cologne: http://www.games-cologne.com/
Paris: http://www.parisgames2010.org/

I obviously support Johannesburg. We have a strong bid, and we definitely have the logistical and organisational skills to host the event, considering we have hosted events such as the Rugby World Cup, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (influx of 20000 visitors) and in 2010 we will host amongst others the fnal of the Fifa World Cup. We are intending to ride on the massive infrastructure upgrades expected for the Fifa World Cup, similar to how the Gay Games did when Sydney hosted the Olympics in 2002. Also we have the support of the city government and the various tourist authorities.>

Quote:>

Fly the frugal skies: how low-cost airlines have transformed Europe—and what it means for America Reason, July, 2005 by Matt Welch EVERY FRIDAY AFTERNOON at a Heathrow Airport bar, there is an informal gathering of the "Pojkvan Club"--a group of London men who jet off every weekend to visit their far-flung girlfriends. (Pojkvan is Swedish for "boyfriend.") "Of my six closest friends from Glasgow University, four of us now have European partners," Pojkvan Club member Fraser Nelson wrote in The Scotsman last April. "The low-cost airline revolution has changed lives." In Prague, where just about the only foreign languages spoken 15 years ago were German and bad Russian, there are English-language signs in the windows of bars all over town warning: "No stag parties." In Bratislava, where traveling to next-door Vienna was verboten until 1989, Slovaks who still can't afford the 200-mile train trip to Salzburg are now excitedly comparing notes on their recent weekend forays to Venice and Mallorca. In the lovely southwest France region of Dordogne, locals now refer to the area as "the Dordogne-shire," due to all the Brits buying up local vacation homes. Every summer, Spanish golfers swarm the Welsh countryside to enjoy their sport away from the hometown heat. Dreary industrialized corners of Europe--Stansted, England; St. Etienne, France; Hahn, Germany--have become improbable boomtowns, while secondary travel destinations such as Edinburgh and Cardiff have been transformed into sizzling tourist magnets, with boutique hotels, Irish pubs, and youth fill commerce galore. In less than a decade, the Southwest Airlines revolution has swept through sclerotic Europe like a capitalist hurricane, leaving a fundamentally altered continent in its wake. Low-cost airlines have grown from zero to 60 since 1994 by taking Southwest's no-frills, short-haul business model and grafting on infinitely variable pricing, aggressive savings from the contemporaneous Internet revolution, and the ripe, Wild West opportunities of a rapidly deregulating and expanding market. Europeans, fed up with costly train tickets, annoying motorway tolls, and Concorde-style prices from national "flag carriers" such as Air France and Lufthansa, have defected to the short-hoppers in droves--200 million, nearly 45 percent of the entire E.U. population, took a low-cost flight in 2003 alone. These airline upstarts are run by swaggering young CEOs whom the European press treat like rock stars, living up (or down) to the billing by issuing manly predictions of price war "bloodbaths" and pulling off daring publicity stunts, such as Irish carrier RyanAir's post September 11 sale of 1 million tickets for "free" (before taxes).Their companies have been rewarded with dot-com-bubble-like stock valuations--and the volatility that comes with them--while their long-haul counterparts dodder toward cutbacks, bankruptcy, and worse. (Switzerland became the first European country to lose its national airline when Swiss Air and Sabena folded in 2001.) In less than a generation, one of the Western world's most notoriously regulated and distorted markets has become a poster child for unified Europe's 21st century elan. In the process, Europeans have changed not only their travel choices but the way they behave. "We aren't just teaching our customers about our brand," says Stanislav Saling, the twentysomething Slovak public relations director of SkyEurope, a new Bratislava-based low-cost carrier. "We're selling tickets to people who have never flown before, and showing them how to use the Internet." Brits, who have led the low-cost charge with RyanAir and easyJet, are now the world's biggest owners of foreign second homes as a percentage of population. Across the 29-country, 458-million-resident European Union, marriage between different nationalities is at an all-time high. Residents of post-communist countries, who not long ago were more than happy to take any handouts from their far richer Western neighbors, are now leveraging the low-cost revolution to compete with them instead. Old Europe's postwar business culture, in which CEOs of highly regulated "National Champions" were virtually interchangeable with their schoolboy pals in government, has been battered by entrepreneurial mavericks of hard-to-define provenance, such as easyJet's 37-year-old founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who was born in Greece, owns houses in four countries, and (as The New York Times put it in April) "feels Greek when he is in London, English when he is in Greece, and European when he is in America." Amazing what a little deregulation can do. And as Europe's low-cost flood reaches what analysts are predicting will be a high-water mark in 2004, it's worth marking how dynamically even statist societies can react when given the chance--and wondering how the United States, with its 19-year head start, has squandered its lead in airline innovation.

