Tuesday, April 24, 2007
ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
Which of the above cities would you designate as "The Entertainment capital of the world?" Is there one (or more) deserving of the title that isn't nominated. Is there one (or more) on the list that's not known for it's entertainment value? Has this poll been posted a zillion times before? (not counting the screw-up I just made) Thanks for your imput and pardon the previous "false start.">
Gated comunities rom above ,street level.. in your city
it is a new interesting phenomen , a lot of cities especially in Us cties or big cities have closed villages apart from the other people ,with guards and walls! do you have anyone of this gated communities so please post here pictures ,from above orstreet level !
in my hometown there are no gated comunities , must i find this fact good or bad? i think this fact is good !>
in my hometown there are no gated comunities , must i find this fact good or bad? i think this fact is good !>
America's Most Educated Cities
This is my first thread and I wanted to post something interesting so I went through census bureau's data and found out what America's ten most educated cities were. Some on the list I didn't even know existed. I only looked at cities over 100,000 people. HS is the percentage of 25+ pop. who completed high school. CO is the percentage of 25+ pop. that has at least completed 4 years of college. I noticed some of these are famous college cities.
1.Ann Arbor,MI
HS:95.4
CO:69.2
2.Cambridge,MA
HS:89.4
CO:65.2
3.Berkeley,CA
HS:92.4
CO:63.6
4.Naperville,IL
HS:96.2
CO:60.8
5.Arlington,VA
HS:87.8
CO:60.4
6.Irvine,CA
HS:95.5
CO: 58.4
7.Alexandria,VA
HS:86.5
CO:54.2
8.Bellevue,WA
HS:94.9
CO:53.8
9.Plano,TX
HS:93.8
CO:53.5
10.Overland Park,KS
HS:96
CO:52>
1.Ann Arbor,MI
HS:95.4
CO:69.2
2.Cambridge,MA
HS:89.4
CO:65.2
3.Berkeley,CA
HS:92.4
CO:63.6
4.Naperville,IL
HS:96.2
CO:60.8
5.Arlington,VA
HS:87.8
CO:60.4
6.Irvine,CA
HS:95.5
CO: 58.4
7.Alexandria,VA
HS:86.5
CO:54.2
8.Bellevue,WA
HS:94.9
CO:53.8
9.Plano,TX
HS:93.8
CO:53.5
10.Overland Park,KS
HS:96
CO:52>
Shenzhen's GDP increased by 24.4% in the half of 2005
Shenzhen:2005[Jan-Jun]22.95bn us$---2004[Jan-Jun]18.44bn us$----24.4%
Wuxi:2005[Jan-Jun]15.62bn us$---2004[Jan-Jun]13.26bn us$----17.7%
Nanjing:2005[Jan-Jun]13.78bn us$---2004[Jan-Jun]10.91bn us$-----26.4%>
Wuxi:2005[Jan-Jun]15.62bn us$---2004[Jan-Jun]13.26bn us$----17.7%
Nanjing:2005[Jan-Jun]13.78bn us$---2004[Jan-Jun]10.91bn us$-----26.4%>
U. S. Cities with the Oddest Names
What's your pick of U. S. cities with the weirdest names?
My picks are:
Biloxi
Walla Walla
Albuquerque
Spokane
Oklahoma City
Chattanooga
Tuskaloosa
Accokeek
Kalamazoo
Tallahassee>
My picks are:
Biloxi
Walla Walla
Albuquerque
Spokane
Oklahoma City
Chattanooga
Tuskaloosa
Accokeek
Kalamazoo
Tallahassee>
Venice as Manhattan: Would it work?
What if Venice were like Manhattan?
If manhattan were transplanted to the lagoon, its area would cover roughly the distance between Mestre and Venice. 39.4 million tourists visit Manhattan each year in comparison to the 16 million who inundate Venice. Yet Manhattan is known for more than just its tourism; it also has a large financial center, an urban park, and unique residential neighborhoods that contribute to its life. Thereby pulling out key aspects of the Manhattan culture-scape and transplanting them to Venice, we believe that Venice will become a thriving, modern city, reinstating its position on the global map.
2.
Using Manhattan as a precedent, we developed three key steps to achieve this. The first step is to create new infrastructure to connect venice to Mestre, linking the two areas by providing a base for the city to expand. The second step is to disconnect Mestre from the mainland, constituting a new cohesive venice proper. Step three is to start to fill in new land for development. thus Venice will be able to experience the normal urban cycles of growth and decay.
3.
Our last slide shows an example of this new city. Exploring the transportation network, the main train station would be relocated to Mestre. Whereby a new transportation service would be designed to serve the new city, connecting Mestre and Venice. Cars would be allowed closer to Venice while the canal system would extend into Mestre.
Slide Show
>
If manhattan were transplanted to the lagoon, its area would cover roughly the distance between Mestre and Venice. 39.4 million tourists visit Manhattan each year in comparison to the 16 million who inundate Venice. Yet Manhattan is known for more than just its tourism; it also has a large financial center, an urban park, and unique residential neighborhoods that contribute to its life. Thereby pulling out key aspects of the Manhattan culture-scape and transplanting them to Venice, we believe that Venice will become a thriving, modern city, reinstating its position on the global map.
2.
Using Manhattan as a precedent, we developed three key steps to achieve this. The first step is to create new infrastructure to connect venice to Mestre, linking the two areas by providing a base for the city to expand. The second step is to disconnect Mestre from the mainland, constituting a new cohesive venice proper. Step three is to start to fill in new land for development. thus Venice will be able to experience the normal urban cycles of growth and decay.
3.
Our last slide shows an example of this new city. Exploring the transportation network, the main train station would be relocated to Mestre. Whereby a new transportation service would be designed to serve the new city, connecting Mestre and Venice. Cars would be allowed closer to Venice while the canal system would extend into Mestre.
Slide Show
>
Asian gang violence in Vancouver
Is this a problem in other cities in Asia too? Canada still is a very mellow safe country so don't let this scare you.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050701...e_050701150624
Fri Jul 1,11:06 AM ET
VANCOUVER (AFP) - Young Indo-Canadian and South Asian deceased men dominate police files in Canada's westernmost province of British Columbia like no other ethnic groups.
ADVERTISEMENT
And the province is setting up a special police task force following the deaths of 90 men in extreme gang violence since 1992.
Spokesman Shinder Kirk said 50 officers have joined the task force in recent weeks from the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal forces. By fall, it will be at full strength at 80 investigators.
The move came after a plea for help from community leaders, citing extreme concerns from local people over "what was happening in their community, involving their young men," according to Kirk.
The spokesman said there has been a major attitude shift from past practice of trying to avoid publicity to openly talking about the problem.
Balwant Singh Gill, president of an association of 36 Sikh temples in British Columbia, a leader in the fight against gang violence, said: "Its come to a point where its the responsibility of not only parents, but of police, teachers, councilors' and social workers."
Officially the task force will investigate any gangs, but Kirk said its first focus is Indo-Canadian and South Asian gangs.
Almost all the victims died in the metropolitan area around this major port city of Vancouver.
The Canadian government has also announced funding for a committee to study the causes of Indo-Canadian youth violence.
A typical case is that of Saranjit Gary Rai, who was 22 in 2001 when he was "shot to death, execution-style, by a single gunman in a hair salon," Vancouver police said.
Another is Robby Kandola, 31, "a well-known underworld figure in the Indo-Canadian community," who died in a 2002 drive-by shooting outside his highrise apartment in the upscale city centre, police said.
Solving the problem wont be simple. Big money can be made growing marijuana, smuggling it across the US border and bringing back cocaine and guns.
And there are many theories about why a disproportionate number of Indo-Canadians are involved. "One theory is the cultural issue, where sons are favoured more than daughters and allowed more freedom and get away with more," said Kirk.
"Then theres the nature of the culture, in which young people are expected to live in two worlds. Theres confusion. They ask, what am I, Canadian? Indian? Indo-Canadian?"
Some, however, deny the problem lies within the culture. After one young man was charged in a kidnapping in May, his prominent Sikh father blamed the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, accusing it of using young Indo-Canadians in organized crime.
A spokesperson for the biker gang dismissed the comment as "nonsense."
Political science professor Shinder Purewal said the ethnic gang members come from families in all social-economic brackets.
Gangs exist in all other cultures and cities, he said, but the extent of the murders among Indo-Canadians here is extreme. "Its really a unique phenomenon that these people are killing each other."
And while only a tiny percentage are in gangs, Purewal said, the sensational murders have given the entire community an "image problem."
Gill agreed. "Our reputation is being tarnished by the murders and violence.">
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050701...e_050701150624
Fri Jul 1,11:06 AM ET
VANCOUVER (AFP) - Young Indo-Canadian and South Asian deceased men dominate police files in Canada's westernmost province of British Columbia like no other ethnic groups.
ADVERTISEMENT
And the province is setting up a special police task force following the deaths of 90 men in extreme gang violence since 1992.
Spokesman Shinder Kirk said 50 officers have joined the task force in recent weeks from the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal forces. By fall, it will be at full strength at 80 investigators.
The move came after a plea for help from community leaders, citing extreme concerns from local people over "what was happening in their community, involving their young men," according to Kirk.
The spokesman said there has been a major attitude shift from past practice of trying to avoid publicity to openly talking about the problem.
Balwant Singh Gill, president of an association of 36 Sikh temples in British Columbia, a leader in the fight against gang violence, said: "Its come to a point where its the responsibility of not only parents, but of police, teachers, councilors' and social workers."
Officially the task force will investigate any gangs, but Kirk said its first focus is Indo-Canadian and South Asian gangs.
Almost all the victims died in the metropolitan area around this major port city of Vancouver.
The Canadian government has also announced funding for a committee to study the causes of Indo-Canadian youth violence.
A typical case is that of Saranjit Gary Rai, who was 22 in 2001 when he was "shot to death, execution-style, by a single gunman in a hair salon," Vancouver police said.
Another is Robby Kandola, 31, "a well-known underworld figure in the Indo-Canadian community," who died in a 2002 drive-by shooting outside his highrise apartment in the upscale city centre, police said.
Solving the problem wont be simple. Big money can be made growing marijuana, smuggling it across the US border and bringing back cocaine and guns.
