http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/wo...a/02korea.html
March 2, 2007
South KoreaÂ's Main Chinatown Lacks Only the Chinese
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
INCHON, South Korea — All was quiet in South KoreaÂ's nonbustling Chinatown on a recent weekday. The lunchtime trickle was over, leaving the streets as deserted as they had been in the morning. The shiny arches, red lanterns and towering Â"Welcome to ChinatownÂ" sign, meant to impress visitors, seemed instead to magnify the neighborhoodÂ's inactivity.
Hoping to lure Chinese investors and some of the ever-growing number of Chinese tourists, the local government in Inchon, just west of Seoul, four years ago transformed a tiny dilapidated Chinese neighborhood into the countryÂ's first Chinatown.
In no time, officials in half a dozen other cities across the country announced plans to build their own Chinatowns, but none have progressed very far because of a host of obstacles ranging from a lack of capital to, well, a shortage of Chinese residents.
Even here in Inchon, the site of a Chinese settlement dating from the 1880s, there are only about 400 Chinese. Most of the several thousand who had been here during the last century left when South Korea, ever wary of its neighborÂ's designs, curtailed their ability to do business.
ChinaÂ's rise, as well as the growing wealth of both Chinese and overseas Chinese, has given birth to new Chinatowns in places as varied as Las Vegas; Dubai; Belgrade, Serbia; and Dobroiesti, Romania. But for South Koreans, Chinatown plans are fraught with historical subtext.
Sitting on the rim of the Middle Kingdom, Koreans kept the Chinese out of their peninsula for centuries as immigrants from China set up thriving Chinatowns throughout Asia and the Western hemisphere. Even Japan, which has had strained relations with China in modern times, is home to three thriving Chinatowns.
Â"Korea is so close to China, not even an hour away by plane, so that makes it even odder that there has never been a full-fledged Chinatown,Â" said Yi Jung-hee, a South Korean expert on the overseas Chinese and the author of Â"A Country Without a Chinatown.Â"
Â"Korea had its own identity but always felt the need to protect itself from China,Â" added Mr. Yi, who is now an assistant professor at Kyoto Sosei University in Japan.
It was during KoreaÂ's weakest period that ChinaÂ's presence here reached its peak. In the 19th century, Japan and China fought to gain influence over the Korean Peninsula. They, along with Western nations, wrested concessions in Inchon, establishing settlements dedicated to commerce and not subject to Korean law.
Japan eventually colonized Korea, but Chinese merchants and laborers kept gravitating here; several thousand lived here by the end of Japanese rule in 1945.
In the decades that followed, Chinese residents ran businesses here and in the heart of Seoul. But in the 1960s and 1970s, under the military rule of Park Chung-hee, South Korea carried out policies intended to curb Chinese business activities and restrict land ownership, leading many Chinese to emigrate to Taiwan or the United States. Those remaining were effectively restricted to running Chinese restaurants, especially those that served chajangmyon, a popular noodle dish with a black-bean sauce.
Â"When I was growing up here, this was the darkest and most impoverished area of Korea because all the Chinese had left,Â" said Fan Yenchiang, 48, owner of Tae Rim Bong restaurant here.
By early this decade, only a couple hundred Chinese residents were left.
But by then, South KoreaÂ's trade with China was booming, and Inchon officials were working on turning this historic footnote into a full-grown Chinatown. The authorities aggressively courted Chinese investors and invested about $18 million to put up signs and lampposts and to build a cultural center. Local governments in China donated a statue of Confucius, as well as three arches leading into the neighborhood.
Â"In Chinatowns across the world, merchants themselves band together to raise the funds to build arches,Â" said Chae Jin-kyu, a city planning official. Â"But this may be the only Chinatown in the world whose arches were donated by mainland China.Â"
The placement of one arch became knotted with the local history. Shandong Province asked that its arch be erected in a spot that was near the local government office, which also happened to be inside the former Japanese concession.
Some Korean residents objected that it was too close to the local government office; others saw the request as ChinaÂ's backhanded retribution to Japan for earlier humiliations. The arch was put elsewhere.
Â"This was their idea of settling scores from a 100 years ago,Â" said Cho Woo-sung, 59, a newspaper columnist and a local historian. Â"This was just China trying to show off its new power.Â"
Â"This is not a real Chinatown,Â" Mr. Cho added. Â"ItÂ's a creation of the local government — very shallow and artificial. What is this? Do Chinese come here? No. ThereÂ's nothing beautiful here. Plus the parkingÂ's terrible.Â"
The ChinatownÂ's fitful progress reflects South KoreaÂ's larger ambivalence toward a re-emerging China.
South Korea has been strengthening ties with its big neighbor in recent years. China is now South KoreaÂ's No. 1 trading partner; South Koreans are studying Chinese in droves; many see eye to eye with China on how to handle problems like North Korea.
Still, South KoreaÂ's embrace of China has been tempered by the historical fear that it could be suffocated. ChinaÂ's claim in recent years to Koguryo — an ancient kingdom that straddled the Korean Peninsula and northeastern China, and which Koreans regard as an integral part of their history — sharpened those fears.
So how much of Korean territory are Koreans willing to cede for the sake of Chinatowns? Can you build a Chinatown without Chinese?
Â"Chinatowns should be where the Chinese live,Â" Sun Meiling, 40, a third-generation Chinese-Korean, said emphatically.
Ms. Sun, 40, who owns three shops here with her husband, had left South Korea to do business in China for a decade. Â"But in 2002 we heard that they were building a Chinatown in Inchon, so we decided to come back,Â" she said.
Mr. Fan, the restaurant owner, leads a local merchantsÂ' association that has 73 members. It includes 50 new arrivals from China, though the number is only a small fraction of what the authorities had hoped to attract.
He said that obtaining visas was a big obstacle and that a mainland Chinese businessmanÂ's plan to open a foot massage center had fallen through because he could not get visas for Chinese therapists.
Â"If this Chinatown is to become a real Chinatown,Â" he said, Â"we must bring back the people who left or bring in new people. How can we call this a Chinatown if there are no Chinese here?Â">
Friday, April 20, 2007
Tokyo is the greatest city in economy.
Hi, everyone from world.
Tokyo is No1 city in economy and followed by US cities including NY.
My citym seoul is ranked 20th in GDP and 6th in the location of global big 500 companies.
>
Tokyo is No1 city in economy and followed by US cities including NY.
My citym seoul is ranked 20th in GDP and 6th in the location of global big 500 companies.
>
Cities Most Innovative in Global Warming Fight
Cities most innovative in global warming fight
WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - In an increasingly urban world, the most innovative ideas in the fight against global climate change are coming from cities and local initiatives, an environmental think-tank reported on Wednesday.
The report by the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute noted the international trend toward city-dwelling, with 49 percent of the world's population living in cities in 2005. Soon, and for the first time in human history, more people will live in cities than in rural areas, the report's authors said.
When it comes to combating the effects of global warming, cities and other local governments often -- but not always -- lead the way, said Molly O'Meara Sheehan, project director of the report, "State of the World 2007".
"That's certainly where you see innovation, at the local level, whether it's mayors, whether it's community works or companies struggling to figure out how they can proceed," Sheehan said at a news conference.
Among examples of innovative projects the group cited were a move toward urban farming in Freetown, Sierra Leone and a push to let the vast majority of households in Rizhao, China, get solar-warmed water heaters plus powering traffic signals and street lights with solar cells. Also, in Bogota, Columbia, rapid transit has been improved with a system likened to a street-level subway.
Efforts by cities and other local governments are only part of the picture, with many national governments joining together to limit the emission of greenhouse gases that spur global warming. But not all developed countries support this effort, leaving the field clear for local action. And in the developing world, local efforts may have quicker impact than national plans that have little support.
Asked whether the U.S. national government was "dropping the ball" in this effort, Sheehan responded yes, when it comes to the topic of energy.
One reason this may be occurring in the United States and some other developed countries like Japan is the traditional national influence of rural interests, Sheehan said.
A BILLION CITY DWELLERS
Christopher Flavin, Worldwatch president, suggested one reason this is occurring in the United States and elsewhere is because the big industries that hold sway at the national level often don't wield much power at the local level.
"There obviously are some particular industries that are resisting this change: the coal industry, the oil industry, the power industry," Flavin said at the news conference. "And those have big national constituencies in many cases. But if you go to an individual city, those kinds of industries do not tend to be powerful political forces."
A century ago, most of the world's people lived in the countryside, but by next year, more than half of all people will live in urban areas. Over 60 million people -- about the population of France -- are added to cities and suburbs each year, mostly in low-income settlements in developing countries, the report said.
Of the 3 billion who live in cities now, about 1 billion live in slums, which the report defined as areas without such basic necessities as clean water, a nearby toilet or durable housing.>
WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - In an increasingly urban world, the most innovative ideas in the fight against global climate change are coming from cities and local initiatives, an environmental think-tank reported on Wednesday.