>>

So, Paris was not perfect afterall?

With the racial riots going on in Paris, the city turned out not to be the perfect city as everyone thought it was. I never imagined slums in Paris? Aren't slums reminiscent of 3rd world cities? Why do they exist in this "world class city"? Quite an eye opener. Do slums exist in other top world cities that we never hear about?>

SKYLINE DENSITY BATTLE: Chinese cities VS. Brazilian cities

I suppose to do this on the city vs. city section but I kinda look at it as country vs. country. If this is not the proper section to do this thread, how about moving it where it's proper.

Anyway, this is a battle of skyline density. It's between cities in mainland China and cities in Brazil. This battle excludes special regions like Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Which cities have the better package of skylines and skyline density? Is it Chinese cities or Brazilian cities?

China

Shanghai


Beijing


Guangzhou


Shenzhen


Chongqing


Brazil

Sao Paulo


Rio De Janeiro


Belo Horizonte


Curitiba


Recife
>

Is a thriving downtown possible in a city like Phoenix, Arizona???

I realize that Phoenix, Arizona is mostly a very large suburban area with alot of subdivisions and golf courses all around, and a relatively empty downtown for a city of its size. My question is, despite the heat for the majority of the year that keeps alot of people inside, and the fact that alot of the people moving their seem to be retired and looking to settle down in a nice house by a golf course, does the downtown area still have a chance of one day being a busy and thriving area with alot of residential buildings, restaurants, shopping and overall a high amount of people walking the streets and hanging out downtown?

Also, had the city shown any signs of trying to achieve this? I ask because alot of major U.S. cities seem to be starting to be spending alot of energy getting people to live and shop downtown.

Thanks in advance.>

The Webcam Thread

Yes, I know there was other webcam threads posted, but since the absence of the search feature, I cannot relocate it, therefore>>>

Post your city webcam links here!

I'll start off with:

Pudong, Shanghai, China>

From: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/...n/edviktor.php
_______________