And there are many theories about why a disproportionate number of Indo-Canadians are involved. "One theory is the cultural issue, where sons are favoured more than daughters and allowed more freedom and get away with more," said Kirk.
"Then theres the nature of the culture, in which young people are expected to live in two worlds. Theres confusion. They ask, what am I, Canadian? Indian? Indo-Canadian?"
Some, however, deny the problem lies within the culture. After one young man was charged in a kidnapping in May, his prominent Sikh father blamed the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, accusing it of using young Indo-Canadians in organized crime.
A spokesperson for the biker gang dismissed the comment as "nonsense."
Political science professor Shinder Purewal said the ethnic gang members come from families in all social-economic brackets.
Gangs exist in all other cultures and cities, he said, but the extent of the murders among Indo-Canadians here is extreme. "Its really a unique phenomenon that these people are killing each other."
And while only a tiny percentage are in gangs, Purewal said, the sensational murders have given the entire community an "image problem."
Gill agreed. "Our reputation is being tarnished by the murders and violence.">
World's biggest Ministry of Sound opening in Singapore
Clarke Quay set to pound to a new beat
2 July 05
Mainboard-listed LifeBrandz brings big-name dance clubs to its nightspot
(SINGAPORE) Ravers rejoice! Dance club heavyweights Ministry of Sound (Mos) and Cafe del Mar will soon be pumping up the volume at The Cannery in Clarke Quay, courtesy of nightlife impresario in-the-making Clement Lee.
The Cannery: At 40,000 sq ft, it will be about twice the size of homegrown dance club Zouk
Mr Lee, 35-year-old executive director of mainboard-listed LifeBrandz, confirmed yesterday that London-based MoS - whose all-night rave parties grew to become a global phenomenon - will be the anchor brand for his new 80,000 sq ft entertainment, lifestyle and F&B concept at The Cannery.
Best-known up to now for Extrim slimming pills, LifeBrandz has acquired a 15-year licence to run MoS here. And at 40,000 sq ft it will be big - about twice the size of homegrown dance club Zouk.
The main supporting act will be Spain's Cafe del Mar, from the trendy resort island of Ibiza. Like MoS, it has attained cult status among late-night revellers for its Mediterranean brand of chill-out club music, disseminated globally by in-house DJs who make guest appearances and spin at dance clubs around the world.
Singapore's Cafe del Mar will be a pared-down version of the Ibiza original. The Singapore MoS, on the other hand, will be the world's biggest, though it won't be the first outside England.
For years it was rumoured that MoS would open here. Then in 2001 it opened in Bangkok instead. At the time it was said the only reason it opened there was because it couldn't find suitable partners here.
MoS Bangkok closed down after two-and-a-half years. But Mr Lee says this was because of a government curfew on night spots - not bad business.
Now it will be Singapore's turn to be party-central. And the time could not be better, says Mr Lee. He cites the upcoming integrated resorts and the need for 'support F&B and entertainment venues' as one factor.
But a more compelling reason would have to be that Clarke Quay's owner CapitaLand made LifeBrandz the proverbial offer it could not refuse. Besides paying for an expensive restoration of the old cannery building, CapitaLand offered an 'attractive' rental package, Mr Lee said. For its part, LifeBrandz will spend $150-$180 per square foot - or as Mr Lee puts it, 'not too much and not too little' - fitting out the building and all its new attractions.
The Cannery will include other brand names such as Fashionbar (a fashion TV bar from Paris), Dashing Divas (a nail bar from New York), Bice (a restaurant from Milan) and possibly a fitness studio. It also intends to develop its own brand of clothing and souvenirs.
The strategy depends on recognisable names. Says Mr Lee: 'We thought it would be too big a risk to have untested brands. It takes a long time to build a brand at a new location in a new market. With recognisable brands, people know what to expect.'
LifeBrandz and CapitaLand are hoping Clarke Quay won't only attract tourists but affluent professionals, managers, executives and businessmen as well. But Mr Lee knows it will be hard work getting a return on his investment, which he hopes will be 20-25 per cent. 'A lot of people think that as long as you have a famous DJ like Boy George (a former MoS DJ) you are guaranteed a crowd. But it's not like that anymore,' he says.
According to him, the continuing success of Zouk demonstrates the importance of developing a following and giving regulars a sense of belonging. And that's why, when CapitaLand first offered him only half of the cannery building, he declined. 'I wanted the whole block so I could market and rebrand it the way I want to,' he says. 'I don't want a prata stall next to me.'>
2 July 05
Mainboard-listed LifeBrandz brings big-name dance clubs to its nightspot
(SINGAPORE) Ravers rejoice! Dance club heavyweights Ministry of Sound (Mos) and Cafe del Mar will soon be pumping up the volume at The Cannery in Clarke Quay, courtesy of nightlife impresario in-the-making Clement Lee.
The Cannery: At 40,000 sq ft, it will be about twice the size of homegrown dance club Zouk
Mr Lee, 35-year-old executive director of mainboard-listed LifeBrandz, confirmed yesterday that London-based MoS - whose all-night rave parties grew to become a global phenomenon - will be the anchor brand for his new 80,000 sq ft entertainment, lifestyle and F&B concept at The Cannery.
Best-known up to now for Extrim slimming pills, LifeBrandz has acquired a 15-year licence to run MoS here. And at 40,000 sq ft it will be big - about twice the size of homegrown dance club Zouk.
The main supporting act will be Spain's Cafe del Mar, from the trendy resort island of Ibiza. Like MoS, it has attained cult status among late-night revellers for its Mediterranean brand of chill-out club music, disseminated globally by in-house DJs who make guest appearances and spin at dance clubs around the world.
Singapore's Cafe del Mar will be a pared-down version of the Ibiza original. The Singapore MoS, on the other hand, will be the world's biggest, though it won't be the first outside England.
For years it was rumoured that MoS would open here. Then in 2001 it opened in Bangkok instead. At the time it was said the only reason it opened there was because it couldn't find suitable partners here.
MoS Bangkok closed down after two-and-a-half years. But Mr Lee says this was because of a government curfew on night spots - not bad business.
Now it will be Singapore's turn to be party-central. And the time could not be better, says Mr Lee. He cites the upcoming integrated resorts and the need for 'support F&B and entertainment venues' as one factor.
But a more compelling reason would have to be that Clarke Quay's owner CapitaLand made LifeBrandz the proverbial offer it could not refuse. Besides paying for an expensive restoration of the old cannery building, CapitaLand offered an 'attractive' rental package, Mr Lee said. For its part, LifeBrandz will spend $150-$180 per square foot - or as Mr Lee puts it, 'not too much and not too little' - fitting out the building and all its new attractions.
The Cannery will include other brand names such as Fashionbar (a fashion TV bar from Paris), Dashing Divas (a nail bar from New York), Bice (a restaurant from Milan) and possibly a fitness studio. It also intends to develop its own brand of clothing and souvenirs.
The strategy depends on recognisable names. Says Mr Lee: 'We thought it would be too big a risk to have untested brands. It takes a long time to build a brand at a new location in a new market. With recognisable brands, people know what to expect.'
LifeBrandz and CapitaLand are hoping Clarke Quay won't only attract tourists but affluent professionals, managers, executives and businessmen as well. But Mr Lee knows it will be hard work getting a return on his investment, which he hopes will be 20-25 per cent. 'A lot of people think that as long as you have a famous DJ like Boy George (a former MoS DJ) you are guaranteed a crowd. But it's not like that anymore,' he says.
According to him, the continuing success of Zouk demonstrates the importance of developing a following and giving regulars a sense of belonging. And that's why, when CapitaLand first offered him only half of the cannery building, he declined. 'I wanted the whole block so I could market and rebrand it the way I want to,' he says. 'I don't want a prata stall next to me.'>
build your dream city !!!
what would you want your dream city to be like ?
for example :
1- take the natural beauty of 'a'
2- add the skyscrapers of 'b'
3- add the beaches of 'c'
4- build the airport of 'x'
5- bla bla>
for example :
1- take the natural beauty of 'a'
2- add the skyscrapers of 'b'
3- add the beaches of 'c'
4- build the airport of 'x'
5- bla bla>
Typical smell in your city?
For years Arnhem smelt like burnt coffeebones but right now the amazing mix is that of trees, lawns and leaves. And right in the middle it's cement and asfalt.
What's your city's scent? Any difference during winter and summer?>
What's your city's scent? Any difference during winter and summer?>
VOTE FOR THE BEST LATIN AMERICAN SKYLINE
Based on what you have seen on site or in pictures, which Latin American city has the skyline with the best visual impact? Please vote in the poll and list your top ten or fewer. A single picture (is worth a 1000 words) to support your claim is welcome, but if you have several, please post a link for access to them, which is more ergonomically sound.