The report by the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute noted the international trend toward city-dwelling, with 49 percent of the world's population living in cities in 2005. Soon, and for the first time in human history, more people will live in cities than in rural areas, the report's authors said.
When it comes to combating the effects of global warming, cities and other local governments often -- but not always -- lead the way, said Molly O'Meara Sheehan, project director of the report, "State of the World 2007".
"That's certainly where you see innovation, at the local level, whether it's mayors, whether it's community works or companies struggling to figure out how they can proceed," Sheehan said at a news conference.
Among examples of innovative projects the group cited were a move toward urban farming in Freetown, Sierra Leone and a push to let the vast majority of households in Rizhao, China, get solar-warmed water heaters plus powering traffic signals and street lights with solar cells. Also, in Bogota, Columbia, rapid transit has been improved with a system likened to a street-level subway.
Efforts by cities and other local governments are only part of the picture, with many national governments joining together to limit the emission of greenhouse gases that spur global warming. But not all developed countries support this effort, leaving the field clear for local action. And in the developing world, local efforts may have quicker impact than national plans that have little support.
Asked whether the U.S. national government was "dropping the ball" in this effort, Sheehan responded yes, when it comes to the topic of energy.
One reason this may be occurring in the United States and some other developed countries like Japan is the traditional national influence of rural interests, Sheehan said.
A BILLION CITY DWELLERS
Christopher Flavin, Worldwatch president, suggested one reason this is occurring in the United States and elsewhere is because the big industries that hold sway at the national level often don't wield much power at the local level.
"There obviously are some particular industries that are resisting this change: the coal industry, the oil industry, the power industry," Flavin said at the news conference. "And those have big national constituencies in many cases. But if you go to an individual city, those kinds of industries do not tend to be powerful political forces."
A century ago, most of the world's people lived in the countryside, but by next year, more than half of all people will live in urban areas. Over 60 million people -- about the population of France -- are added to cities and suburbs each year, mostly in low-income settlements in developing countries, the report said.
Of the 3 billion who live in cities now, about 1 billion live in slums, which the report defined as areas without such basic necessities as clean water, a nearby toilet or durable housing.>
The Brain Gain...Young Professionals Are Flocking To Post-Katrina New Orleans
The phenomena is prevolent all over America, and in spite of Katrina, New Orleans is no exception...in fact, young professionals are flocking to the Big Easy and are setting up shop in one of the world's most eccentric cities....
THE BRAIN GAIN
Young professionals moving in to help rebuild
Saturday, March 03, 2007
By Molly Reid
They're here, and they're helping to rebuild New Orleans.
Some are fresh out of college; others are further into their professional lives. Some hail from Louisiana, but many are from out of state. Some arrived with shiny new jobs and apartments already secured. Others came to volunteer for a couple of weeks and never left.
They are YURPs -- Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals -- and they're becoming a demographic force in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Initially lured by the chance to help fix a major American city, whether through education, urban planning, legal aid or work with any of the other city systems suffering from Hurricane Katrina's destruction, many have come under the Crescent City's spell and are putting down roots. It's a trend that runs counter to the outflow of Katrina survivors who came back to the area, only to later leave permanently.
Where are these young people settling? Geographer Richard Campanella, associate director of Tulane University's Center for Bioenvironmental Research, says young professionals across the country are attracted to neighborhoods with historical value, thriving night life and cachet.
In New Orleans, the traditionally hip and affordable areas have been the Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, Lower Garden District and Irish Channel. However, climbing rental prices and crime have thrown those patterns for a loop, he says.
"I think recent events have worked against any sort of population gain evenly in those areas," Campanella said, estimating that 2,000 to 3,000 new professionals -- whom he dubs part of the post-Katrina "brain gain" -- have come to the metro area.
In addition to the tried-and-true trendy neighborhoods, many YURPs seem to be settling in other areas with access to amenities and entertainment, but with newer cultural appeal, such as Treme, the 7th Ward and St. Roch.
The New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects recently hosted a mixer to welcome YURPs, recognizing them as an important asset.
"We were really hoping to bring in all the different newcomers to the design and rebuilding fields," says Melissa Urcan, executive director of AIA New Orleans.
Here's a look inside the homes and neighborhoods of a few of these new New Orleanians.
NAME: Hampton Barclay
AGE: 24
OCCUPATION: Government relations representative, Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans
NEIGHBORHOOD: Treme-7th Ward
HOMETOWN: Washington, D.C., and St. Louis
N.O. RESIDENT SINCE: May 2006
As soon as Hurricane Katrina made national headlines as one of the worst disasters to befall an American city, Hampton Barclay felt his professional calling. A recent graduate in political science and a lover of cities, Barclay says he was drawn to the suffering metropolis with a tremendous sense of purpose.
"I felt like if I didn't come down here and get involved, I'd be missing maybe the biggest opportunity of my life," Barclay recalled. "As far as I'm concerned, this is my purpose on this earth right now, to be in New Orleans helping in the rebuilding of the city and shaping the policies that will affect it for years to come."
Barclay moved to New Orleans with only a few whispers of job opportunities. For the first several weeks, he lived out of his car and in youth hostels; eventually he found a Marigny cottage to rehabilitate in lieu of rent.
By August, Barclay had landed a full-time job as government relations representative for the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans and was ready to find more permanent digs.
He settled into a two-bedroom apartment in an Esplanade Avenue mansion blocks from the French Quarter. Colleagues, family members and friends gasped at his move to a neighborhood they feared was unsafe, but Barclay says he was excited to find a balcony apartment near the French Quarter.
"I walked in, and it was so much better than anything else I'd seen. I just said, 'Yes, yes, I'll take it right now,' " he said.
Knowing he had found his home in New Orleans, Barclay set about tidying up the place and scouring for deals on furniture.
His apartment is outfitted with a cherry four-post bed, a wheeled stainless-steel coffee table, a breakfast table with wicker chairs and a number of other pieces.
"Craigslist has been very, very good to me," he said, smiling with the satisfaction of a true bargain hunter.
Bringing a bit of St. Louis flavor to his abode, the walls display a map of that city from the 1960s, as well as a reprint of the Alphonse Mucha poster from St. Louis' 1904 world's fair.
Hanging above the living room mantle is a Kenyan urungu, a wooden club that serves as a symbol of manhood. Barclay obtained the item on a family trip.
"If I come home and feel like something's fishy, I swear, the first thing I'll do is grab it off the wall and go through every single room," he said with a laugh.
Barclay has never had to put the urungu to real use, but it took him a while to convince a few worried friends and his very worried mother that he wasn't endangering himself by living in New Orleans. When Barclay's mother visited to help him move into the apartment, her words of parental warning were ultimately silenced in true New Orleans fashion.
"My mom was saying, 'What the hell are you doing living here? This city is so gross and dangerous,' " Barclay recalled. "And all of a sudden, we heard the Treme Brass Band playing. We ran down outside, and we joined in the second-line. After that, I think she understood a little better why I'm here.' "
NAMES: John Renne and Kara Mattini Renne
AGES: 30 and 28 respectively
OCCUPATIONS: John is an assistant professor in planning and urban studies at the University of New Orleans; Kara is an urban planner for the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission and program coordinator for the Algiers Main Street Program
NEIGHBORHOOD: Lower Garden District
HOMETOWNS: Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Omaha, Neb.
N.O. RESIDENTS SINCE: August 2005
When John Renne and his wife, Kara Mattini Renne, moved to New Orleans on Aug. 10, 2005, most of their furniture and books were still in boxes en route to America from Australia. The newlyweds had just finished a year in Sydney, where John worked as an urban planning research assistant while Kara performed graduate work in urban studies.
They chose New Orleans because, in addition to John's job offer from the University of New Orleans, they believed in the cultural value and unique urban fabric of the city.
"We liked that it's walkable and mixed-use, as opposed to living in a car-based suburb," John said.
The couple had barely settled into their second-story, 1,200-square-foot townhouse on St. Charles Avenue when Hurricane Katrina sent them on a months-long evacuation road trip. Describing the experience as more inconvenient than damaging, the Rennes had no doubts that they still wanted to live in New Orleans.
"It was a huge opportunity from a professional perspective," John said. "Being a planner in New Orleans right now, it's the center of the planning community."
Amid frustration over the pace of recovery and public debate over whether the citywide planning efforts are "too little, too late," the Rennes say they find fulfillment in their individual, specialized efforts to improve New Orleans.
John is focusing his research on emergency evacuation strategies, both through a UNO transportation planning project and a four-year grant from the Federal Transit Authority. Kara, in addition to her work with the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission, is helping Algiers improve its historic commercial district by directing the Algiers Main Street Program.
"I think sometimes it's easy to see the shortcomings, but it's never too late to make changes," John said. "For me, (my research) is something that I personally can do and contribute."