Quote:>

Moscow's image problem Viktor Erofeyev Published: January 21, 2007 MOSCOW: Who's to blame for the fact that Russia's image in the West has reached a catastrophic low? There are diametrically opposed positions about this in the Kremlin in the West. In fact, it's possible to start speaking of a new cold war — an image war. The Kremlin views itself as the victim of aggression, with the Western media leading the charge. Put differently, the Kremlin might claim that the West has set loose a pack of young and vicious dogs — its new allies among the former republics and satellites of the Soviet Union — against Russia, and they've raised a loud bark while their masters stand to the side contentedly rubbing their hands. In general, the Kremlin is indignant and humiliated to the depth of its soul, like a child. It didn't do anything bad! Nothing bad? Now the West is indignant. Who's using gas to twist the arms of its neighbors — Georgia, Ukraine and now Belarus? Who's conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign against those same Georgians? Who killed the independent journalist Anna Politkovskaya and poisoned Alexandre Litvinenko before the eyes of the world? Who's playing a double game in Iran? Point by point, the Kremlin rejects all the accusations. It did not abuse its neighbors — these were purely commercial issues, and moreover on territory that lies within Russia's sphere of interest. The assassinations were obviously useful to the Kremlin's enemies, and were apparently ordered by political émigrés. And so on. All the same, the Kremlin is ready to do everything to improve its image. It will spend millions on huge public-relations campaigns. According to unofficial sources, the Kremlin spent $15 million on PR at the Group of 8 summit meeting in St. Petersburg in 2006. This week there's talk of allocating $11 million for the rehabilitation of Gazprom after its successful gas war with President Aleksandr Lukashenko, which so scared European customers. The world will once again be convinced that Russia is not only Gazprom, but also wonderful tennis, wonderful musicians, wonderful ballet; that it is the homeland of Kandinsky, Dostoevsky, Rachmaninoff, Pasternak. Indeed, there is such a Russia, and nobody has a quarrel with it. But why always hide behind it? The current image conflict has two sources, political and psychological, linked to the historical values of the Russian nation. Already by the end of Yeltsin's rule, Russians had become disenchanted with the West, now perceived as unfaithful and suspect. The Kremlin began searching for a Russian national idea. Putin inaugurated an era of order, which Russia badly needed, and the nation began longing for the return of the lost status of a great and authoritative country. This was somewhat premature, but the inflow of petrodollars, the rise of a middle class and the growth of a consumer society convinced the authorities that it was possible. Russia had never been as rich as it was now — this may have been largely luck, but it is a fact and the population supports Putin in overwhelming numbers. This might be so bad had Putin found it possible to join with the democratic elite that arose under perestroika, but he holds them responsible for the chaos and loss of prestige under Yeltsin. So he summoned what he regards as an incorruptible force — his comrades from the KGB — to combat the oligarchy, the mafia, the corruption, the moral, social and economic crisis. He also called on the Orthodox Church as a potential source of moral rebirth. It's not surprising, then, that anti-Western forces have gained strength, dreaming of recreating the empire. This has led to a new messianism based on the old dream of Holy Russia. And it's understandable that a sharp conflict has arisen with the measured, rationalistic West, which naturally fears an unpredictable Russia and rushes to defend Russia's neighbors. The weakness of the current Russian policy is not that it fails to defend national interests, but that the Russian imperial discourse — the desire to speak from strength — is in principle not translatable into other languages. It provokes only irritation. When influential Russian nationalists believe that the West hates us because we're holy, and that everybody over there is Satanic, it distinctly smacks of fundamentalism. Obviously, a quiet strategist like Putin would prefer not to have anti-Georgian pogroms or killings of political opponents. But if the vector of Russian politics is assuming a nationalistic, anti-Western character, that means Putin is washing his hands of it. It means that Russians will be forever searching for Western plots; it means that Russians will have to abandon universal values and accept a situation in which domestic riff-raff regard it their duty to kill those they don't like. Russia is tired of being lectured to by the West, and the West is tired of Russian scandals. The image war is a form of deep mutual disenchantment, which can be overcome only by a new generation of Russian leaders. Viktor Erofeyev is a Russian writer. This article was translated from the Russian by the IHT.

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World City Size Comparison (NASA!)

Amazing!>

The Departed vs. Infernal Affairs

The Departed vs. Infernal Affairs


Martin Scorsese fans worldwide eagerly anticipated the recent release of The Departed, but perhaps none more so than those located in Hong Kong. The Departed is a re-make of a local hit film Infernal Affairs, which incidentally, features ClotÂ's very own Edison Chen in one of its sequels.

Why the excitement? It is the circumstances of the remake that is unusual. East Asian cinema has had numerous remakes, usually from Japanese cinema with much documented remakes of Seven Samurai and Yojimbo into spaghetti westerns: Magnificent Seven and Fistful of Dollars respectively. More recently Japanese horror films like The Ring and The Grudge have been given the Hollywood treatment, and on these occasions, not even changing their names.



However for Hong Kong cinema, an American remake is a first. In addition, it has been given the full works. Initiated by Plan B productions, co-owned by Brad Pitt, the filmÂ's cast included heavyweights like Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo Dicaprio, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin. The greatest coup however was to persuade Martin Scorsese to direct this film, who is without doubt one of the few living masters of cinema. The original Hong Kong scriptwriters and Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau would have been pinching themselves at first.

Hong Kong cinema has been through many movements and changes since its inception in 1909. Internationally, it is mostly widely known for its action genre, the Shaw Brothers martial arts epics of the 1960s, and the violent blood fests of Golden Harvest dominated films of the 1970-80s. Icons of these times such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Chow Yan Fatt have been known not only by cult cinema enthusiasts outside of region, but by everyone and their grandmothers. However, by the 1990s the heydays were over, an unprecedented economic depression forced a wholesale decline in ticket sales, a decline that continues even today.

Infernal Affairs is part of a new wave in Hong Kong cinema. One film scholar Justin Wyatt calls it Â'high concept filmmakingÂ' - a move away from Â'assembly lineÂ' film production towards a more thought out process with more intense attention to details in writing, filming, performance and marketing.

Those who are inclined to appreciate The Departed fully and the direction Scorsese applied in his remake might find it useful to watch Infernal Affairs.