My top 10
1- Panama City
2- Sao Paulo
3- Caracas
4- Rio de Janeiro
5- Buenos Aires
6- Medellin
7- Mexico City
8- Bogota
9- Santiago (de Chile)
10- San Juan (P. R.)>
My top 10
1- Panama City
2- Sao Paulo
3- Caracas
4- Rio de Janeiro
5- Buenos Aires
6- Medellin
7- Mexico City
8- Bogota
9- Santiago (de Chile)
10- San Juan (P. R.)>
“The Historic Centre of Macao”
www.macauheritage.net
Â"The Historic Centre of MacaoÂ" has, as of 15th July, been officially listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.
even tho i dun really buy this east-meets-west shxt im still proud of macao as a macao local. will post some pix soon.>
Â"The Historic Centre of MacaoÂ" has, as of 15th July, been officially listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.
even tho i dun really buy this east-meets-west shxt im still proud of macao as a macao local. will post some pix soon.>
Income per Capita (Nominal) for 2005, and for all the countries
1 Luxembourg 77,595
2 Norway 61,852
3 Switzerland 52,879
4 Iceland 52,063
5 Ireland 50,303
6 Denmark 49,182
7 Sweden 42,392
8 United States 41,917
9 Qatar 39,607
10 Austria 39,292
11 Finland 39,098
12 Netherlands 38,320
13 United Kingdom 38,098
14 Belgium 37,730
15 Japan 37,566
16 France 35,727
17 Germany 35,075
18 Canada 34,028
19 Australia 33,629
20 Italy 31,874
21 Spain 27,074
22 Singapore 26,481
23 New Zealand 26,291
24 Hong Kong 24,626
25 Kuwait 22,424
26 United Arab Emirates 22,009
27 Cyprus 21,161
28 Greece 21,017
29 Israel 18,303
30 Bahamas 18,256
31 Portugal 18,105
32 Slovenia 17,606
33 Netherlands Antilles 17,435
34 Brunei 15,764
35 Taiwan (Republic of China) 14,860
36 South Korea 14,784
37 Bahrain 14,728
38 Malta 14,001
39 Czech Republic 12,304
40 Antigua and Barbuda 11,592
41 Saudi Arabia 11,085
42 Hungary 10,978
43 Barbados 10,747
44 Trinidad and Tobago 10,533
45 Oman 10,316
46 Saint Kitts and Nevis 10,130
47 Slovakia 9,305
48 Estonia 9,112
49 Poland 8,082
50 Croatia 7,801
51 Seychelles 7,504
52 Lithuania 6,853
53 Mexico 6,771
54 Latvia 6,559
55 Chile 6,272
56 Gabon 6,035
57 Botswana 5,951
58 Libya 5,701
59 Lebanon 5,434
60 Russia 5,341
61 Mauritius 5,033
62 Malaysia 4,930
63 Turkey 4,744
64 South Africa 4,698
65 Panama 4,689
66 Venezuela 4,627
67 Costa Rica 4,526
68 Grenada 4,394
69 Argentina 4,380
70 Brazil 4,124
71 Belize 4,120
72 Saint Lucia 4,095
73 Equatorial Guinea 4,086
74 Uruguay 3,837
75 Dominica 3,772
76 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3,719
77 Romania 3,600
78 Kazakhstan 3,453
79 Jamaica 3,388
80 Bulgaria 3,347
81 Fiji 3,287
82 Tunisia 3,154
83 Serbia and Montenegro 3,142
84 Belarus 3,141
85 Algeria 2,971
86 Iran 2,810
87 Turkmenistan 2,756
88 Thailand 2,665
89 Albania 2,504
90 Peru 2,484
91 Cape Verde 2,479
92 Maldives 2,472
93 Suriname 2,452
94 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2,429
95 El Salvador 2,410
96 Republic of Macedonia 2,404
97 Dominican Republic 2,383
98 Namibia 2,360
99 Colombia 2,358
100 Swaziland 2,298
101 Ecuador 2,255
102 Tonga 2,226
103 Jordan 2,058
104 Guatemala 1,966
105 Samoa 1,821
106 Morocco 1,758
107 Ukraine 1,748
108 Republic of the Congo 1,563
109 Angola 1,550
110 Vanuatu 1,504
111 People's Republic of China (Mainland) 1,411
112 Syria 1,378
113 Egypt 1,297
114 Azerbaijan 1,279
115 Armenia 1,270
116 Indonesia 1,267
117 Paraguay 1,170
118 Bolivia 1,147
119 Sri Lanka 1,088
120 Philippines 1,079
121 Honduras 1,069
122 Zimbabwe 1,045
123 Guyana 1,035
124 Georgia 927
125 Côte d'Ivoire 886
126 Cameroon 882
127 Bhutan 879
128 Senegal 835
129 Djibouti 824
130 Nicaragua 821
131 Moldova 803
132 Kiribati 768
133 Sudan 718
134 Lesotho 702
135 India 678
136 Papua New Guinea 660
137 Benin 642
138 Chad 637
139 Nigeria 626
140 Comoros 620
141 Pakistan 591
142 Yemen 586
143 Solomon Islands 570
144 Vietnam 566
145 Mongolia 547
146 Zambia 537
147 Mauritania 529
148 Kenya 513
149 Haiti 511
150 Ghana 495
151 Laos 451
152 Burkina Faso 449
153 Kyrgyzstan 444
154 Mali 444
155 São Tomé and PrÃncipe 419
156 Uzbekistan 419
157 Togo 414
158 Bangladesh 408
159 Guinea 382
160 Central African Republic 371
161 Tajikistan 369
162 East Timor 353
163 Mozambique 343
164 Tanzania 323
165 Cambodia 317
166 Uganda 309
167 The Gambia 305
168 Madagascar 276
169 Niger 268
170 Nepal 247
171 Rwanda 235
172 Guinea-Bissau 229
173 Afghanistan 228[1]
174 Sierra Leone 208
175 Malawi 164
176 Myanmar 160
177 Eritrea 157
178 Ethiopia 123
179 Democratic Republic of the Congo 116
180 Burundi 106
Source: International Monetary Fund>
2 Norway 61,852
3 Switzerland 52,879
4 Iceland 52,063
5 Ireland 50,303
6 Denmark 49,182
7 Sweden 42,392
8 United States 41,917
9 Qatar 39,607
10 Austria 39,292
11 Finland 39,098
12 Netherlands 38,320
13 United Kingdom 38,098
14 Belgium 37,730
15 Japan 37,566
16 France 35,727
17 Germany 35,075
18 Canada 34,028
19 Australia 33,629
20 Italy 31,874
21 Spain 27,074
22 Singapore 26,481
23 New Zealand 26,291
24 Hong Kong 24,626
25 Kuwait 22,424
26 United Arab Emirates 22,009
27 Cyprus 21,161
28 Greece 21,017
29 Israel 18,303
30 Bahamas 18,256
31 Portugal 18,105
32 Slovenia 17,606
33 Netherlands Antilles 17,435
34 Brunei 15,764
35 Taiwan (Republic of China) 14,860
36 South Korea 14,784
37 Bahrain 14,728
38 Malta 14,001
39 Czech Republic 12,304
40 Antigua and Barbuda 11,592
41 Saudi Arabia 11,085
42 Hungary 10,978
43 Barbados 10,747
44 Trinidad and Tobago 10,533
45 Oman 10,316
46 Saint Kitts and Nevis 10,130
47 Slovakia 9,305
48 Estonia 9,112
49 Poland 8,082
50 Croatia 7,801
51 Seychelles 7,504
52 Lithuania 6,853
53 Mexico 6,771
54 Latvia 6,559
55 Chile 6,272
56 Gabon 6,035
57 Botswana 5,951
58 Libya 5,701
59 Lebanon 5,434
60 Russia 5,341
61 Mauritius 5,033
62 Malaysia 4,930
63 Turkey 4,744
64 South Africa 4,698
65 Panama 4,689
66 Venezuela 4,627
67 Costa Rica 4,526
68 Grenada 4,394
69 Argentina 4,380
70 Brazil 4,124
71 Belize 4,120
72 Saint Lucia 4,095
73 Equatorial Guinea 4,086
74 Uruguay 3,837
75 Dominica 3,772
76 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3,719
77 Romania 3,600
78 Kazakhstan 3,453
79 Jamaica 3,388
80 Bulgaria 3,347
81 Fiji 3,287
82 Tunisia 3,154
83 Serbia and Montenegro 3,142
84 Belarus 3,141
85 Algeria 2,971
86 Iran 2,810
87 Turkmenistan 2,756
88 Thailand 2,665
89 Albania 2,504
90 Peru 2,484
91 Cape Verde 2,479
92 Maldives 2,472
93 Suriname 2,452
94 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2,429
95 El Salvador 2,410
96 Republic of Macedonia 2,404
97 Dominican Republic 2,383
98 Namibia 2,360
99 Colombia 2,358
100 Swaziland 2,298
101 Ecuador 2,255
102 Tonga 2,226
103 Jordan 2,058
104 Guatemala 1,966
105 Samoa 1,821
106 Morocco 1,758
107 Ukraine 1,748
108 Republic of the Congo 1,563
109 Angola 1,550
110 Vanuatu 1,504
111 People's Republic of China (Mainland) 1,411
112 Syria 1,378
113 Egypt 1,297
114 Azerbaijan 1,279
115 Armenia 1,270
116 Indonesia 1,267
117 Paraguay 1,170
118 Bolivia 1,147
119 Sri Lanka 1,088
120 Philippines 1,079
121 Honduras 1,069
122 Zimbabwe 1,045
123 Guyana 1,035
124 Georgia 927
125 Côte d'Ivoire 886
126 Cameroon 882
127 Bhutan 879
128 Senegal 835
129 Djibouti 824
130 Nicaragua 821
131 Moldova 803
132 Kiribati 768
133 Sudan 718
134 Lesotho 702
135 India 678
136 Papua New Guinea 660
137 Benin 642
138 Chad 637
139 Nigeria 626
140 Comoros 620
141 Pakistan 591
142 Yemen 586
143 Solomon Islands 570
144 Vietnam 566
145 Mongolia 547
146 Zambia 537
147 Mauritania 529
148 Kenya 513
149 Haiti 511
150 Ghana 495
151 Laos 451
152 Burkina Faso 449
153 Kyrgyzstan 444
154 Mali 444
155 São Tomé and PrÃncipe 419
156 Uzbekistan 419
157 Togo 414
158 Bangladesh 408
159 Guinea 382
160 Central African Republic 371
161 Tajikistan 369
162 East Timor 353
163 Mozambique 343
164 Tanzania 323
165 Cambodia 317
166 Uganda 309
167 The Gambia 305
168 Madagascar 276
169 Niger 268
170 Nepal 247
171 Rwanda 235
172 Guinea-Bissau 229
173 Afghanistan 228[1]
174 Sierra Leone 208
175 Malawi 164
176 Myanmar 160
177 Eritrea 157
178 Ethiopia 123
179 Democratic Republic of the Congo 116
180 Burundi 106
Source: International Monetary Fund>
Cape Town judged 'best' in Africa & Middle East
Cape Times Monday, July 25, 2005
US TRAVEL MAGAZINE POLL
CAPE TOWN has, for the fifth time, been voted the best African or Middle East city in the influential US travel magazine Travel + Leisure's 2005 Travel Awards, and the eight best city in the world.
Two Cape Town hotels are also on the 'Top 100 Best in the World' list- the Cape Grace Hotel (24th) with 90 points out of a possible 100, and the Table Bay Hotel (70th) with 87.29. Both hotels are in the V&A Waterfront.