The Rennes chose to live in the Lower Garden District for its central location between downtown and Carrollton/Riverbend, its easy access to public transportation, diversity of backgrounds in its residents and lively street activity. With a 24-hour neighborhood bar keeping eyes on the street at all hours, Kara says she feels safe there.
"There's a real small-town kind of feel," she said. "I feel like the neighbors watch out for each other."
Australia is the main influence in the Rennes' home décor, with a jarra wood table in the kitchen and a didgeridoo -- an aboriginal musical instrument that John enjoys playing -- in the bedroom. The green paper chandelier in the front room came from Australia, a purchase that celebrated their first wedding anniversary.
Of course, with a balcony apartment on St. Charles Avenue, the couple's main decoration in the past few weeks has been the mounds of Mardi Gras beads that accumulated there and crept into the house.
"We've got so many of them, I keep saying John and I are going to rent a table at the French Market to sell them to tourists," Kara joked.
NAMES: Brigid Boyle and Jacob Brancasi
AGES: 23 and 22, respectively
OCCUPATIONS: Brigid is a crew chief for ACORN; Jacob is a copy editor at Peter Mayer Advertising
NEIGHBORHOOD: Bywater
HOMETOWNS: Philadelphia and Schenectady, N.Y.
N.O. RESIDENTS SINCE: January 2007, August 2006
Roommates Jacob Brancasi and Brigid Boyle came to New Orleans separately but took similar roads, both led by a mutual friend. Both were unsure of what to do after college, and both chose to indulge their wanderlust rather than settle immediately into office jobs.
"I was very disinterested in all the jobs I was applying for," recalled Brancasi, an urban studies graduate from Vassar University.
He and friend Jessica Garz, also a recent graduate, embarked on a road trip in July that brought them to New Orleans. Initially, they volunteered in St. Bernard Parish, making meals for workers and residents. With a few additional gigs behind them, Brancasi landed a job at Peter Mayer Advertising just as Garz signed on with H3 Studio, a planning company hired to work in several districts under the Unified New Orleans Plan.
"We came down here and never left. That's what happened," Brancasi said. "It was exciting. There was such a sense of possibility."
Several months later, under Garz's enticement, Boyle visited New Orleans and volunteered for the community organization ACORN. Staying for most of October 2006, Boyle left New Orleans wanting more, and returned for good at the start of the new year.
"I bought a pickup truck in Philly, filled it with all my stuff, and was here in 36 hours," said Boyle, now a crew chief for ACORN.
From their tidy Bywater cottage, each roommate finds something to love. For Boyle, it's the diversity of characters and personalities in the neighborhood; for Brancasi, it's Bywater's sunny, small-town conceit, which is reminiscent of his upstate New York hometown.
"This home is amazing," said Boyle, who spends most of her afternoons reading on the front stoop. "I love this neighborhood. I've met everybody who lives here and their dogs. It's a nice community."
A classically trained violinist, Brancasi adopted the front room as his mini-studio. Music books and a metal stand rest near a big wooden work table. He found several pieces of furniture at a nearby thrift store.
Boyle, who attended art school, peppered the walls with her drawings and paintings, and proudly displays an impressive collection of Philadelphia-inspired, "obnoxiously large" hoop earrings.
Boyle also reserved one corner of her room for her New Orleans-flavored trinkets, T-shirts and posters. As the display attests, Boyle has adopted a strong loyalty to her new home, and is carrying the YURP torch to her friends back north.
"I'm trying to recruit everybody to come here," she said.
. . . . . . .
Contributing writer Molly Reid can be reached at MollyReid@gmail.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Rebuilding Blocks is devoted to issues of planning and reconstruction. Members of the American Institute of Architecture-New Orleans chapter are contributing advice and expertise.
http://www.nola.com/living/t-p/index...410.xml&coll=1>
THE BRAIN GAIN
Young professionals moving in to help rebuild
Saturday, March 03, 2007
By Molly Reid
They're here, and they're helping to rebuild New Orleans.
Some are fresh out of college; others are further into their professional lives. Some hail from Louisiana, but many are from out of state. Some arrived with shiny new jobs and apartments already secured. Others came to volunteer for a couple of weeks and never left.
They are YURPs -- Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals -- and they're becoming a demographic force in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Initially lured by the chance to help fix a major American city, whether through education, urban planning, legal aid or work with any of the other city systems suffering from Hurricane Katrina's destruction, many have come under the Crescent City's spell and are putting down roots. It's a trend that runs counter to the outflow of Katrina survivors who came back to the area, only to later leave permanently.
Where are these young people settling? Geographer Richard Campanella, associate director of Tulane University's Center for Bioenvironmental Research, says young professionals across the country are attracted to neighborhoods with historical value, thriving night life and cachet.
In New Orleans, the traditionally hip and affordable areas have been the Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, Lower Garden District and Irish Channel. However, climbing rental prices and crime have thrown those patterns for a loop, he says.
"I think recent events have worked against any sort of population gain evenly in those areas," Campanella said, estimating that 2,000 to 3,000 new professionals -- whom he dubs part of the post-Katrina "brain gain" -- have come to the metro area.
In addition to the tried-and-true trendy neighborhoods, many YURPs seem to be settling in other areas with access to amenities and entertainment, but with newer cultural appeal, such as Treme, the 7th Ward and St. Roch.
The New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects recently hosted a mixer to welcome YURPs, recognizing them as an important asset.
"We were really hoping to bring in all the different newcomers to the design and rebuilding fields," says Melissa Urcan, executive director of AIA New Orleans.
Here's a look inside the homes and neighborhoods of a few of these new New Orleanians.
NAME: Hampton Barclay
AGE: 24
OCCUPATION: Government relations representative, Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans
NEIGHBORHOOD: Treme-7th Ward
HOMETOWN: Washington, D.C., and St. Louis
N.O. RESIDENT SINCE: May 2006
As soon as Hurricane Katrina made national headlines as one of the worst disasters to befall an American city, Hampton Barclay felt his professional calling. A recent graduate in political science and a lover of cities, Barclay says he was drawn to the suffering metropolis with a tremendous sense of purpose.
"I felt like if I didn't come down here and get involved, I'd be missing maybe the biggest opportunity of my life," Barclay recalled. "As far as I'm concerned, this is my purpose on this earth right now, to be in New Orleans helping in the rebuilding of the city and shaping the policies that will affect it for years to come."
Barclay moved to New Orleans with only a few whispers of job opportunities. For the first several weeks, he lived out of his car and in youth hostels; eventually he found a Marigny cottage to rehabilitate in lieu of rent.
By August, Barclay had landed a full-time job as government relations representative for the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans and was ready to find more permanent digs.
He settled into a two-bedroom apartment in an Esplanade Avenue mansion blocks from the French Quarter. Colleagues, family members and friends gasped at his move to a neighborhood they feared was unsafe, but Barclay says he was excited to find a balcony apartment near the French Quarter.
"I walked in, and it was so much better than anything else I'd seen. I just said, 'Yes, yes, I'll take it right now,' " he said.
Knowing he had found his home in New Orleans, Barclay set about tidying up the place and scouring for deals on furniture.
His apartment is outfitted with a cherry four-post bed, a wheeled stainless-steel coffee table, a breakfast table with wicker chairs and a number of other pieces.
"Craigslist has been very, very good to me," he said, smiling with the satisfaction of a true bargain hunter.
Bringing a bit of St. Louis flavor to his abode, the walls display a map of that city from the 1960s, as well as a reprint of the Alphonse Mucha poster from St. Louis' 1904 world's fair.
Hanging above the living room mantle is a Kenyan urungu, a wooden club that serves as a symbol of manhood. Barclay obtained the item on a family trip.
"If I come home and feel like something's fishy, I swear, the first thing I'll do is grab it off the wall and go through every single room," he said with a laugh.
Barclay has never had to put the urungu to real use, but it took him a while to convince a few worried friends and his very worried mother that he wasn't endangering himself by living in New Orleans. When Barclay's mother visited to help him move into the apartment, her words of parental warning were ultimately silenced in true New Orleans fashion.
"My mom was saying, 'What the hell are you doing living here? This city is so gross and dangerous,' " Barclay recalled. "And all of a sudden, we heard the Treme Brass Band playing. We ran down outside, and we joined in the second-line. After that, I think she understood a little better why I'm here.' "
NAMES: John Renne and Kara Mattini Renne
AGES: 30 and 28 respectively
OCCUPATIONS: John is an assistant professor in planning and urban studies at the University of New Orleans; Kara is an urban planner for the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission and program coordinator for the Algiers Main Street Program
NEIGHBORHOOD: Lower Garden District
HOMETOWNS: Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Omaha, Neb.
N.O. RESIDENTS SINCE: August 2005
When John Renne and his wife, Kara Mattini Renne, moved to New Orleans on Aug. 10, 2005, most of their furniture and books were still in boxes en route to America from Australia. The newlyweds had just finished a year in Sydney, where John worked as an urban planning research assistant while Kara performed graduate work in urban studies.