The Chinese title of Infernal Affairs Â"無間道Â" refers to the Buddhist state of hellish suffering, literally meaning Â'non stopping wayÂ', like in DanteÂ's Inferno a deep lying circle of hell reserved for the truly wicked. Here there is an implication that the lost soul continues perpetually on its way, no longer able to discern what is right and what is wrong. This is the underlying theme in LauÂ's original.



Scorsese picks up this religious motif and re-applies it by drawing a set of Christian references into his remake. In choosing to locate The Departed in a predominately Irish-American area of Boston, the central characters pick up a framework of Christian moral baggage effortlessly. Scorsese doesnÂ't stop at that, since he is never one to shy away from the high brow. In an early scene, NicholsonÂ's character, Frank Costello, gives a speech about gangland politics and uses a term Â"Non ServiamÂ". This is taken from James JoyceÂ's novel A Portrait Of An Artist As A Young Man, where none other than Satan uttered those words to God in defiance. A murderous gangster swotting up on James Joyce, we might ask? A bit far fetched, but weÂ'll let Scorsese off as itÂ's deep!

Another point of comparison is characterisation: Scorsese pays noticeably more detail to this than Lau does in the original. When WahlbergÂ's Agent Joyce (!), grills Costigan (DiCaprio) about his past, it serves the main purpose of filling in the audience. LauÂ's device in the original was to have Yan (Tony Leung) bump into an ex-girlfriend with an is-it-or-is-it-not-mine child? ScorseseÂ's method is brasher and also allows the dialogue to become vastly more colourful. LauÂ's device is more subtle and brooding. Arguably these particular approaches are the main differences throughout the two films.

Two highly charged psychological thrillers placed within a Â'cops as robbers versus robbers as copsÂ' scenario. The remake relies more on directness, detail and outward explosiveness. The original is biased towards a more subtle and nuanced method of storytelling and performance. Although there are flaws in both films it is safe to say they are greatly outnumbered by positives in each.

The inevitable question is which one is better? Andrew LauÂ's confident reply when interviewed by Apple Daily (a Hong Kong tabloid) was:

Â"Of course I think the version I made is better, but the Hollywood version is pretty good too. [Scorsese] made the Hollywood version more attuned to American culture.Â"

The answer is open to debate. Perhaps readers who have seen both could post your opinions in the comments section below?

However, a couple things are now more certain, Hong Kong cinema is back on the rise as a global force, and Brad Pitt is perhaps not as dumb as he looks.>

700,000 to 800,000 Out Of Towners Visit New Orleans For Mardi Gras, 2007

We had a fantastic Mardi Gras. Last year, the first Mardi Gras after Katrina, we had about 400,000 out of towners. Normally we have around 1,000,000 out of towners visit New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras, 2007, is the equivalent of Four Superbowls in New Orleans at one time, with an economic impact this year of over $1 Billion. It was loads of fun, and I chalked up another huge round of the best memories with many, many friends and family. See ya next year, Mardi Gras!

BACK IN BUSINESS

The success of this year's Mardi Gras buoys spirits in the city's tourism industry, with many seeing a return to the heady days before Katrina
Thursday, February 22, 2007

By John Pope

Based on such criteria as hotel occupancy and parade crowds, tourism officials Wednesday declared this year's Carnival not only a resounding success but also a harbinger of tourism's resurgence in the city that Hurricane Katrina ravaged.

"This felt like a Mardi Gras pre-Katrina," said Kelly Schulz, a spokeswoman for the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. "This sends a message that New Orleans is open for business. We're ready for visitors. For so many people around the world who have heard the worst about New Orleans, Mardi Gras 2007 sends the message that the things people love in the city are alive and well."

The hotel occupancy rate was as high as 95 percent during the weekend before Fat Tuesday, according to the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association, with some hotels booking every room.


Using hotel data, as well as the number of people on New Orleans-bound flights and police estimates of parade crowds, the number of Mardi Gras visitors ranged between 700,000 and 800,000 , Schulz said.

"We know for a fact that there were so many more tourists who came back for our signature festival," said Sandy Shilstone, president and chief executive officer of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp.

"I just noticed that the emotions were very high this year," she said. "So much of the excitement and joy was palpable. . . . In so many ways, it felt like the Mardi Gras that we're accustomed to."

There will be a ripple effect, Schulz said, "because the people who were here are going to be able to go back to their friends and colleagues and say, 'We had a great time.' "

The money that goes into the economy will have long-term benefits, Shilstone said, because it will help small-business owners and people such as float builders and costumers, for whom Carnival is a year-round occupation.