Three South African private game lodges also scored well in the hotels category. Singita Private Game Reserve came second overall (94.57 points), Sabi Sabi (34th with 89.41) and Mala Mala (56th with 87.86). The world's top hotel is the Four Seasons Resort in Bali at Sayan.
In the 'Africa/ Middle East Cities' category Cape Town with 84.51 points, beat Marrakesh (81.27) and Fez (80.47) in Morocco, Jerusalem (79.04) in Israel, and Cairo (77.81) in Egypt.
In the 'World Cities' category, the top 10 (in order) were Sydney, Bangkok, Rome, Florence, Chiang Mai (Thailand), New York, Istanbul, Cape Town, Oaxaca (Mexico) and San Francisco.
Travel + Leisure subscribers from around the world were invited to take part in the annual survey...
For cities, respondents were asked to score the sights, culture/arts, restaurants/food, people, shopping and value.
>
US TRAVEL MAGAZINE POLL
CAPE TOWN has, for the fifth time, been voted the best African or Middle East city in the influential US travel magazine Travel + Leisure's 2005 Travel Awards, and the eight best city in the world.
Two Cape Town hotels are also on the 'Top 100 Best in the World' list- the Cape Grace Hotel (24th) with 90 points out of a possible 100, and the Table Bay Hotel (70th) with 87.29. Both hotels are in the V&A Waterfront.
Three South African private game lodges also scored well in the hotels category. Singita Private Game Reserve came second overall (94.57 points), Sabi Sabi (34th with 89.41) and Mala Mala (56th with 87.86). The world's top hotel is the Four Seasons Resort in Bali at Sayan.
In the 'Africa/ Middle East Cities' category Cape Town with 84.51 points, beat Marrakesh (81.27) and Fez (80.47) in Morocco, Jerusalem (79.04) in Israel, and Cairo (77.81) in Egypt.
In the 'World Cities' category, the top 10 (in order) were Sydney, Bangkok, Rome, Florence, Chiang Mai (Thailand), New York, Istanbul, Cape Town, Oaxaca (Mexico) and San Francisco.
Travel + Leisure subscribers from around the world were invited to take part in the annual survey...
For cities, respondents were asked to score the sights, culture/arts, restaurants/food, people, shopping and value.
>
HOTELcondominium PHENOMENON
Try saying that 4 times in a row after 3 martinis....
With the announcement that Toronto-based luxury hotelier FOUR SEASONS is building a new $325 million/55 storey/2 tower flagship hotel and condo in Yorkville... it seems timely to ask if other cities are experiences this type of hotel/condo combo boom.
The ecomonics of building seem to be driving force behind this strategy, but one wonders just how many luxury projects a medium-sized city can absorb.
Penthouses at the Ritz are $11 million a pop, and the Donald has one going for $18 million.
The pic below identiifies some of the very high-end combo projects that are creating the luxury clutter (smaller ones are built or u/c. Note the Ritz should be 53 storeys).
So.... besides Chicago and NYC, is the phenomenon unfolding in other cities?
(original Sapphire drawing: Cassius Adams)
>
With the announcement that Toronto-based luxury hotelier FOUR SEASONS is building a new $325 million/55 storey/2 tower flagship hotel and condo in Yorkville... it seems timely to ask if other cities are experiences this type of hotel/condo combo boom.
The ecomonics of building seem to be driving force behind this strategy, but one wonders just how many luxury projects a medium-sized city can absorb.
Penthouses at the Ritz are $11 million a pop, and the Donald has one going for $18 million.
The pic below identiifies some of the very high-end combo projects that are creating the luxury clutter (smaller ones are built or u/c. Note the Ritz should be 53 storeys).
So.... besides Chicago and NYC, is the phenomenon unfolding in other cities?
(original Sapphire drawing: Cassius Adams)
>
Which are the best capital cities?
The other day I was browsing through the forums and I saw some of these capital cities, and they looked very nice, very clean, and very appealing.I made a list of my top capitals, they could include state ones as well
*Ottowa
*Ankara
*Brasilia
*Singapore
*Cape Town
*and last but not least, Denver(capital of Colorado)>
The Desire for Tallest Building Persists
The Desire for Tallest Building Persists
By ROBIN POGREBIN
Published: July 27, 2005
New York Times
Given the haunting image of the collapsing twin towers, it's hard for many Americans to fathom the enduring urge to build tall.
Yet now come plans for the nation's tallest skyscraper, a condominium and hotel building designed by Santiago Calatrava for Chicago's Near North lakefront. At 2,000 feet, the building, the Fordham Spire, would beat out the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower planned for ground zero.
Internationally, both of these designs are dwarfed by the Burj Tower under construction in Dubai, which is expected to reach 2,300 feet. Once completed, the Burj will overtake Taipei 101, a 1,667-foot office tower, as the world's tallest. And the Taipei building is certainly a short-time record holder; only in October did it surpass the 1,483-foot Petronas Towers in Malaysia.
"There are real bragging rights to being the tallest that go back 3,000 years," said Carol Willis, the founder and director of the Skyscraper Museum in Manhattan. "Exceeding or exalting for spiritual reasons or a demonstration of power dates back from Babylon on - wanting to take a place in history, reserve a place in the timeline. Height is a fixation."
For all the talk about jitters deterring potential tenants of a future Freedom Tower, the 9/11 terrorist attack has done little or nothing to diminish a global appetite to touch the sky. "The number of tall buildings being built around the world is at an all-time high," said Ron Klemencic, chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a professional group.
Chicago already has three of the 15 tallest buildings in the world: the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center and Aon Center.
"The skyscraper was born in Chicago," said Christian K. Narkiewicz-Laine, director and president of the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design. "The whole concept of the skyscraper has always been indigenous to the city."
Developers are planning four buildings of around 80 stories in the city, Mr. Klemencic said. (The Fordham Spire is to rise to 115 stories by 2009.) Miami, San Francisco and Las Vegas are also in the midst of bustling high-rise construction.
David M. Childs of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, the architect who designed the Freedom Tower, said he was not at all troubled by the notion that its height would be eclipsed by that of Mr. Calatrava's building. "More power to him," he said.
Mr. Childs pointed out that under current Federal Aviation Administration rules, Mr. Calatrava's proposed 2,000-foot tower is as tall as any building is allowed to be. And the Freedom Tower was not meant to be higher, given the patriotic symbolism of 1,776 feet mandated by Daniel Libeskind's master plan. Mr. Childs designed the roof and rooftop parapet to match the height of the two original World Trade Center buildings (1,362 feet and 1,368 feet); the antenna completes the distance to the top.
But the developer behind Burj Tower, Balfour Beatty, has made clear his intention to set - and keep - the record for the world's tallest building. "If anyone comes close," Ms. Willis said, "they'll build a taller spire."
That, of course, raises that perennial question in the skyscraper world: Does the spire count? Isn't it kind of cheating?
The Council on Tall Buildings, which certifies the tallest structures, has determined that the spire counts if it is "integral to the architecture of the building," Mr. Klemencic said.
"If you take off the top of the Chrysler Building, it doesn't look like the Chrysler Building anymore," he explained. "But if you take the antennas off the Hancock Tower, it still looks like the Hancock Tower."
The Freedom Tower's spire is expected to set off some squabbling. "I'm sure there will be heated debate," Mr. Klemencic said.
The 2,000-foot-high Calatrava building in Chicago, to be built by the developer Christopher T. Carley, would be 1,458 feet without its spire - only eight feet taller than the Sears Tower.
Architecture buffs revel in the lore of such competition, recalling how the Chrysler Building beat out the Bank of Manhattan tower in 1929 with the last-minute hoisting of a secretly planned stainless steel top. In 1931, of course, the Chrysler was bested by the Empire State Building, which yielded the title to the World Trade Center four decades later.
While the Calatrava building may be major news for the country, experts say it is old hat for much of the rest of the world, particularly Asia. Hong Kong, with its notorious population density, has more skyscrapers than New York, Ms. Willis said, and its residential buildings typically reach 60 stories these days.
Along Shanghai's jostling skyline, plans are under way for an 1,614-foot tower, China's tallest, as part of the Shanghai World Financial Center. "They're not afraid of height at all," Ms. Willis said of developers in Asia. "There is no anxiety. They both need the space and want the attention."
Some New Yorkers no doubt remain deeply wary of living or working in skyscrapers in the aftermath of 9/11. More than any other building, the Freedom Tower is a natural locus for fears of a violent recurrence.
But architectural experts say that in general, plenty of people and institutions will succumb to the spell of an architecturally prominent tall building, not to mention the view. "All you need is the right number of people with sufficient money," Ms. Willis said.>
By ROBIN POGREBIN
Published: July 27, 2005
New York Times
Given the haunting image of the collapsing twin towers, it's hard for many Americans to fathom the enduring urge to build tall.
Yet now come plans for the nation's tallest skyscraper, a condominium and hotel building designed by Santiago Calatrava for Chicago's Near North lakefront. At 2,000 feet, the building, the Fordham Spire, would beat out the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower planned for ground zero.
Internationally, both of these designs are dwarfed by the Burj Tower under construction in Dubai, which is expected to reach 2,300 feet. Once completed, the Burj will overtake Taipei 101, a 1,667-foot office tower, as the world's tallest. And the Taipei building is certainly a short-time record holder; only in October did it surpass the 1,483-foot Petronas Towers in Malaysia.
"There are real bragging rights to being the tallest that go back 3,000 years," said Carol Willis, the founder and director of the Skyscraper Museum in Manhattan. "Exceeding or exalting for spiritual reasons or a demonstration of power dates back from Babylon on - wanting to take a place in history, reserve a place in the timeline. Height is a fixation."
For all the talk about jitters deterring potential tenants of a future Freedom Tower, the 9/11 terrorist attack has done little or nothing to diminish a global appetite to touch the sky. "The number of tall buildings being built around the world is at an all-time high," said Ron Klemencic, chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a professional group.
Chicago already has three of the 15 tallest buildings in the world: the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center and Aon Center.
"The skyscraper was born in Chicago," said Christian K. Narkiewicz-Laine, director and president of the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design. "The whole concept of the skyscraper has always been indigenous to the city."