They chose New Orleans because, in addition to John's job offer from the University of New Orleans, they believed in the cultural value and unique urban fabric of the city.
"We liked that it's walkable and mixed-use, as opposed to living in a car-based suburb," John said.
The couple had barely settled into their second-story, 1,200-square-foot townhouse on St. Charles Avenue when Hurricane Katrina sent them on a months-long evacuation road trip. Describing the experience as more inconvenient than damaging, the Rennes had no doubts that they still wanted to live in New Orleans.
"It was a huge opportunity from a professional perspective," John said. "Being a planner in New Orleans right now, it's the center of the planning community."
Amid frustration over the pace of recovery and public debate over whether the citywide planning efforts are "too little, too late," the Rennes say they find fulfillment in their individual, specialized efforts to improve New Orleans.
John is focusing his research on emergency evacuation strategies, both through a UNO transportation planning project and a four-year grant from the Federal Transit Authority. Kara, in addition to her work with the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission, is helping Algiers improve its historic commercial district by directing the Algiers Main Street Program.
"I think sometimes it's easy to see the shortcomings, but it's never too late to make changes," John said. "For me, (my research) is something that I personally can do and contribute."
The Rennes chose to live in the Lower Garden District for its central location between downtown and Carrollton/Riverbend, its easy access to public transportation, diversity of backgrounds in its residents and lively street activity. With a 24-hour neighborhood bar keeping eyes on the street at all hours, Kara says she feels safe there.
"There's a real small-town kind of feel," she said. "I feel like the neighbors watch out for each other."
Australia is the main influence in the Rennes' home décor, with a jarra wood table in the kitchen and a didgeridoo -- an aboriginal musical instrument that John enjoys playing -- in the bedroom. The green paper chandelier in the front room came from Australia, a purchase that celebrated their first wedding anniversary.
Of course, with a balcony apartment on St. Charles Avenue, the couple's main decoration in the past few weeks has been the mounds of Mardi Gras beads that accumulated there and crept into the house.
"We've got so many of them, I keep saying John and I are going to rent a table at the French Market to sell them to tourists," Kara joked.
NAMES: Brigid Boyle and Jacob Brancasi
AGES: 23 and 22, respectively
OCCUPATIONS: Brigid is a crew chief for ACORN; Jacob is a copy editor at Peter Mayer Advertising
NEIGHBORHOOD: Bywater
HOMETOWNS: Philadelphia and Schenectady, N.Y.
N.O. RESIDENTS SINCE: January 2007, August 2006
Roommates Jacob Brancasi and Brigid Boyle came to New Orleans separately but took similar roads, both led by a mutual friend. Both were unsure of what to do after college, and both chose to indulge their wanderlust rather than settle immediately into office jobs.
"I was very disinterested in all the jobs I was applying for," recalled Brancasi, an urban studies graduate from Vassar University.
He and friend Jessica Garz, also a recent graduate, embarked on a road trip in July that brought them to New Orleans. Initially, they volunteered in St. Bernard Parish, making meals for workers and residents. With a few additional gigs behind them, Brancasi landed a job at Peter Mayer Advertising just as Garz signed on with H3 Studio, a planning company hired to work in several districts under the Unified New Orleans Plan.
"We came down here and never left. That's what happened," Brancasi said. "It was exciting. There was such a sense of possibility."
Several months later, under Garz's enticement, Boyle visited New Orleans and volunteered for the community organization ACORN. Staying for most of October 2006, Boyle left New Orleans wanting more, and returned for good at the start of the new year.
"I bought a pickup truck in Philly, filled it with all my stuff, and was here in 36 hours," said Boyle, now a crew chief for ACORN.
From their tidy Bywater cottage, each roommate finds something to love. For Boyle, it's the diversity of characters and personalities in the neighborhood; for Brancasi, it's Bywater's sunny, small-town conceit, which is reminiscent of his upstate New York hometown.
"This home is amazing," said Boyle, who spends most of her afternoons reading on the front stoop. "I love this neighborhood. I've met everybody who lives here and their dogs. It's a nice community."
A classically trained violinist, Brancasi adopted the front room as his mini-studio. Music books and a metal stand rest near a big wooden work table. He found several pieces of furniture at a nearby thrift store.
Boyle, who attended art school, peppered the walls with her drawings and paintings, and proudly displays an impressive collection of Philadelphia-inspired, "obnoxiously large" hoop earrings.
Boyle also reserved one corner of her room for her New Orleans-flavored trinkets, T-shirts and posters. As the display attests, Boyle has adopted a strong loyalty to her new home, and is carrying the YURP torch to her friends back north.
"I'm trying to recruit everybody to come here," she said.
. . . . . . .
Contributing writer Molly Reid can be reached at MollyReid@gmail.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Rebuilding Blocks is devoted to issues of planning and reconstruction. Members of the American Institute of Architecture-New Orleans chapter are contributing advice and expertise.
http://www.nola.com/living/t-p/index...410.xml&coll=1>
What defines the "city"?
My apologies if there'd happen to be a discussion, on this matter already. There are a lot of threads in this forum and I can't check all pages.
It's a subject I've been pondering a lot about lately. What makes settlement a "city" and how do you decide what the boundaries of that city are? And how do you decide what the "urban" and "metropolitan" areas are?
I think it's particularly difficult in my home country (Belgium) to set boundaries for cities, because of the population density and the chaotic spacial organization. You often see population centers connected to each other via build-up areas along the main roads. Another problem is that a lot of smaller cities and towns have a long and distinct history, so when they turn into de facto suburbs or satellite cities, they're often not seen that way.
I hope we can have an interesting discussion on the matter.>
It's a subject I've been pondering a lot about lately. What makes settlement a "city" and how do you decide what the boundaries of that city are? And how do you decide what the "urban" and "metropolitan" areas are?
I think it's particularly difficult in my home country (Belgium) to set boundaries for cities, because of the population density and the chaotic spacial organization. You often see population centers connected to each other via build-up areas along the main roads. Another problem is that a lot of smaller cities and towns have a long and distinct history, so when they turn into de facto suburbs or satellite cities, they're often not seen that way.
I hope we can have an interesting discussion on the matter.>
gifts your city has received from other cities or countries
i was watching a show the other day and apparently Canada has gifted New York City with a christmas tree somewhere and it is decadently decorated with fancy crystal and lights baubbles etc. by one of Canada's top interior designers - brian gluckstein... in some New York City Park.
which made me think has your city ever been gifted with anything? permanent or temporary?
I can think of new york - the statue of liberty from paris france
Burnaby - Vancouver (BC) got some Japanese totem poles from Japan
>
which made me think has your city ever been gifted with anything? permanent or temporary?
I can think of new york - the statue of liberty from paris france
Burnaby - Vancouver (BC) got some Japanese totem poles from Japan
>
Commercialization and globalization of cities, advantages and disadvatage?
My idea of creating this thread is from a friend of mine who just made a stopover in HK on this way back to The Philippines. He's been working as an assistant administrator at a construction firm in Bengasi, Libya.
We would ask him the common question that most Americans would ask like how is life there or if they have Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut or shopping malls there. Note that Libya was sanctioned by the United States and has been lifted. And of course he said no. He mentioned that life there was simple and most shopping were in the markets. There was some pizzerias there or some nice restaurant but not the known brands that you'll find. Put it in short, you won't find a Wal Mart, Carrefour or even a Marks N Spencer there. Though he mentioned that in Tripoli, the capital of Libya had a KFC opened up.
HK is one city that is very commercialized. Also every consumer or retail brand you can find it there like Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut, Marks N Spencer, Zara, Bathing Ape, HMV, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. It is the same in cities in North America, Europe, Australia, some cities in The Middle East and the most developed cities in Latin America and Asia.
In cities of less developed countries, you may have none of a few of these known brands. A city in Nepal may have a Mc Donalds but may not have a KFC or may have a local chain present.
Especially in cities in mainland China. I remembered visiting Guangzhou back in the early 90s and they didn't have the American fastfood chains. Their main shopping mall was the Friendship Store. Today, the city is very commericialized. Same thing with Moscow, before the fall of the Soviet Union, they didn't have a Mc Donalds. When the first Mc Donalds opened up in the city, hordes of people lined up in the counters to get a taste of The Big Mac.
Anyway, what do you think of globalization and commericialization in cities of less developed countries? What are the advantages and disadvantages. Especially to those living in these cities, do you like the idea of commercialization or do you prefer your city the way it is?
>
We would ask him the common question that most Americans would ask like how is life there or if they have Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut or shopping malls there. Note that Libya was sanctioned by the United States and has been lifted. And of course he said no. He mentioned that life there was simple and most shopping were in the markets. There was some pizzerias there or some nice restaurant but not the known brands that you'll find. Put it in short, you won't find a Wal Mart, Carrefour or even a Marks N Spencer there. Though he mentioned that in Tripoli, the capital of Libya had a KFC opened up.