No trash tally

Trash tonnage, a longtime indicator of Carnival activity, isn't used anymore because Mayor Ray Nagin prefers to rely on statements from people in the hospitality industry for such information, said Lesley Eugene, a Nagin spokeswoman.

City Hall news conference on Carnival is expected later this week, possibly on Friday, she said.

This year's Carnival was not an unconditional success because New Orleans police reported three murders from Friday through Tuesday.

The effect of such crimes on tourism is impossible to predict, said Bill Langkopp, the hotel association's executive vice president.

But, he said, "there's no question that anytime we have that kind of criminal activity garnering national exposure, it has a negative effect."

No surge in arrests

However, there was little difference this season in arrests on such charges as public drunkenness and urinating in public, said Sgt. Joe Narcisse, a New Orleans Police Department spokesman.

On Tuesday, Police Superintendent Warren Riley said there had been 524 arrests on such charges, compared with 479 on Mardi Gras last year.

In reporting hotel occupancy, tourism industry representatives were quick to point out that New Orleans not only has more rooms available than it did last year but also has more of those rooms available to tourists.

Last year, there were 20,000 hotel rooms, but about 7,000 were filled with insurance representatives, recovery workers and, at the New Orleans Hilton, Dillard University students who lived and attended classes there, Shilstone said.

This year, those people are gone, and the 30,000 rooms were available for tourists, she said.

Park and stay

When people drove into New Orleans, they tended to stay put, said John Incandela, regional manager for Standard Parking, which has about 15,000 spaces in the city, as well as parking meters.

"In the past years, we had a lot of turnover," he said. "This year, more cars were sitting, which makes me believe that people stayed in town longer, either in hotels, or they rode with each other."

In popular areas, such as the French Quarter and the Central Business District, "we were full 100 percent of the time," Incandela said, "but there wasn't a lot of turnover. They just sat."

The demand for parking space was so great that people were willing to park at the Standard Parking lot at Union Passenger Terminal and hike about a mile to the Quarter, he said.

In Jefferson Parish, where Carnival has become a growth industry, there was a spurt not only in parade attendance on both sides of the Mississippi River but also in the demand to join krewes.

"Let's face it. Last year, people didn't want to talk Mardi Gras," said Diane Barilleaux, captain of the Krewe of Excalibur, which rolls on Veterans Memorial Boulevard. "Now they're saying 'Hey, I want a float.' "

Because of the massive nature of Carnival, planning for the next year's celebration must start within hours after the last trinkets have been tossed.

People who will be working on next year's festivities will need all the time they can get because Fat Tuesday 2008 will occur unusually early, on Feb. 5. And people may be forced to decide whether to go outside to watch the Bacchus parade or stay indoors to watch Super Bowl XLII.

. . . . . . .

Staff writers Dennis Persica and Richard Rainey contributed to this article.

John Pope can be reached at jpope@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3317.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpa...740.xml&coll=1>

Brussels: Even With Change, an Affordable Capital

Even With Change, an Affordable Capital



Gregg Svingen of Seattle, Wash., and his girlfriend, Sophie Jacobs, rent a chic corner flat in this building in
Brussels' city center. They plan to buy in Brussels soon.

By GARETH HARDING
February 21, 2007

BRUSSELS — Apartments here donÂ't get much more central than Gregg SvingenÂ's one-bedroom place just off Boulevard Emile Jacqmain, a busy thoroughfare that snakes through the Belgian capital.

Directly in front of his building is Rue Neuve, the cityÂ's main shopping street. On the left is the shimmering glass home of the National Theater; on the right, central BrusselsÂ's oldest hotel and biggest movie complex. And the Grand Place, considered to be one of the most beautiful squares in the world, is a five-minute stroll away, as are most of the cityÂ's finest bars and restaurants.