Developers are planning four buildings of around 80 stories in the city, Mr. Klemencic said. (The Fordham Spire is to rise to 115 stories by 2009.) Miami, San Francisco and Las Vegas are also in the midst of bustling high-rise construction.
David M. Childs of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, the architect who designed the Freedom Tower, said he was not at all troubled by the notion that its height would be eclipsed by that of Mr. Calatrava's building. "More power to him," he said.
Mr. Childs pointed out that under current Federal Aviation Administration rules, Mr. Calatrava's proposed 2,000-foot tower is as tall as any building is allowed to be. And the Freedom Tower was not meant to be higher, given the patriotic symbolism of 1,776 feet mandated by Daniel Libeskind's master plan. Mr. Childs designed the roof and rooftop parapet to match the height of the two original World Trade Center buildings (1,362 feet and 1,368 feet); the antenna completes the distance to the top.
But the developer behind Burj Tower, Balfour Beatty, has made clear his intention to set - and keep - the record for the world's tallest building. "If anyone comes close," Ms. Willis said, "they'll build a taller spire."
That, of course, raises that perennial question in the skyscraper world: Does the spire count? Isn't it kind of cheating?
The Council on Tall Buildings, which certifies the tallest structures, has determined that the spire counts if it is "integral to the architecture of the building," Mr. Klemencic said.
"If you take off the top of the Chrysler Building, it doesn't look like the Chrysler Building anymore," he explained. "But if you take the antennas off the Hancock Tower, it still looks like the Hancock Tower."
The Freedom Tower's spire is expected to set off some squabbling. "I'm sure there will be heated debate," Mr. Klemencic said.
The 2,000-foot-high Calatrava building in Chicago, to be built by the developer Christopher T. Carley, would be 1,458 feet without its spire - only eight feet taller than the Sears Tower.
Architecture buffs revel in the lore of such competition, recalling how the Chrysler Building beat out the Bank of Manhattan tower in 1929 with the last-minute hoisting of a secretly planned stainless steel top. In 1931, of course, the Chrysler was bested by the Empire State Building, which yielded the title to the World Trade Center four decades later.
While the Calatrava building may be major news for the country, experts say it is old hat for much of the rest of the world, particularly Asia. Hong Kong, with its notorious population density, has more skyscrapers than New York, Ms. Willis said, and its residential buildings typically reach 60 stories these days.
Along Shanghai's jostling skyline, plans are under way for an 1,614-foot tower, China's tallest, as part of the Shanghai World Financial Center. "They're not afraid of height at all," Ms. Willis said of developers in Asia. "There is no anxiety. They both need the space and want the attention."
Some New Yorkers no doubt remain deeply wary of living or working in skyscrapers in the aftermath of 9/11. More than any other building, the Freedom Tower is a natural locus for fears of a violent recurrence.
But architectural experts say that in general, plenty of people and institutions will succumb to the spell of an architecturally prominent tall building, not to mention the view. "All you need is the right number of people with sufficient money," Ms. Willis said.>
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE LATIN AMERICAN CITY
What's your favorite Latin American city? If it's not listed, feel free to give it a plug via thread reply.>
Big cities(pop>1 million) at a high altitude(>1500m)
what are they?and post their pics,please.
and which of them is the best one?
>
and which of them is the best one?
>
Cities, Counties, Boundaries
There is a discussion on the unique city thread that got into the cities that had consolidated boundaries with their counties.
That got me thinking.
Are there any major US cities located in more than one county?
Of course NYC fits the fill (5 boroughs are each their own county). But elsewhere? Here in Chicago, a part of O'Hare crosses into DuPage County, but it is virtually inconsequential; Chicago is virtually entirely in Cook Co. We do have suburbs that cross county lines. One northwest of the city (Barrington Hills) I believe has parts in four counties while the major west suburban city of Aurora crosses into DuPage County (far more extensively than Chicago does)
Can you think of any place else where cities cross county lines?>
That got me thinking.
Are there any major US cities located in more than one county?
Of course NYC fits the fill (5 boroughs are each their own county). But elsewhere? Here in Chicago, a part of O'Hare crosses into DuPage County, but it is virtually inconsequential; Chicago is virtually entirely in Cook Co. We do have suburbs that cross county lines. One northwest of the city (Barrington Hills) I believe has parts in four counties while the major west suburban city of Aurora crosses into DuPage County (far more extensively than Chicago does)
Can you think of any place else where cities cross county lines?>
WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR CITY?
What aspect or feature of your city distinguishes it from others. Is there something about your city that is rare compared to others? What does your city have that few others (if any) have?
Take my two cities for example: a) Panama City (were I was born) has a metro population of 1,225,000. As one of the smallest countries in the world, Panama's population is barely over 3,000,000. Isn't it remarkable that close to half the country's population live it it's capital city? Only Singapore (that I know of) has more people (90%) living in it's capital of the same name.
b) San Francisco (where I now live) is unique for being the seat of it's own county. Very few other cities or towns (if any) in the U. S. has the distinction of being a city and county of a given State. San Francisco is certainly the only one in California. It is also the most densely populated city in the U. S. after New York City.>
Take my two cities for example: a) Panama City (were I was born) has a metro population of 1,225,000. As one of the smallest countries in the world, Panama's population is barely over 3,000,000. Isn't it remarkable that close to half the country's population live it it's capital city? Only Singapore (that I know of) has more people (90%) living in it's capital of the same name.
b) San Francisco (where I now live) is unique for being the seat of it's own county. Very few other cities or towns (if any) in the U. S. has the distinction of being a city and county of a given State. San Francisco is certainly the only one in California. It is also the most densely populated city in the U. S. after New York City.>
What changes would you make to you're OWN CITY?
In Light of the what changes would you make to London thread, I thought we may aswell have another one for you're own city. They can be changes to anything, not just skyscrapers.
Go nuts.>
Go nuts.>
A four star success route for Federated?
It appears, for now, that the only chains that Federated has acquired from May Dept stores that have no immediate name change in store are Marshall Field's and Lord & Taylor.
Lord & Taylor will not be converted to Macy's; no realease yet on what will happen to Marshall Field's.
Now I'm no expert on department stores, but as the last remaining super-chain of department stores, Federated might well consider keeping all four of its premere chain lines....and not just because of a Chicago rebellion if Field's becomes Macy's.
Four chains, each with its own niche, working together to garner as much of that highly shrunken department store market by giving customers more choices:
Here's my thinking:
MACY'S: the traditional department store, the one most capable of openning in the widest range of locations. Generic enough to take over most chains and incorporate them into the Macy's organization with minimal disruption. Could penetrate Chicago market without dropping Field's name by converting some stores to Macy's name or openning others in shuttered dept. store locations.
BLOOMINGDALE'S: upscale and trendy. Location in cool urban (and suburan) spots in select US locations. Far more reflective of exporting a NYC life style than is Macy's
MARSHALL FIELD'S: solid as a rock high end department store. Personality and distinctiveness of its own. No reason why this one couldn't open a New York store that will find its own niche in Manhattan. No reason why, on a far more selective basis than Macy's, be expanded nation wide.
LORD & TAYLOR: More a specialty shop that a full department store, but certainly a possible Federated attempt to compete with stores like Neiman Marcus or SFA.....although Neimans and Saks would have better individual stores while L&T would make up with more extensive locations.
Four chains, each with its own special niche, each capable of national penetration where appropriate, and nothing in the scenerio that prevents Macy's from carrying out Federated's ubber-strategy of a giant cross country chain under the Macy's name.>
Lord & Taylor will not be converted to Macy's; no realease yet on what will happen to Marshall Field's.
Now I'm no expert on department stores, but as the last remaining super-chain of department stores, Federated might well consider keeping all four of its premere chain lines....and not just because of a Chicago rebellion if Field's becomes Macy's.
Four chains, each with its own niche, working together to garner as much of that highly shrunken department store market by giving customers more choices:
Here's my thinking:
MACY'S: the traditional department store, the one most capable of openning in the widest range of locations. Generic enough to take over most chains and incorporate them into the Macy's organization with minimal disruption. Could penetrate Chicago market without dropping Field's name by converting some stores to Macy's name or openning others in shuttered dept. store locations.
BLOOMINGDALE'S: upscale and trendy. Location in cool urban (and suburan) spots in select US locations. Far more reflective of exporting a NYC life style than is Macy's
MARSHALL FIELD'S: solid as a rock high end department store. Personality and distinctiveness of its own. No reason why this one couldn't open a New York store that will find its own niche in Manhattan. No reason why, on a far more selective basis than Macy's, be expanded nation wide.
LORD & TAYLOR: More a specialty shop that a full department store, but certainly a possible Federated attempt to compete with stores like Neiman Marcus or SFA.....although Neimans and Saks would have better individual stores while L&T would make up with more extensive locations.
Four chains, each with its own special niche, each capable of national penetration where appropriate, and nothing in the scenerio that prevents Macy's from carrying out Federated's ubber-strategy of a giant cross country chain under the Macy's name.>
What's the Biggest city in Mediterranean?
I think these
-Barcelona-Spain
-Athens-Greece
-Izmir-Turkey
-Antalya-Turkey
-Mersin-Turkey
Your comments?>
-Barcelona-Spain
-Athens-Greece
-Izmir-Turkey
-Antalya-Turkey
-Mersin-Turkey
Your comments?>
Death of Venice? Tourists pour in as residents head out
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/29/news/venice.php
Death of Venice? Tourists pour in as residents head out
By Elisabetta Povoledo International Herald Tribune
Published: September 29, 2006
VENICE Four months ago Mirella Dalla Pasqua, born and raised in this venerable city improbably built on water, did something she thought she would never do: She bought a house on the mainland.
"I had no choice," said Dalla Pasqua, 31, who described leaving for the "terra firma" side of the lagoon as a trauma.
"I'm proud to be a Venetian," she said, but "house prices are impossibly high in Venice, and then you have to fix them up. Young people just can't afford that."
Dalla Pasqua works in a glove shop near the Rialto Bridge, in the historic heart of Venice, and now commutes every day. She is hardly the first Venetian to leave this sea-locked city. Over the past 50 years, thousands have taken part in a collective disappearing act. From a peak of 171,000 residents in 1951, the population of the historic center of Venice has fallen to fewer than 62,000.