HK is one city that is very commercialized. Also every consumer or retail brand you can find it there like Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut, Marks N Spencer, Zara, Bathing Ape, HMV, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. It is the same in cities in North America, Europe, Australia, some cities in The Middle East and the most developed cities in Latin America and Asia.
In cities of less developed countries, you may have none of a few of these known brands. A city in Nepal may have a Mc Donalds but may not have a KFC or may have a local chain present.
Especially in cities in mainland China. I remembered visiting Guangzhou back in the early 90s and they didn't have the American fastfood chains. Their main shopping mall was the Friendship Store. Today, the city is very commericialized. Same thing with Moscow, before the fall of the Soviet Union, they didn't have a Mc Donalds. When the first Mc Donalds opened up in the city, hordes of people lined up in the counters to get a taste of The Big Mac.
Anyway, what do you think of globalization and commericialization in cities of less developed countries? What are the advantages and disadvantages. Especially to those living in these cities, do you like the idea of commercialization or do you prefer your city the way it is?
>
EU Phone Charges to be set.
I heard today the EU is trying to make a single unified low charge across the EU for phone calls and that only the UK is attempting to block this legislation. Is this true and will the EU really have unified calling costs?
Old Article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4851730.stm>
Old Article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4851730.stm>
Is Vancouver's downtown really "sustainable"?
I apologise if this thread is in the wrong place, however Vancouver's downtown is being used as a model everywhere, so we have to first address the question: in the long term, is a downtown like Vancouver's really "sustainable"?
I say no. The reason being is that Vancouver has a relatively small commercial district, surrounded by highrises. The high rises-and high demand-have cornered this district, which needs to keep pace if Vancouver is to develop well.
Other problems include height restrictions and strict building regulations (which reduces supply as cities expand, and as thus rises prices). Businesses are starting to move out into the suburbs, which means people in the downtown have to commute to the suburbs, and makes the area car-dependent.
I suggest a solution for Vancouver: deregulate the housing market to lower prices, and concentrate on building medium-density structures. As owning an apartment in downtown wouldn't be as profitable as it once was, people would start moving to other areas to develop, and commerce could expand in tune with the city.>
I say no. The reason being is that Vancouver has a relatively small commercial district, surrounded by highrises. The high rises-and high demand-have cornered this district, which needs to keep pace if Vancouver is to develop well.
Other problems include height restrictions and strict building regulations (which reduces supply as cities expand, and as thus rises prices). Businesses are starting to move out into the suburbs, which means people in the downtown have to commute to the suburbs, and makes the area car-dependent.
I suggest a solution for Vancouver: deregulate the housing market to lower prices, and concentrate on building medium-density structures. As owning an apartment in downtown wouldn't be as profitable as it once was, people would start moving to other areas to develop, and commerce could expand in tune with the city.>
will Tokyo catch the 40 million inhabitans line and will...
will Tokyo 2025 catch the 40 million inhabitans line !?
And will Cities like Delhi ,mumbai , or Manila catch the 30 million mark.
And was is with smaller Megacities like New York , Los angeles or Sao Paulo will they catch the 25 million line?
My stats
TOKYO : will grow dynamic from yet 33,4 million inh. to 35 Million in 2013 and to 39 million in 2022 and than in 2025 it can catch the 40 milllion line !
DELHI : it will catch the 25 milllion in 2018 and in 2025 it can catch the 30 million line
Mimbai : the some at above
^NEW YORK CITY it will catch the 25 million in 2025 sure, by NYC in city bordors will have around 10 milllion people
For Sao Paulo and LA its the same
What are youre thinkings about ths city prognoses !>
And will Cities like Delhi ,mumbai , or Manila catch the 30 million mark.
And was is with smaller Megacities like New York , Los angeles or Sao Paulo will they catch the 25 million line?
My stats
TOKYO : will grow dynamic from yet 33,4 million inh. to 35 Million in 2013 and to 39 million in 2022 and than in 2025 it can catch the 40 milllion line
!DELHI : it will catch the 25 milllion in 2018 and in 2025 it can catch the 30 million line
Mimbai : the some at above
^NEW YORK CITY it will catch the 25 million in 2025 sure, by NYC in city bordors will have around 10 milllion people
For Sao Paulo and LA its the same
What are youre thinkings about ths city prognoses !>
Are McMansions Invading Your City Neighborhoods?
Tired commuters move home scraping trend into city neighborhoods
By ROBERT WELLER
12 December 2006
DENVER (AP) - Four summers ago at 7 a.m., the earth started moving and the ground shook, cracking the plaster in Jim Skelton's small brick home.
The house next door was being torn down, another blow to what Skelton calls the character of Denver's Platt Park neighborhood.
"They're destroying what made this a neighborhood," Skelton said.
McMansions. Faux chateaux. Scraping. Teardowns. All are becoming increasingly familiar terms across the nation. For years, tony suburbs like Kenilworth, Ill., Beverly Hills, Calif., and Westport, Conn., saw designer homes replaced by buildings two, three or four times as large.
Now, the trend is creeping from pricy, historical enclaves like Kenilworth and Denver's Washington Park into middle-class bastions like Denver's Platt Park and University Hills -- aging tracts of 1,000-square-foot bungalows built from the '20s through the '50s. Some families weary of long commutes from the newer suburbs are turning back inward and remaking older neighborhoods to suit modern tastes.
While the teardown trend has slowed somewhat nationally because of the housing slump, bulldozers continue to roll in Denver: Home demolition permits numbered 198 in 2004, 352 in 2005, and were on track this year -- 111 in the first five months of 2006.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation said teardowns threaten the character of 300 communities in 33 states, and that more than 75,000 homes are torn down and replaced with larger homes each year.
Ed Tombari, a land planner with the National Association of Home Builders, said critics of teardowns have it backward.
"We perceive teardown housing as part of the overall smart-growth strategy to direct development to the inner cities and to areas that already have infrastructure and public transportation," Tombari said.
This urban trend is intensifying across the country, said Robert Lang, head of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.
"Commutes are so long people are wanting places closer in," he said. "'I want a McMansion, but not out in McMansionville.'"
In Denver's University Hills neighborhood, Drew Damiano bought a 3,394-square foot house for precisely that reason.
"It was a waste of an hour of my day that I could spend time with my kids," said Damiano, who moved closer to downtown from its exurbia suburbs to the south.
Two years ago, Beverly Hills began imposing limits. The City Council said "mansionization" was a "serious danger" to the "character, image, beauty and reputation" of Beverly Hills, and the city developed a manual of proposed housing designs.
Lang said neighborhoods have several ways to control the spread of McMansions, but they need to build a consensus, propose reasonable alternatives and accept that some buildings should be replaced.
"Cities should be a little flexible," he said.
Tombari concedes a big new house next to an old structure is going to look out of place. Special neighborhoods have a right to preserve their character, but activists are hijacking the move to stop all development, he said.
"There is an anti-construction element out there," he said.
Bill Arhold, also of the University Hill neighborhood, did much of the work expanding his home to 1,750 square feet from 1,100.
"Still, I understand why seniors feel comfortable in homes they have lived in for most of their lives," he said. "Then someone comes along and builds a two-story next to them, blocking the sun, raising their winter heating bills and killing their gardens.">
By ROBERT WELLER
12 December 2006
DENVER (AP) - Four summers ago at 7 a.m., the earth started moving and the ground shook, cracking the plaster in Jim Skelton's small brick home.
The house next door was being torn down, another blow to what Skelton calls the character of Denver's Platt Park neighborhood.
"They're destroying what made this a neighborhood," Skelton said.
McMansions. Faux chateaux. Scraping. Teardowns. All are becoming increasingly familiar terms across the nation. For years, tony suburbs like Kenilworth, Ill., Beverly Hills, Calif., and Westport, Conn., saw designer homes replaced by buildings two, three or four times as large.
Now, the trend is creeping from pricy, historical enclaves like Kenilworth and Denver's Washington Park into middle-class bastions like Denver's Platt Park and University Hills -- aging tracts of 1,000-square-foot bungalows built from the '20s through the '50s. Some families weary of long commutes from the newer suburbs are turning back inward and remaking older neighborhoods to suit modern tastes.
While the teardown trend has slowed somewhat nationally because of the housing slump, bulldozers continue to roll in Denver: Home demolition permits numbered 198 in 2004, 352 in 2005, and were on track this year -- 111 in the first five months of 2006.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation said teardowns threaten the character of 300 communities in 33 states, and that more than 75,000 homes are torn down and replaced with larger homes each year.
Ed Tombari, a land planner with the National Association of Home Builders, said critics of teardowns have it backward.
"We perceive teardown housing as part of the overall smart-growth strategy to direct development to the inner cities and to areas that already have infrastructure and public transportation," Tombari said.