Â"ItÂ's amazing to live downtown,Â" said Mr. Svingen, a 34-year-old American from Seattle, who works as a consultant for a lobbying firm called the Centre. Â"Before Brussels, I never thought it would be possible to live slap-bang in the center.Â"

Until the mid-1990s, few urban professionals would have been tempted to live in the neighborhood, which was better known for sex shops than hip restaurants. But the area is rapidly changing, altered mainly by young Flemish professionals and expatriates like Mr. Svingen — although he recently decided to take advantage of the growing property market and buy a place in the city suburbs. Â"Downtown is definitely changing for the better,Â" he said, surveying the sidewalk-widening work going on below his balcony. Â"But I donÂ't know how long the prices will remain democratic.Â"

The cost of renting and buying property has risen in the eight years that Mr. Svingen has lived in Brussels, where both NATO and the 27-member European Union have their headquarters. But despite the increases, Brussels remains one of the cheapest places to buy or to rent among all the European Union capitals.

Â"The politicians in Belgium think itÂ's horribly expensive here, but only because they donÂ't compare it to anywhere else,Â" said Iain Cook, chief executive of the local branch of ERA Real Estate, which has offices in 40 countries.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment of 60 square meters, or almost 650 square feet, in an upscale district of Brussels is $1,280 a month. That is half the average price in Paris and less than a third the cost of renting in London and New York, according to Mercer Human Resources Consulting, which helps clients around the world find housing for expatriate employees.

Tenants like Mr. Svingen, who signed a nine-year lease in 2003, are also protected by Belgian laws that make it difficult for rent increases to exceed the rate of inflation.

He pays 723 euros, or $950, a month for his 88-square-meter, or 947-square-foot apartment. The amount includes services charges but no utilities; he also pays an additional 60 euros, or $79, a month to rent a garage on his street.

It certainly is possible to find cheaper apartments in Brussels, but not with the same kind of parquet flooring, stucco moldings, high ceilings, wraparound balconies and French windows that flood the apartment with natural light.

Â"The great thing about Brussels is you can rent without feeling guilty about throwing your money away,Â" said Mr. Svingen, who lived in England and France before settling in Belgium. Â"In London and Paris they scrimp on the space but certainly not on the price.Â"

Despite the cheap rent and the buzz of living downtown, Mr. Svingen and his Dutch partner, Sophie Jacobs, are about to buy an apartment in Ixelles, a trendy suburb favored by expats. Â"IÂ'm buying because the property market in Belgium is growing at a healthy rate,Â" he said, but is not as expensive as London, Dublin or New York.

In fact, house prices in Brussels over the last two years have grown at a faster rate than in any of those three cities. In 2006, the value of town houses rose by 13 percent, and apartments by almost 10 percent, according to the Belgium Economics Ministry. This followed a 17.1 percent jump in house prices in 2005, the largest increase in the 12-nation Eurozone.

But residential property in the Belgian capital is still cheap compared with other major European cities, partly because the purchase tax is just 17 percent. According to the ERA Europe Market Survey 2006, the average price of a dwelling of 100 square meters, or slightly more than 1,075 square feet, was 217,462 euros in Brussels, 297,462 euros in Paris, 360,427 euros in London and 368,000 euros in Dublin. (In dollars, the figures would be approximately $286,000 in Brussels, $391,000 in Paris, $474,000 in London and $484,000 in Dublin.)

Â"If you are looking for a good return on your investment, property in Brussels is still a good buy,Â" said Mr. Cook, the ERA real estate agent, who added that house prices are expected to continue to rise by 5 to 10 percent this year in spite of higher interest rates.

It is clear from the way Mr. Svingen greets waiters at a local Flemish restaurant, enthuses about the new Ukrainian supermarket that has just opened around the corner and proudly proclaims that work is a 12-minute door-to-door hop by public transport that cheap housing is not the main reason he decided to live in Brussels.

He acknowledged that there is a downside that includes bureaucracy, the squally weather — surely nothing new for someone raised in Seattle — and indifferent customer service, which, he said, Â"takes nonchalance to a new level.Â"

But Â"between Paris, London and Brussels, IÂ'd choose here anytime,Â" he said. Â"WeÂ're very spoiled in this city. Â"Apartments are cheap and of high quality, the restaurants are great and getting around the city is easy.Â"



The view of downtown Brussels from Mr. Svingen's terrace.


Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company>

From: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...lines-business
_______________________

Quote:>

Disney Says Park's Finances OK From the Associated Press May 12, 2006 HONG KONG — Attendance at Hong Kong Disneyland has fallen below expectations, but the park's finances are solid, Walt Disney Co. said Thursday. The park, Disney's latest, has been hit by a slew of bad publicity and reports of poor attendance since its opening in September. Park officials recently offered free entry to more than 40,000 taxi drivers to promote the theme park. In a statement, Hong Kong Disneyland said the park was in good financial shape. "Hong Kong Disneyland is on a very firm financial footing. We are in our first year of business and are showing a positive cash flow and great liquidity," it said. The statement called the park "a solid asset that is going to be a real lynchpin for both Hong Kong and the Walt Disney Co. for decades to come," adding that more than 80% of guests surveyed rated their experience at the park as positive. The statement said Hong Kong Disneyland expected a busy summer season, with three attractions opening by early July. Announcing its earnings this week, Disney said crowd figures at Hong Kong Disneyland had been lower than expected, but that it still expected to hit a one-year goal of 5.6 million visitors. Disney gave no details about the number of visitors or revenue from its Hong Kong park. "We clearly have a lot to learn about the market," Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said Tuesday. "Overall, I don't think our marketing efforts have been as effective as they could be. But we're going to figure this out." Hong Kong Disneyland came under attack last year from environmentalists for planning to serve shark's fin soup — a plan it later abandoned. Critics also accuse the park of exceeding its powers by asking health officers investigating suspected food poisoning at the park to remove parts of their uniform. In February, park executives sparked a backlash by turning away guests, who had tickets, because the park reached capacity.

>>

Lisbon Sprawl Threatens Vineyards

Urban expansion threatens Portugal's sand wine

COLARES, Portugal, Feb 23 (Reuters Life!) - A small vineyard near Lisbon that has been producing world class wine for centuries is now struggling to survive the capital's growing suburbs.

The Colares vineyards are hidden among sand dunes on the coast which shelter the grapes used to make its unique wines from the strong Atlantic winds.

Then it is up to the sun, the sand and the sea to nurture the grapes which are turned into either a full-bodied low alcohol red vintage or a white wine blessed with a fresh aroma.

"Urban development has limited the size of our vineyards," said Jose Paulo Vicente, who heads Colares' Regional Wine Cellars.

He said Lisbon's development has cut vineyards to about 20 hectares from 1,000 hectares at the end of the 19th century.

"The sand wine is no longer a wine to drink but a wine to taste," Vicente said.

The village of Colares is one of the oldest wine domains in Portugal. The charming village rests in the foothills of the world heritage site of Sintra and faces the cliffs of the Cabo da Roca -- the most westerly point of continental Europe.

Sand wines made here became famous at the end of the 1800s for surviving the Phylloxera plague -- caused by the insect by the same name -- which laid waste to vineyards across Europe. It is thought the wine survived because of the sandy soil.

Yet, the fact that the village of Colares is located just 50 kilometres from the capital Lisbon is now also a curse. Sure, transportation is cheap and easy. But urban development is eating away at land that used to be available for vineyards.

"If there was more we would sell more," said Vicente.

The red Colares sand wine has a brownish colour and should be consumed at a temperature no more than 18 degrees Celsius. Its taste is a soft blend of nuts and red fruits.

The white wine is to be served at about 12 degrees so as to take advantage of the fresh aroma of the citron coloured wine.

Labels include the famous Arenae wine, the Colares Chitas wine and Colares Reserve. A bottle costs about $8 euros ($10).>

San Francisco & Global Warming

Melting polar ice would drown parts of San Francisco Bay Area
18 February 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Highways, houses, industrial developments and entire neighborhoods along the San Francisco Bay will be under water if global warming causes tides to rise as much as 3 feet in the coming decades, according to new maps developed by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

The maps, prepared for The San Francisco Chronicle, depict entirely submerged parts of residential cities such as Corte Madera, Mill Valley, Sausalito, San Rafael, Hayward and Newark. In San Francisco, the Caltrain mass transit system and an ambitious Candlestick Point redevelopment project would be vulnerable to flooding.

Much of the Silicon Valley shoreline would be under water, including a portion of a NASA research site and the spot where Google Inc. wants to build a 1 million-square-foot campus. Flooding could damage sewage treatment plants in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Alviso.

Silicon Valley is particularly at risk because some parts of Santa Clara County -- epicenter of the global technology industry -- have dropped 14 feet as the ground sank when groundwater was pumped from the 1940s to 1960s.

Problems for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta area, northeast of San Francisco, could be catastrophic. The region pumps send fresh water to two-thirds of Californians. Homes, businesses, highways, groundwater and wetland habitat would be flooded.