"We've reached the point of collapse, the point where things could fall apart," said Ezio Micelli, an urban planner.
Should the trend continue, newspapers fretted recently, by 2030 authentic Venetians could become extinct and the historic center reduced to a shell subsisting only on tourism. For even as Venetians leave, tourists have been coming. And coming.
According to recent estimates, 15 million to 18 million tourists have come to Venice over the last year. On some days they easily outnumber residents; during the pre-Lenten Carnival there are 150,000 tourists a day.
When the ratio of tourists to residents tips in favor of the former, "it's not meaningful to talk about Venice as a city anymore," said Robert Davis, a professor of Italian history at Ohio State University.
"The city is basically already lost," said Davis, a co-author of "Venice: The Tourist Maze," an entertaining and thoughtful cultural critique of the tourism phenomenon. "The speculation is what will happen to it next."
Venice is now largely dependent on tourism for its economic survival, even as tourists complicate daily life for most Venetians.
"You can't get onto a vaporetto" - the public transport boat that ferries people around the canals - "without finding it packed with tourists and their suitcases," grumbled Gianpietro Meneghetti, a retired bank manager. He launched into a litany of grievances shared by many locals, including high prices for basic foods and the inability to live normally among the foreign interlopers.
Stores catering to daily needs - supermarkets, shoe-repair shops, even cinemas - have been steadily muscled out by shops selling Murano glass and gaudy ceramic masks. Hotels, new bed- and-breakfasts, restaurants and snack bars have added to the pressure on space, driving up the price of real estate, a limited resource by Venice's very nature.
"Things cost too much - if you stay, it's only because you've inherited a house," said Walter Pitteri, who lives in Mestre, the mainland part of greater Venice. Driving a car also has its attractions, he added. "I'd never come back," he said. "I'm not interested in a city like this that's too difficult to live in."
The price of property is exceptionally high in Venice compared with the mainland. A 100-square-meter, or 1,100- square-foot, apartment goes for up to €1 million, or $1.27 million, in the historic center, and more on the Grand Canal, but half or a quarter of that on firm land across the lagoon, depending on location.
Even that is too high for some: The population of greater Venice has also declined since its 1968 peak of 367,832 residents. It is today just shy of 270,000, including those in the old city.
Mayor Massimo Cacciari points out that the depopulation of city centers is a problem in many places. But because Venice is identified as the historic center in its lagoon, and not the mainland suburbs, depopulation is seen as more distressing here, he says.
"People aren't exactly living in the center of Potsdamer Platz" in Berlin, Cacciari said. "In Venice, it's perceived as a bigger problem."
Something must be done to "stop the exodus and protect the resident population," Cacciari asserted during an interview in his office in a palazzo abutting the Grand Canal. While the city has set aside money to help young couples meet the cost of high rents or mortgages, the money allocated "barely covers a small percentage of the needs," Cacciari said.
Through a municipal real estate development agency, the city is building 500 to 600 apartments in three areas of the city that it will rent to middle-class families, the social group at greatest risk of "extinction."
"If you lose the middle class, you end up with polarization between the very rich and the very poor, and the city becomes unglued and falls apart," said Micelli, the urban planner, who also heads the municipal real estate development agency. Similar projects in other areas of Venice have been successful, he said, slowing the exodus to the mainland and "reinforcing the social fabric."
The Venetian authorities also want to lure new residents to the historic center and are looking to develop job opportunities beyond the tourist industry.
"We need new energies from outside," said Mara Rumiz, the Venice council member in charge of housing. The current population, she said, "just isn't a sufficient critical mass to launch the city on a new path."
But stimulating new businesses to set up shop here has not been easy.
"After all, you can't build a factory here," Cacciari said, citing Venice's fragile ecosystem.
So the city is pressing its cultural advantages, increasing research facilities and university programs in the historic center as well as promoting cultural events like the Biennale art exhibition and film festival.
Cacciari is also seeking to make mass tourism help pay for the city. He is trying to impose a tourist tax and to get locals who make money from tourism to compensate the city somehow for the burden they place on local services. Such taxes are not likely to keep tourists away.
"The demand for Venice is inflexible - rising prices won't stop it," said Davis, the author. "People will come anyway."
While some here see the decisions of the next few years as crucial to Venice's future, others take comfort in the past of a city that many times previously has been declared down for the count.
"Venice is a strong city, despite its apparent fragility," said Franca Coin, president of the Venice International Foundation, which raises money for restoration projects.
"You have to believe in the city's future. You have to roll up your sleeves and make an effort, otherwise you won't obtain anything.">
Death of Venice? Tourists pour in as residents head out
By Elisabetta Povoledo International Herald Tribune
Published: September 29, 2006
VENICE Four months ago Mirella Dalla Pasqua, born and raised in this venerable city improbably built on water, did something she thought she would never do: She bought a house on the mainland.
"I had no choice," said Dalla Pasqua, 31, who described leaving for the "terra firma" side of the lagoon as a trauma.
"I'm proud to be a Venetian," she said, but "house prices are impossibly high in Venice, and then you have to fix them up. Young people just can't afford that."
Dalla Pasqua works in a glove shop near the Rialto Bridge, in the historic heart of Venice, and now commutes every day. She is hardly the first Venetian to leave this sea-locked city. Over the past 50 years, thousands have taken part in a collective disappearing act. From a peak of 171,000 residents in 1951, the population of the historic center of Venice has fallen to fewer than 62,000.
"We've reached the point of collapse, the point where things could fall apart," said Ezio Micelli, an urban planner.
Should the trend continue, newspapers fretted recently, by 2030 authentic Venetians could become extinct and the historic center reduced to a shell subsisting only on tourism. For even as Venetians leave, tourists have been coming. And coming.
According to recent estimates, 15 million to 18 million tourists have come to Venice over the last year. On some days they easily outnumber residents; during the pre-Lenten Carnival there are 150,000 tourists a day.
When the ratio of tourists to residents tips in favor of the former, "it's not meaningful to talk about Venice as a city anymore," said Robert Davis, a professor of Italian history at Ohio State University.
"The city is basically already lost," said Davis, a co-author of "Venice: The Tourist Maze," an entertaining and thoughtful cultural critique of the tourism phenomenon. "The speculation is what will happen to it next."
Venice is now largely dependent on tourism for its economic survival, even as tourists complicate daily life for most Venetians.
"You can't get onto a vaporetto" - the public transport boat that ferries people around the canals - "without finding it packed with tourists and their suitcases," grumbled Gianpietro Meneghetti, a retired bank manager. He launched into a litany of grievances shared by many locals, including high prices for basic foods and the inability to live normally among the foreign interlopers.
Stores catering to daily needs - supermarkets, shoe-repair shops, even cinemas - have been steadily muscled out by shops selling Murano glass and gaudy ceramic masks. Hotels, new bed- and-breakfasts, restaurants and snack bars have added to the pressure on space, driving up the price of real estate, a limited resource by Venice's very nature.
"Things cost too much - if you stay, it's only because you've inherited a house," said Walter Pitteri, who lives in Mestre, the mainland part of greater Venice. Driving a car also has its attractions, he added. "I'd never come back," he said. "I'm not interested in a city like this that's too difficult to live in."
The price of property is exceptionally high in Venice compared with the mainland. A 100-square-meter, or 1,100- square-foot, apartment goes for up to €1 million, or $1.27 million, in the historic center, and more on the Grand Canal, but half or a quarter of that on firm land across the lagoon, depending on location.
Even that is too high for some: The population of greater Venice has also declined since its 1968 peak of 367,832 residents. It is today just shy of 270,000, including those in the old city.
Mayor Massimo Cacciari points out that the depopulation of city centers is a problem in many places. But because Venice is identified as the historic center in its lagoon, and not the mainland suburbs, depopulation is seen as more distressing here, he says.
"People aren't exactly living in the center of Potsdamer Platz" in Berlin, Cacciari said. "In Venice, it's perceived as a bigger problem."
Something must be done to "stop the exodus and protect the resident population," Cacciari asserted during an interview in his office in a palazzo abutting the Grand Canal. While the city has set aside money to help young couples meet the cost of high rents or mortgages, the money allocated "barely covers a small percentage of the needs," Cacciari said.
Through a municipal real estate development agency, the city is building 500 to 600 apartments in three areas of the city that it will rent to middle-class families, the social group at greatest risk of "extinction."
"If you lose the middle class, you end up with polarization between the very rich and the very poor, and the city becomes unglued and falls apart," said Micelli, the urban planner, who also heads the municipal real estate development agency. Similar projects in other areas of Venice have been successful, he said, slowing the exodus to the mainland and "reinforcing the social fabric."
The Venetian authorities also want to lure new residents to the historic center and are looking to develop job opportunities beyond the tourist industry.
"We need new energies from outside," said Mara Rumiz, the Venice council member in charge of housing. The current population, she said, "just isn't a sufficient critical mass to launch the city on a new path."
But stimulating new businesses to set up shop here has not been easy.
"After all, you can't build a factory here," Cacciari said, citing Venice's fragile ecosystem.
So the city is pressing its cultural advantages, increasing research facilities and university programs in the historic center as well as promoting cultural events like the Biennale art exhibition and film festival.
Cacciari is also seeking to make mass tourism help pay for the city. He is trying to impose a tourist tax and to get locals who make money from tourism to compensate the city somehow for the burden they place on local services. Such taxes are not likely to keep tourists away.
"The demand for Venice is inflexible - rising prices won't stop it," said Davis, the author. "People will come anyway."
While some here see the decisions of the next few years as crucial to Venice's future, others take comfort in the past of a city that many times previously has been declared down for the count.
"Venice is a strong city, despite its apparent fragility," said Franca Coin, president of the Venice International Foundation, which raises money for restoration projects.
"You have to believe in the city's future. You have to roll up your sleeves and make an effort, otherwise you won't obtain anything.">
"To precast, or not to precast? That is the question..."
Do you tend to like or dislike precast on buildings?
What do you find you prefer out of the different types of precast and different uses?
-thryve>
What do you find you prefer out of the different types of precast and different uses?