This urban trend is intensifying across the country, said Robert Lang, head of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.
"Commutes are so long people are wanting places closer in," he said. "'I want a McMansion, but not out in McMansionville.'"
In Denver's University Hills neighborhood, Drew Damiano bought a 3,394-square foot house for precisely that reason.
"It was a waste of an hour of my day that I could spend time with my kids," said Damiano, who moved closer to downtown from its exurbia suburbs to the south.
Two years ago, Beverly Hills began imposing limits. The City Council said "mansionization" was a "serious danger" to the "character, image, beauty and reputation" of Beverly Hills, and the city developed a manual of proposed housing designs.
Lang said neighborhoods have several ways to control the spread of McMansions, but they need to build a consensus, propose reasonable alternatives and accept that some buildings should be replaced.
"Cities should be a little flexible," he said.
Tombari concedes a big new house next to an old structure is going to look out of place. Special neighborhoods have a right to preserve their character, but activists are hijacking the move to stop all development, he said.
"There is an anti-construction element out there," he said.
Bill Arhold, also of the University Hill neighborhood, did much of the work expanding his home to 1,750 square feet from 1,100.
"Still, I understand why seniors feel comfortable in homes they have lived in for most of their lives," he said. "Then someone comes along and builds a two-story next to them, blocking the sun, raising their winter heating bills and killing their gardens.">
Asian major museums
Show us Asian major museums like the Met in NYC, British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris.>
Will the world become a whole megacity in 2050
Hi ! What you"re think about it : can the world become in the mid term 21 century become a whole megacity , i mean in sprawl!?
Yet we have around 31 megacities worldwide , but whats up in 2050 ? will we have 60 70 or more megacities! so what are with the US Nigeria , japan , the EU ?>
Yet we have around 31 megacities worldwide , but whats up in 2050 ? will we have 60 70 or more megacities! so what are with the US Nigeria , japan , the EU ?>
The population of these cities, once and for all!
There are discussions all the time about which is the biggest city. Here are some cities i think it would be nice to know the population of
i have tried to google and i have used emporis to try find the right numbers as well, but they were always different)
Tokyo -8.1mio or 12mio Metro: 33.7mio
Mexico City - 9.8mio M: 27.8mio
New York City - 8.1mio M: 21.8mio
London - 7.1mio M: (11.8mio), (14mio) 18mio
Paris - 2.1mio(why is Paris among the biggest cities??) M: 11.1mio
Moscow - 10.3mio or 11.2mio M: (11.8mio) 13.5mio
Istanbul - 8.8mio or 10.0mio M: 10.0mio or 12.6mio
Mumbai - 11.9mio M: (13mio) 16.3mio
Sao Paulo - 10.6mio or 11mio M: (18.3mio) 20.0mio
Buenos Aires - 2.9mio M: 12.9mio
Rio de Janeiro - 5.9mio M: 11.1mio
Shanghai - 9.1mio M: (13.0mio) 17.1mio
Beijing - 7.7mio M: 14.5mio
Los Angeles - 3.8mio M: 17.5mio
Chicago - 2.8mio M: 9.6mio
Toronto - 2.4mio M: 5.1mio
Sydney - ? M: 4.2mio
So is these numbers correct? LA bigger than Paris? Mumbai, the worlds biggest city? Tokyo the biggest metropolitan area(i think thats right). Don´t know sydneys pop.>
i have tried to google and i have used emporis to try find the right numbers as well, but they were always different)Tokyo -8.1mio or 12mio Metro: 33.7mio
Mexico City - 9.8mio M: 27.8mio
New York City - 8.1mio M: 21.8mio
London - 7.1mio M: (11.8mio), (14mio) 18mio
Paris - 2.1mio(why is Paris among the biggest cities??) M: 11.1mio
Moscow - 10.3mio or 11.2mio M: (11.8mio) 13.5mio
Istanbul - 8.8mio or 10.0mio M: 10.0mio or 12.6mio
Mumbai - 11.9mio M: (13mio) 16.3mio
Sao Paulo - 10.6mio or 11mio M: (18.3mio) 20.0mio
Buenos Aires - 2.9mio M: 12.9mio
Rio de Janeiro - 5.9mio M: 11.1mio
Shanghai - 9.1mio M: (13.0mio) 17.1mio
Beijing - 7.7mio M: 14.5mio
Los Angeles - 3.8mio M: 17.5mio
Chicago - 2.8mio M: 9.6mio
Toronto - 2.4mio M: 5.1mio
Sydney - ? M: 4.2mio
So is these numbers correct? LA bigger than Paris? Mumbai, the worlds biggest city? Tokyo the biggest metropolitan area(i think thats right). Don´t know sydneys pop.>
Biggest urban expanse
What cities have the largest urban expanse? For example the urban area surrounding London stretches from Reading in the west to Southend in the east - a distance of over 80 miles of continuous urban area or suburbs. how does this compare with your city?>
in youre eyes , what cities are hypercities ?
i want to know what cities are hypercities in your eyes ? hypercities are over megacities and must have over 20 million inhabitants ! what you think about the term hypercities !? i think the only "hypercities" are NYC Sao Paulo , Mexico City , Tokyo and Seoul ! what u think about it ?>
Would you live in Los Angeles?
I'm just wondering about you want relocating to LA for good reason or something. Please discussion there.>
Potential To be next World City
Not including true World Cities that exist now ie: London, Paris, New York, Tokyo..... But which do you think has the potential to be a true world city in your country? How long do you think it will take?>
Mayor Addresses NYC's Growth to 10M over the next 25 years
From the WSJ's Dec. 12, 2006 edition:
"The Big Apple, Getting Bigger, Sets New Goals"
By Alex Frangos
New York City has had its share of problems over the years. But its latest challenge isn't about urban decay, crime or terrorism. It's growth.
Long the largest and most densely populated big city in the U.S., Gotham is about to get even more crowded. Already at its highest population ever -- 8.2 million -- the city could grow another nearly 1.3 million souls in the next 25 years, with a commensurate increase in jobs, according to a study from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, an association of government agencies. The boost in population is a result of young ...>
"The Big Apple, Getting Bigger, Sets New Goals"
By Alex Frangos
New York City has had its share of problems over the years. But its latest challenge isn't about urban decay, crime or terrorism. It's growth.
Long the largest and most densely populated big city in the U.S., Gotham is about to get even more crowded. Already at its highest population ever -- 8.2 million -- the city could grow another nearly 1.3 million souls in the next 25 years, with a commensurate increase in jobs, according to a study from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, an association of government agencies. The boost in population is a result of young ...>
Hong Kong's GNP grows 10.9 pct in 3rd quarter
Hong Kong's GNP grows 10.9 pct in 3rd quarter
Hong Kong's gross national product (GNP) grew to 379.6 billion HK dollars (about 49 billion U. S. dollars) in the third quarter, up 10.9 percent over the same period last year, revealed latest figures released by the Census and Statistics Department Monday.
Hong Kong's third quarter GNP, which measures the total value of final goods and services produced in a year by Hong Kong citizens, including profits from capital held abroad, was slightly higher than the 379.3 billion HK dollars of gross domestic product (GDP) figure announced earlier.
GDP figures measure those value of goods and services produced within an economy.
The Census and Statistics Department said GNP rose 10.9 percent "in real terms" as the quarter saw total factor income inflow into Hong Kong, estimated at 158.2 billion HK dollars (20.3 billion U.S. dollars), grow 29.5 percent over a year earlier.
While total factor income outflow of Hong Kong, estimated at 158 billion HK dollars (20.3 billion U.S. dollars), saw a 16.4 percent year-on-year increase.
Within the total factor income inflow, direct investment income (DII) grew 26.7 percent over a year earlier, mainly due to increased earnings of some prominent local enterprises from investment abroad, according to the department.
Within total factor income outflow, DII rose 9.1 percent, largely attributable to increased earnings of some prominent multinational enterprises from investment in Hong Kong.
According the latest statistics, China's mainland continued to be the largest source of external factor income inflow into Hong Kong in the third quarter, accounting for 27.9 percent.
China's mainland was followed by the British Virgin Islands with a share of 18.7 percent, reflecting continued investment income inflow from the tax-haven economy.
The Virgin islands and China's mainland were also the most important destinations for external factor income outflow from Hong Kong in the third quarter, accounting for 15.4 percent and 21. 7 percent, according to the department.
Source: Xinhua>
Hong Kong's gross national product (GNP) grew to 379.6 billion HK dollars (about 49 billion U. S. dollars) in the third quarter, up 10.9 percent over the same period last year, revealed latest figures released by the Census and Statistics Department Monday.
Hong Kong's third quarter GNP, which measures the total value of final goods and services produced in a year by Hong Kong citizens, including profits from capital held abroad, was slightly higher than the 379.3 billion HK dollars of gross domestic product (GDP) figure announced earlier.