The Bay Area has zoning requirements to deal with earthquakes, but it hasn't treated rising sea levels with the same urgency, said Will Travis, executive director of Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Some development plans should be scrapped or drastically re-engineered, he said.

"The amount of planning and preparing that we do is really what will affect how severe the impacts are here," Travis told the Chronicle.

Climate scientists still debate how much sea levels could rise in upcoming decades. Some models predict a rise as high as 15 feet by 2100. Most models don't take into account the recent increasing rate of melt in Greenland and sloughing of ice in western Antarctica.

Officials from the bay conservation agency and the Pacific Institute are seeking funds to conduct a study to identify real estate, infrastructure and natural resources at risk, and calculate the costs.>

Britain's Noisiest Cities

Noisy Newcastle tops league table
BBC London 3 Feb 07

Newcastle is the noisiest urban area in England, with residents facing severe hearing and health problems, according to a new report.

The North East city topped a traffic noise table with 80.4 decibels, said to be the equivalent of a loud alarm clock constantly ringing in a person's ear.
Tranquil Torquay emerged as the quietest of the 41 towns and cities surveyed, at just 60 decibels.
Other noisy neighbourhoods included Birmingham, London and Darlington.

Some relatively small towns, such as Darlington, Doncaster and Gillingham, proved to be louder than major metropolitan cities including Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Nottingham.


The report, compiled by the EarInstitute at the University College London, and Widex, a Danish hearing aid manufacturer, looked at traffic noise in the towns and cities across England during rush hour periods. Measurements were taken in October and November in a variety of locations in each town and city, at sites where people came into close proximity with traffic.

Noisiest
1 Newcastle - 80.4 decibels
2 Birmingham - 79.1 decibels
3 London - 78.5 decibels
4 Darlington - 78.3 decibels
= Doncaster - 78.3 decibels
Quietest
1 Torquay - 60.2 decibels
2 Paignton - 65.7 decibels
3 Scunthorpe - 66.4 decibels
4 Folkestone - 66.8 decibels
5 Colchester - 68.1 decibels


Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6320799.stm>

What is the density of the CBD in your city?

What is the density of the CBD in your city ?>

Hong Kong's Superman - The Li Kar Shing Empire

A dedicated thread on HK's most influencial billionaire tycoon, his family & range of businesses' news

Li Ka Shing, 李嘉誠, born July 29, 1928. Current Chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings, Networth US$18.8 Billion, Forbes 10th Richest Person in the World.

Considered one of the most powerful figures in Asia, Li was named "Asia's Most Powerful Man" by Asiaweek in 2000.

Li's businesses are dominant in every facet of life in Hong Kong, from electricity to telecommunications, from real estate to retail, from shipping to the Internet. It is often said that for every dollar spent in Hong Kong, 5 cents goes into the pocket of Li Ka-shing. The Cheung Kong Group's market capitalization is HK$766 billion ($100 billion USD) as of 2005 (This includes double counting - eg. Cheung Kong has a market cap of HKD 195 billion as of 2006 and Hutchison Whampoa has a market cap of HKD 338 billion as of 2006 but actually HKD 170 billion of Cheung Kong market cap would have been due to its holding of 49.9% of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. ). The Group operates in 54 countries and employs over 220,000 staff worldwide.


"From his humble beginnings in China as a teacher’s son, a refugee, and later as a salesman, Li provides a lesson in integrity and adaptability. Through hard work, and a reputation for remaining true to his internal moral compass, he was able to build a business empire that includes: banking, construction, real estate, plastics, cellular phones, satellite television, cement production, retail outlets (pharmacies and supermarkets), hotels, domestic transportation (sky train), airports, electric power, steel production, ports, and shipping" --- Harvard Business School



LINK TO LI KA SHING FOUNDATIONS:

http://www.lksf.org/eng/

LINK TO CHEUNG KONG HOLDINGS LTD:

http://www.ckh.com.hk/eng/index.htm>

Public space projects in London???

Can anyone give me some links of any future squares, piazzas or pedestrianized areas planned or proposed for London? Not saying that I have a problem with the new skyscraper developments going up (most are in very good taste) but some people space can really retain the human scale of London.

I belive one is planned for the Elephant & Castle redevelopment but are there anymore?>

Your favourite street

GRAN VIA MADRID-SPAIN

Capitol building on Callao square (Gran via)






Gran Via














Gran Via vs Alcalá st.

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