-thryve>
The Best City in the World
What's your vote? I can't decide between Chicago and Dubai, so for me it's a tie. Hopefully in ten years I'll have a condo in both 
>
>
How does electricity run in your city?
How does electricity run in your city? Do you run through electrical poles or they run underground?
Anyway, in HK, it's mostly underground but some parts are connected with electrical poles like some areas in The New Territories or Lantau.>
Anyway, in HK, it's mostly underground but some parts are connected with electrical poles like some areas in The New Territories or Lantau.>
NYC: Buying, By the Numbers: Who is buying all these apartments?
Down the street from your place, another new condominium tower just sold out. Where on earth are all these people coming from? We found out.
255 Hudson Street: The Brokers Buy Here, Too
*Percentages in some categories may not total 100 because of rounding.
By S.Jhoanna Robledo
October 23, 2006
If you live in Manhattan, someone is trying to sell you a condominium in your neighborhood. The spectacular building boom of the past half-decade has vastly shifted the market from co-ops to condos, which account for 25 percent of the cityÂ's salable housing stock but make up more than half the homes for sale right now, says appraiser Jonathan Miller. Most of those apartments are new—hyperpromoted, star-architected, buzz-heavy buildings that added sizzle to the hot market. Thousands more units, planned during the boom, are poised to hit the market in the next year. As of August, 64 residential-construction permits had been issued in Manhattan alone this year. (The total last year was 104.) Developers still think theyÂ're going to sell everything they can build; almost none have thrown up their hands and turned their buildings into rentals, as often happened during the late-eighties crash. Which means everyone seems to be asking the same thing: Just who is buying all these apartments?
To find the answer, we spoke with buyers, brokers who trade heavily in condos, and developers of nearly two dozen projects, some fully sold, some not. The buildings are spread throughout the city, mostly in Manhattan, and most have more than 30 units (some have hundreds). Their owners gave us access to their sales breakdowns, many of which appear in the graphics on these pages.
What emerges is the new face of the condo client—or, rather, faces. Some trends became immediately obvious. New York is—unlike, say, Miami or Las Vegas—a city of local buyers. Investors make up a much smaller slice of the pie here, maybe 4 percent (compared with up to 40 percent in those other cities). The new condo buyer is also much less neighborhood-driven than New York buyers have traditionally been. The building, rather than its site, is king. Â"ItÂ's no longer truly about location alone,Â" says Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group president Kelly Mack. Buyers swap the Upper West Side for Tribeca, Chelsea for Murray Hill, the East Village for Prospect Heights. Â"It used to be our competitors were other buildings on the Upper East Side,Â" says Orin Wilf, the developer of 170 East End Avenue. Â"[Now theyÂ're] all over.Â" Toby Klein of Two Trees Management, which has sold off units in three condos in Dumbo, says the now-coveted neighborhood didnÂ't see outsiders—investors and foreigners alike—six or seven years ago. Â"We were strictly a local story,Â" she says. These days, only a quarter of its contracts are from the area.
Exceptions to this rule are mostly confined to particularly beloved or transitional neighborhoods. In Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Â"40 percent come from the immediate vicinity,Â" says David Maundrell of AptsandLofts.com, which markets numerous buildings in both areas. A few projects surprise their builders, too. At 184 Thompson, sales agents expected lots of interest from parents of NYU students. Instead, they got lots of local tenants who were finally ready to own as well as overseas buyers drawn to the mystique of the Village.
The Gantry: They're Young and They're Moving to Long Island City
BUYERS ARE YOUNGER.
The largest shift in buyer demographics is age. TodayÂ's apartment- hunters are yesterdayÂ's renters, those in their twenties and thirties. At 147 Waverly Place, a third of the buyers are between the ages of 27 and 35. At the Gantry in Long Island City, where prices are a little lower, 85 percent of buyers are 39 or under. At the Croft Building on 71 Nassau Street, itÂ's 69 percent, and at 255 Hudson, 55 percent. Â"Earning capacity has grown among young peopleÂ" in the past twenty years, notes developer Edward J. Minskoff. (The median salary for a beginner lawyer at the top law firms in the city is $145,000, according to Brooklyn Law School.)
WhatÂ's behind the change? For starters, all those Suze Orman shows extolling the virtues of homeownership. (That mortgage money is still cheap, and interest rates still arenÂ't rising, helps too.) Â"It just seems like a lot more people my age are talking about buying a place,Â" says 30-year-old Nicole Manzi, whoÂ's about to go into contract with her husband for a new one-bedroom in Harlem. Adds CorcoranÂ's Barrie Mandel, who represents a handful of projects downtown, including Bernard TschumiÂ's Blue on Norfolk Street, Â"Real estate is seen as a 401(k).Â" And we all know what the financial gurus say about having a 401(k).
THEYÂ'RE SINGLE WOMEN.
In the second season of Sex and the City, a then-babyless and boyfriendless Miranda Hobbes went apartment-hunting and was met with skepticism because she was a woman shopping alone for a big apartment.
Well, itÂ's seven years later, and MirandaÂ's not alone anymore. Highlyann Krasnow of the Developers Group, the firm charged with selling apartments at the Hudson on West 60th Street, says her sales team expected to see mostly Upper West Side family buyers. But young single women? Â"ItÂ's not an intimidating thing for them anymore,Â" she suggests. Adds broker Samantha Kleier Forbes, Â"They donÂ't wait to get married to get a diamond ring, they donÂ't wait for a husband to have a baby, so why should they wait to get their own apartment?Â" If and when these women do couple up and move on, condos are less of a hassle to deal with. Â"Selling [a co-op] isnÂ't easy,Â" says Sabrina Kleier Morgenstern, Kleier ForbesÂ's sister and fellow broker. Â"If you meet a guy and want a bigger place, theyÂ're hard to rent out, if at all. Some co-ops wonÂ't even let you.Â"
76 Madison Avenue: Two-Thirds Home, One-Third Away
THEYÂ'RE FORGOING THE SUBURBS.
Single women may be a new marketing niche, but their married friends are definitely putting down urban roots, too, and these new buildings are, to a degree not seen in decades, appropriate to house them. Half of the buyers at 141 Fifth Avenue are about to start a family or have already. Couples and families make up 57 percent of 101 Warren; 58 percent at 310 East 53rd Street. At the Element on West 59th Street, exactly half the buyers have kids. Even in Williamsburg, still a playground of the hip, single, and carefree, condos are keeping the Peg Pérego posse from leaving: At North 11th and Roebling on McCarren Park, slightly more than half the buyers are couples, and 11 percent have kids; at Schaefer Landing, 40 percent are married. Reduced crime, an economy thatÂ's less fundamentally unstable than it was 30 years ago, and a general migration toward urban living has families staying in town once the kids are born, and they need big apartments with rooms for the kids.
The new condos are explicitly built thus, with larger, almost suburban apartments. Â"The mix used to be much more heavily weighted to studios and one-bedrooms,Â" says Jonathan Miller. Â"One of the problems of eighties condo architecture was that kitchen size was [usually] the same for a one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom.Â" Not so the new buildings. And, adds CorcoranÂ's Shlomi Reuveni, project manager for the Element and for the Olcott on West 72nd Street, Â"the suburbs are also expensive now. Prices went up everywhere.Â"
THEYÂ'RE FORGOING PARK AVENUE.
When the Plaza and 15 Central Park West, both world-class properties, opened last year, brokers expected lines of foreign investors and pied-Ã -terre buyers outside their sales offices. (TheyÂ're the buyers who usually go for high-priced, name-brand projects.) But although those folks did turn up, these buildings have largely been sought out by New Yorkers who, a couple of decades ago, wouldnÂ't have been caught dead looking anywhere except a Candela building on Fifth or Park Avenues or a townhouse just off Central Park. Â"A condo [used to be] a slight notch up from a rental,Â" explains Prudential Douglas EllimanÂ's Leonard Steinberg. Â"They had popcorn ceilings and cheap veneer parquet floors and through-wall air-conditioning.Â"
But as their look and feel have improved—name architects were hired, the battle of amenities began, brand-name fittings and finishes like Wolf and Miele and Waterworks became de rigueur—new buildings began to lose their ticky-tack reputation, and Social Register types have begun to come by for a second look. At 985 Park, the prospectus touts its Â"new interpretation of classic Park Avenue styleÂ"; the Veneto, RelatedÂ's new building near Sutton Place, evokes Â"50s European glamour.Â" Some buyers are realizing that a century-old building, even an immaculately kept one, has its drawbacks. Â"These condos are better,Â" says Shaun Osher, CEO of CORE Group Marketing, which handled the sales at Blanca, a boutique project on East 73rd Street that has attracted transplants from traditional Upper East Side co-ops. Â"The kitchen, the plumbing, the air-conditioning are all new.Â" (Though there are stories that theyÂ're not as sturdy as the dowagers: A number have had problems with leaks, mold, and quality control.)
These off–Park Avenue buyers have been willing to pay almost anything for space that meets their demands. According to the most recent Stribling Luxury Market Report, a penthouse at 15 Central Park West is in contract for an astounding-even-in-Manhattan $4,500 per square foot. (The $40 million Duke-Semans mansion, the highest-priced townhouse ever sold, rang up at $2,000 per square foot.) The Plaza has also seen a few $45 million deals; Kirk Henckels, who wrote the Stribling report, says the ones who bought at the Plaza were mostly Americans, Â"and the majority of the Americans are New Yorkers.Â"
165 Charles Street: Where the Culture Business Sleeps
THEYÂ'RE SPENDING THEIR BONUSES
State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said in 2004, Â"Wall Street profits and bonuses are critical to New York CityÂ's economic well-being.Â" Nothing much has changed since then. Lawyers and finance guys still rule, at least real-estate-wise. Now that the stock marketÂ's back to breaking records—the Dow did it again last week—bonuses are bound to be big again. (Last year, they totaled a record $21.5 billion.) That money is heading into blue-chip apartment buildings, including 255 Hudson (where the finance industry accounts for 27 percent of new owners) and 310 East 53rd Street (23 percent), and often those bonuses are their down payments.