GDP figures measure those value of goods and services produced within an economy.
The Census and Statistics Department said GNP rose 10.9 percent "in real terms" as the quarter saw total factor income inflow into Hong Kong, estimated at 158.2 billion HK dollars (20.3 billion U.S. dollars), grow 29.5 percent over a year earlier.
While total factor income outflow of Hong Kong, estimated at 158 billion HK dollars (20.3 billion U.S. dollars), saw a 16.4 percent year-on-year increase.
Within the total factor income inflow, direct investment income (DII) grew 26.7 percent over a year earlier, mainly due to increased earnings of some prominent local enterprises from investment abroad, according to the department.
Within total factor income outflow, DII rose 9.1 percent, largely attributable to increased earnings of some prominent multinational enterprises from investment in Hong Kong.
According the latest statistics, China's mainland continued to be the largest source of external factor income inflow into Hong Kong in the third quarter, accounting for 27.9 percent.
China's mainland was followed by the British Virgin Islands with a share of 18.7 percent, reflecting continued investment income inflow from the tax-haven economy.
The Virgin islands and China's mainland were also the most important destinations for external factor income outflow from Hong Kong in the third quarter, accounting for 15.4 percent and 21. 7 percent, according to the department.
Source: Xinhua>
Your city´s worst district!
I know that every city in the world has a part that is dirty, with ugly buildings, gangs, graffiti, vandalism...
Just show me your city´s worst district, part or street...!>
Just show me your city´s worst district, part or street...!>
Air pollution hitting Hong Kong hard: Merrill Lynch
HONG KONG: Global investment bank Merrill Lynch has warned that worsening pollution in Hong Kong will drive out professionals and undercut its competitive edge, especially against rival Singapore.
In an unusually blunt statement, the US investment giant warned that air quality in the territory is now regularly so poor that the city's long-term competitiveness is under threat.
"Skilled professionals are departing Hong Kong because of this. More will follow," it said in a research report released late Tuesday.
"Singapore stands to be a major beneficiary and the investment response is clear: Buy (shares in) Singapore office landlords, sell Hong Kong office landlords."
The report predicted that mass immigration will help double Singapore's population in the next decade with a steady flow of financial service professionals expected to come from Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong's loss is, to a large extent, Singapore's gain," it said.
The warning came as it downgraded the city's largest landlords, cutting the ratings of Hongkong Land and Great Eagle to "sell" from "neutral", while Hysan Development Company was reduced to "sell" from "buy".
"The spectre of new office supply combined with stagnating demand spells an ugly couple of years ahead" for the three companies, it said. "And there will likely be fewer people here to witness the decline."
The report came days after the Council on Sustainable Development issued a report urging the government to reconsider a series of air clean-up measures costing up to 51 billion dollars (6.5 billion US).
With 70 percent of the pollution coming from manufacturing centres in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in southern China, Merrill Lynch said aggressive, direct action with Beijing is the only solution.
"The government in Hong Kong is relatively powerless to address the true cause (the PRD) until Beijing gets tough," it said. "It could be a long and choking wait that many could choose not to endure."
It also took a swipe at Hong Kong's methodology on calculating the city's pollution index which has been criticised by environmentalists as "outdated".
While the air was getting poorer, it said, the index does not show pollution was getting worse. "But we know that there are lies, damn lies and statistics," it said.
International chambers of commerce in Hong Kong have also issued warnings that their member businesses are pulling out of the city or deciding not to locate here because of the health implications for their families and staff.
Pollution has become a key political issue in Hong Kong as smog levels have risen to often dangerous levels. Poor air quality reduced visibility to less than one kilometre (about half a mile) on more than 50 days last year.
The local government has launched an "Action Blue Sky" campaign to persuade citizens to cut down on air conditioner use and slash energy consumption, but critics say it is not doing enough and more drastic action was needed.
Business leaders in Hong Kong have called on the government to act against rising pollution or risk losing the territory's status as a major finance hub.
- AFP/so>
In an unusually blunt statement, the US investment giant warned that air quality in the territory is now regularly so poor that the city's long-term competitiveness is under threat.
"Skilled professionals are departing Hong Kong because of this. More will follow," it said in a research report released late Tuesday.
"Singapore stands to be a major beneficiary and the investment response is clear: Buy (shares in) Singapore office landlords, sell Hong Kong office landlords."
The report predicted that mass immigration will help double Singapore's population in the next decade with a steady flow of financial service professionals expected to come from Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong's loss is, to a large extent, Singapore's gain," it said.
The warning came as it downgraded the city's largest landlords, cutting the ratings of Hongkong Land and Great Eagle to "sell" from "neutral", while Hysan Development Company was reduced to "sell" from "buy".
"The spectre of new office supply combined with stagnating demand spells an ugly couple of years ahead" for the three companies, it said. "And there will likely be fewer people here to witness the decline."
The report came days after the Council on Sustainable Development issued a report urging the government to reconsider a series of air clean-up measures costing up to 51 billion dollars (6.5 billion US).
With 70 percent of the pollution coming from manufacturing centres in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in southern China, Merrill Lynch said aggressive, direct action with Beijing is the only solution.
"The government in Hong Kong is relatively powerless to address the true cause (the PRD) until Beijing gets tough," it said. "It could be a long and choking wait that many could choose not to endure."
It also took a swipe at Hong Kong's methodology on calculating the city's pollution index which has been criticised by environmentalists as "outdated".
While the air was getting poorer, it said, the index does not show pollution was getting worse. "But we know that there are lies, damn lies and statistics," it said.
International chambers of commerce in Hong Kong have also issued warnings that their member businesses are pulling out of the city or deciding not to locate here because of the health implications for their families and staff.
Pollution has become a key political issue in Hong Kong as smog levels have risen to often dangerous levels. Poor air quality reduced visibility to less than one kilometre (about half a mile) on more than 50 days last year.
The local government has launched an "Action Blue Sky" campaign to persuade citizens to cut down on air conditioner use and slash energy consumption, but critics say it is not doing enough and more drastic action was needed.
Business leaders in Hong Kong have called on the government to act against rising pollution or risk losing the territory's status as a major finance hub.
- AFP/so>
Land Reclamation & Land Settling Issues
Many coastal cities around the world have reclaimed land for urban expansion. However, land that has just been reclaimed should be allowed to settle before construction begins, or else the building foundations may buckle if they are not built deep enough. How long does your city wait before substantial construction work begins on reclaimed land?>
Pedestrians in Chicago getting a Boost
So what's the situation with pedestrians vs. vehicles in your city? We have quite a few pedestrians in Chicago, at least in the areas of the city I wander. Here's a new program just unveiled by our mayor, which makes me happy. I'm pleasantly suprised they are still smart enough in 2006 to help the little guy out instead of paying all the attention to cars.
Arrogant drivers best look both ways
Officers, cameras will be on lookout to protect pedestrians
Published December 18, 2006
Attention, drivers who rip around corners without yielding to pedestrians: Starting in the spring, city officials posing as pedestrians will be sent to high-accident intersections as part of a new crackdown on motorists who endanger walkers.
"We all have families with children and elderly members, who are the most vulnerable in traffic situations. We are trying to cool tempers that flare when people get behind the wheel and remind drivers that they cannot treat pedestrians as if they were just another vehicle on the street," said Cheri Heramb, acting commissioner at the Chicago Department of Transportation.
On average more than one pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident each week in Chicago. Accidents involving pedestrians in the city have dropped from 4,478 incidents in 2000 to 3,632 in 2004, the most recent year for which data are available from the Illinois Department of Transportation. But some experts say the drop could partly be a sign that fewer people are walking city streets out of fear of getting hit.
Officials from the city Transportation Department and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications are working with Chicago Police Department commanders on an approach to carry out stings on motorists who drive dangerously near walkers at hazardous intersections. But the Police Department has not yet committed to using plainclothes officers to pose as pedestrians, said police spokeswoman Monique Bond. It could be city traffic-control aides working with uniformed police, officials said. At first, warning citations will be issued to drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians. Tougher steps would follow, officials said.
The city had been focusing on decreasing pedestrians' risks, but the effort gained momentum in May after a hit-and-run driver struck and killed a 4-year-old girl, Maya Hirsch, who was walking with her family near Lincoln Park Zoo.
Mayor Richard Daley named Heramb co-chair of the newly formed Mayor's Pedestrian Advisory Council, which will meet in January for the first time.
Under Daley's Safe Streets for Chicago plan, the look of intersections will begin to change. Corners will be equipped with "bulb-outs"--an extension of the curb that reduces the roadway in traffic lanes. With the "bulb-outs," pedestrians will be in the street for a shorter amount of time.
Bulb-outs will be installed first at spots where there are many senior citizens and schoolchildren. A number of bulb-outs have been installed recently on the North Side near the lakefront, including at Foster Avenue and Marine Drive.