Why now? Real estate is a relatively good place to park new money. Â"ItÂ's its own asset class,Â" says Hal Henenson of Prudential Douglas Elliman, and diversifying oneÂ's portfolio means including a home or three. (He adds that lawyers, even more than finance folk, seem to be the ones doing it most.) Though many could easily pass a co-opÂ's financial scrutiny, Corcoran broker Garret Lepaw says he sees shoppers going condo: Â"Even when they can afford to buy traditional co-ops, they may not do so. They like the flexibility and freedomÂ" to sell or sublet.
THEYÂ'RE RETIRING TO MANHATTAN
Not only are young families staying here to raise their kids, but their empty-nest parents who left a generation ago for the suburbs are moving back. Â"They want to be in a place where the entire world is outside their door,Â" explains Tom Postilio of CORE Group Marketing. At 45 Park Avenue, not far from the Midtown Tunnel and a quick hop from the theater district, 72 percent are coming from outside Manhattan, and half of those are from the near suburbs. At the Onyx Chelsea on West 28th Street, 10 percent of buyers so far are empty-nesters. A fifth of those whoÂ've purchased at 520 West 19th Street, all in their mid-forties to early sixties, plan to use their apartments as home base when theyÂ're here; at the Jade, 16 percent are buying second homes. One businessman in Queens says he and his wife are trading in their house on the quiet streets of Forest Hills for the Avery on the Upper West Side. Â"ItÂ's near Lincoln Center and has views of the water,Â" he says. Adds Postilio, Â"ItÂ's nice for them to be able to go to the museum or Central Park when the mood strikes. TheyÂ've done their time in the burbs, and they have freedom to explore.Â"
15 Central Park West: Locals and Couples Predominate
THEYÂ'RE FROM CHINA, INDIA, AND KOREA
We may not be flooded with international buyers—as noted above, this is a homegrown boom—but in neighborhoods like Times Square and the Upper East Side, theyÂ're certainly a factor. (Condos are often the overseas buyerÂ's only option, because many co-ops donÂ't allow pied-à -terres.) Twelve percent of purchasers at 310 East 53rd Street come from overseas; at 105 Norfolk Street and at Roebling Square in Williamsburg, virtually no one does. (An ad on the Amsterdam version of Craigslist gets points for trying, though: Â"Centrally located in Fort Greene, one of BrooklynÂ's hippest downtown neighborhoods Â…Â") They also gravitate toward elite properties attached to international personalities, like André BalazsÂ's 40 Mercer (where foreigners snapped up just over a fifth of the apartments) and the Richard Meier–designed 165 Charles.
But the big change here is the source of those buyers. Russian entrepreneurs, stashing their earnings in the stable U.S. economy, have been big buyers for the past few years. So have the Saudis, and condo marketer Michael Shvo says theyÂ're buying whole buildings now, not apartments. Now, however, Korean money is starting to make itself felt. And rather than buy units sight unseen to rent out to tenants, as the Japanese often did in the eighties, says Jonathan Miller, many are keeping their properties for themselves.
The weak dollarÂ's helping as well: Â"Anyone from London, it feels like half off,Â" says Shvo. The recent loosening of laws in South Korea, dictating where and how much citizens can invest, has changed matters too, as have the manufacturing booms in India and China. Â"[India] is a booming economy. So what do you do if you have too much money? You invest at home and overseas,Â" says DJK Residential agent Kent Pahlajani, who has worked with many subcontinental buyers. Having a place here allows overseas executives to circumvent increasingly expensive hotels, which may not have room for them anyway. (The number of international visitors will have increased from 4.8 million in 2003 to a projected 7.3 million by the end of this year, and the 2006 hotel-occupancy rate is very high, at 85.5 percent.) Â"Hotels arenÂ't as comfortable [anyway],Â" says Pahlajani. Â"If you come here for a week each month and spend $400 a night for a room, thatÂ's expensive!Â" The fact that a New York condo is in the United States seals the deal: Â"They know their investment canÂ't be politically compromised,Â" says Minskoff. In a global economy, itÂ's always nice to know that your apartment can compete.
Copyright © 2006, New York Magazine Holdings LLC.>
No freeways puts Vancouver on top
STRANGE but true. When Melbourne surrendered its world's most liveable city title earlier this year, it was to a vanquisher that promotes what many regard as the No. 1 enemy of liveability — traffic congestion.
Vancouver in Canada has knocked Melbourne off its much-vaunted liveability perch. While the two cities have much in common — both are sparse metropolises of low housing and population density with similar urban policies — there are key differences.
Chief among them, said visiting Professor of Liveable Environments at the University of British Columbia, Patrick Condon, was his city's determination in the 1970s and '80s to resist the lure of freeways as an easy answer to traffic problems.
Instead, Vancouver's 21 local councils got together in the '80s and drew up a long-term plan to shape the city's growth, protect surrounding farming areas, arrest urban sprawl and boost population densities. It was much like the Bracks Government's Melbourne 2030 plan, but from the bottom up.
Central to the plan was investment in public transport, cycling and pedestrian measures — not freeways. The theory was that congestion, and the desire to avoid it, would drive commuters to alternatives: moving closer to their work and using the train and bus system.
Many years on, with the plan still in place, Vancouver is celebrating statistics that other cities only dream about. Average travel times to work have reduced over the past decade, and the proportion of overall trips by public transport in Vancouver is at 13 per cent and rising.
In Melbourne, the figure is stagnant at about 7 per cent and Government figures point to a decline. Vancouver's "downtown" population has risen from 40,000 to 90,000 in the past decade, about four times that of the equivalent area in Melbourne.
Professor Condon is in no doubt that the no-freeways policy is a big factor in what appears to be a successful consolidation strategy.
After just a few days here, as a guest of Melbourne University, Professor Condon was struck by the ferocity of local planning disputes, especially over the role of Melbourne 2030 and the decisions of the planning appeals tribunal, VCAT.
He said that in the world's No. 1 town, developers and architects were kept on a short leash.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/nation...826813807.html>
Vancouver in Canada has knocked Melbourne off its much-vaunted liveability perch. While the two cities have much in common — both are sparse metropolises of low housing and population density with similar urban policies — there are key differences.
Chief among them, said visiting Professor of Liveable Environments at the University of British Columbia, Patrick Condon, was his city's determination in the 1970s and '80s to resist the lure of freeways as an easy answer to traffic problems.
Instead, Vancouver's 21 local councils got together in the '80s and drew up a long-term plan to shape the city's growth, protect surrounding farming areas, arrest urban sprawl and boost population densities. It was much like the Bracks Government's Melbourne 2030 plan, but from the bottom up.
Central to the plan was investment in public transport, cycling and pedestrian measures — not freeways. The theory was that congestion, and the desire to avoid it, would drive commuters to alternatives: moving closer to their work and using the train and bus system.
Many years on, with the plan still in place, Vancouver is celebrating statistics that other cities only dream about. Average travel times to work have reduced over the past decade, and the proportion of overall trips by public transport in Vancouver is at 13 per cent and rising.
In Melbourne, the figure is stagnant at about 7 per cent and Government figures point to a decline. Vancouver's "downtown" population has risen from 40,000 to 90,000 in the past decade, about four times that of the equivalent area in Melbourne.
Professor Condon is in no doubt that the no-freeways policy is a big factor in what appears to be a successful consolidation strategy.
After just a few days here, as a guest of Melbourne University, Professor Condon was struck by the ferocity of local planning disputes, especially over the role of Melbourne 2030 and the decisions of the planning appeals tribunal, VCAT.
He said that in the world's No. 1 town, developers and architects were kept on a short leash.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/nation...826813807.html>
Are you generaly satisfied with the urban layout of your city?
Most of us here are complete amateurs, and thus lack the professionalism required to understand the complexity of all these issues, especialy when the evolution of our cities is concerned.
Nonetheless however, how do you feel about the urban layout of your city?
When I talk about urban layout, I mean density, street paterns, inner and outer city relations (wether they be independant suburbs or just outer districts of the central municipality), transports etc.
PS: I am not interested in opinions about quality of life, nightlife and all these things, just in your views on urbanism.>
Nonetheless however, how do you feel about the urban layout of your city?
When I talk about urban layout, I mean density, street paterns, inner and outer city relations (wether they be independant suburbs or just outer districts of the central municipality), transports etc.
PS: I am not interested in opinions about quality of life, nightlife and all these things, just in your views on urbanism.>
low-income housing and racism
I am working on a project for my Urban Research class where we have 15-20 pages to pose a research question, not a research paper - - we are not supposed to answer the question, only present evidence. I was hoping you could help me find some holes in this. If you are in an Urban Studies program or have read Hamnett, Swanstrom, Sugrue or H.L. Taylor it would help a lot. But I welcome all opinions though this is US focused.
My question: Is low-income housing a stepping-stone or a dead end.
I will be using evidence from mortgage practices, red-lining of African American neighborhoods in Detroit and Chicago, loan trends and investment. I hope to outline an argument for my senoir work, that low-income housing can be used as a mechanism of institutional racism. A sort of race specific trap where anyone can get in but only certain races can get out, those kept in are overwhelmingly African-Americans or Latinos and have paths of egress blocked by CCIs or the unspoken acceptance of red-lining by banks, realtors, mortgage groups, community groups and city government. This is getting long, I will continue if there is any response. I already have all of the academic and peer-review sources I need but I was hoping I could get some advice on how to present it. I submit on friday!>
My question: Is low-income housing a stepping-stone or a dead end.
I will be using evidence from mortgage practices, red-lining of African American neighborhoods in Detroit and Chicago, loan trends and investment. I hope to outline an argument for my senoir work, that low-income housing can be used as a mechanism of institutional racism. A sort of race specific trap where anyone can get in but only certain races can get out, those kept in are overwhelmingly African-Americans or Latinos and have paths of egress blocked by CCIs or the unspoken acceptance of red-lining by banks, realtors, mortgage groups, community groups and city government. This is getting long, I will continue if there is any response. I already have all of the academic and peer-review sources I need but I was hoping I could get some advice on how to present it. I submit on friday!>
Before and after , Your City prior to the 60's Vs Now
Its cool to compare how things have changed over years of development, if anyone can post a before and after photo of your skyline please do.>
An interesting video about the Brazilian car culture
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...n%3Along&hl=en
English subtitles included.>
English subtitles included.>
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