Also islands in street medians, called "pedestrian refuges," will be constructed to provide places for pedestrians to wait if they cannot cross streets in the allotted "walk" time. The crosswalks at some intersections will be elevated several inches to make pedestrians more visible to drivers, city officials say.
One example that the city is testing is in a parking lot on Science Drive at the Museum of Science and Industry. The raised crosswalk also creates a speed bump to remind drivers to slow down.
Crosswalk striping also is being intensified with bolder lines to alert drivers to pedestrian traffic.
"The new design guidelines are intended to remind pedestrians that they are equal users of the road and to remind drivers to give pedestrians the respect they deserve," said Beth Gutelius, pedestrian safety coordinator at Chicago Department of Transportation.
Safe Streets' educational component also will remind pedestrians to walk at crosswalks and intersections and avoid crossing in the middle of a block or against traffic signals. Counselors will be sent to schools to encourage children to make eye contact with drivers before trying to cross streets and to wear reflective clothing when going out after dark or in bad weather.
Plans are under way as well to convert some four-lane streets into three lanes with marked bicycle lanes.
Officials are plastering the city with public service announcements to counter the image of aggressive driving behavior that is often portrayed in advertisements for new cars, such as a recent TV commercial for the Nissan 350Z that brags the roadster "Goes Like Hell."
City-sponsored posters on the back of downtown newspaper racks show schoolchildren walking along with a reminder to motorists to slow down. Other posters warn drivers to obey the law, showing a Chicago police officer using a hand-held laser device to enforce the speed limit.
These measures are in addition to the planned expansion of red-light-running enforcement cameras and more pedestrian countdown traffic signals, officials said.
Red-light-running violations have declined 55 percent with the surveillance cameras, said Andrew Velasquez, executive director of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications. Drivers caught on camera running red lights receive $90 tickets in the mail.
"This program has allowed us to change negative driving behavior, and it has saved countless numbers of pedestrians and drivers from fatal injuries," Velasquez said.
Thirty red-light cameras are installed citywide, with 20 more scheduled to be added beginning this month and 50 more next year, Velasquez said.
A primary goal of the Safe Streets for Chicago campaign is making it more attractive and fun to walk, officials said.
People are walking less than folks did a generation ago. Part of the reason is that it has become more dangerous, but the unhealthy trend also is increasingly difficult to buck in a society of couch potatoes, experts say.
Children, who are walking less on average than at any point in the last 30 years, are a special concern. Childhood obesity has become a national health crisis because of decreased physical activity, said Dr. Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, a pediatrician who is co-chair of the Mayor's Pedestrian Advisory Council.
It is difficult to recommend that parents encourage their children to walk more without also significantly reducing the risks of walking in urban areas, said Christoffel, noting that children between ages 5 and 9 are among the age groups at the highest risk of getting injured in a pedestrian accident. Intoxicated young adults and the elderly also fall into the high-risk group, she said.
"If you don't have cars racing through residential streets, parents won't be as concerned about their children walking around," said Christoffel, who is the director of the Center for Obesity Management and Prevention at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.
"We need to get more people walking, safely," she said.
>
Arrogant drivers best look both ways
Officers, cameras will be on lookout to protect pedestrians
Published December 18, 2006
Attention, drivers who rip around corners without yielding to pedestrians: Starting in the spring, city officials posing as pedestrians will be sent to high-accident intersections as part of a new crackdown on motorists who endanger walkers.
"We all have families with children and elderly members, who are the most vulnerable in traffic situations. We are trying to cool tempers that flare when people get behind the wheel and remind drivers that they cannot treat pedestrians as if they were just another vehicle on the street," said Cheri Heramb, acting commissioner at the Chicago Department of Transportation.
On average more than one pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident each week in Chicago. Accidents involving pedestrians in the city have dropped from 4,478 incidents in 2000 to 3,632 in 2004, the most recent year for which data are available from the Illinois Department of Transportation. But some experts say the drop could partly be a sign that fewer people are walking city streets out of fear of getting hit.
Officials from the city Transportation Department and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications are working with Chicago Police Department commanders on an approach to carry out stings on motorists who drive dangerously near walkers at hazardous intersections. But the Police Department has not yet committed to using plainclothes officers to pose as pedestrians, said police spokeswoman Monique Bond. It could be city traffic-control aides working with uniformed police, officials said. At first, warning citations will be issued to drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians. Tougher steps would follow, officials said.
The city had been focusing on decreasing pedestrians' risks, but the effort gained momentum in May after a hit-and-run driver struck and killed a 4-year-old girl, Maya Hirsch, who was walking with her family near Lincoln Park Zoo.
Mayor Richard Daley named Heramb co-chair of the newly formed Mayor's Pedestrian Advisory Council, which will meet in January for the first time.
Under Daley's Safe Streets for Chicago plan, the look of intersections will begin to change. Corners will be equipped with "bulb-outs"--an extension of the curb that reduces the roadway in traffic lanes. With the "bulb-outs," pedestrians will be in the street for a shorter amount of time.
Bulb-outs will be installed first at spots where there are many senior citizens and schoolchildren. A number of bulb-outs have been installed recently on the North Side near the lakefront, including at Foster Avenue and Marine Drive.
Also islands in street medians, called "pedestrian refuges," will be constructed to provide places for pedestrians to wait if they cannot cross streets in the allotted "walk" time. The crosswalks at some intersections will be elevated several inches to make pedestrians more visible to drivers, city officials say.
One example that the city is testing is in a parking lot on Science Drive at the Museum of Science and Industry. The raised crosswalk also creates a speed bump to remind drivers to slow down.
Crosswalk striping also is being intensified with bolder lines to alert drivers to pedestrian traffic.
"The new design guidelines are intended to remind pedestrians that they are equal users of the road and to remind drivers to give pedestrians the respect they deserve," said Beth Gutelius, pedestrian safety coordinator at Chicago Department of Transportation.
Safe Streets' educational component also will remind pedestrians to walk at crosswalks and intersections and avoid crossing in the middle of a block or against traffic signals. Counselors will be sent to schools to encourage children to make eye contact with drivers before trying to cross streets and to wear reflective clothing when going out after dark or in bad weather.
Plans are under way as well to convert some four-lane streets into three lanes with marked bicycle lanes.
Officials are plastering the city with public service announcements to counter the image of aggressive driving behavior that is often portrayed in advertisements for new cars, such as a recent TV commercial for the Nissan 350Z that brags the roadster "Goes Like Hell."
City-sponsored posters on the back of downtown newspaper racks show schoolchildren walking along with a reminder to motorists to slow down. Other posters warn drivers to obey the law, showing a Chicago police officer using a hand-held laser device to enforce the speed limit.
These measures are in addition to the planned expansion of red-light-running enforcement cameras and more pedestrian countdown traffic signals, officials said.
Red-light-running violations have declined 55 percent with the surveillance cameras, said Andrew Velasquez, executive director of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications. Drivers caught on camera running red lights receive $90 tickets in the mail.
"This program has allowed us to change negative driving behavior, and it has saved countless numbers of pedestrians and drivers from fatal injuries," Velasquez said.
Thirty red-light cameras are installed citywide, with 20 more scheduled to be added beginning this month and 50 more next year, Velasquez said.
A primary goal of the Safe Streets for Chicago campaign is making it more attractive and fun to walk, officials said.
People are walking less than folks did a generation ago. Part of the reason is that it has become more dangerous, but the unhealthy trend also is increasingly difficult to buck in a society of couch potatoes, experts say.
Children, who are walking less on average than at any point in the last 30 years, are a special concern. Childhood obesity has become a national health crisis because of decreased physical activity, said Dr. Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, a pediatrician who is co-chair of the Mayor's Pedestrian Advisory Council.
It is difficult to recommend that parents encourage their children to walk more without also significantly reducing the risks of walking in urban areas, said Christoffel, noting that children between ages 5 and 9 are among the age groups at the highest risk of getting injured in a pedestrian accident. Intoxicated young adults and the elderly also fall into the high-risk group, she said.
"If you don't have cars racing through residential streets, parents won't be as concerned about their children walking around," said Christoffel, who is the director of the Center for Obesity Management and Prevention at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.
"We need to get more people walking, safely," she said.
>
Your City's Finest District
Well.. this is the exact opposite of that other thread (worst district)..
So, what is the finest district in your city?>
So, what is the finest district in your city?>
Paramus, NJ, where shopping center sales equal the GDP's of Nicaragua and Cambodia
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/bu...pagewanted=all
Shoppers inside the Garden State Mall can choose from 285 stores.
December 20, 2006
In This Town, Even a Mall Rat Can Get Rattled
By KEN BELSON
PARAMUS, N.J., Dec. 15 — It is fitting that the first store drivers heading south on Route 17 see as they enter town is a Stop & Shop. After all, Paramus is one of the nationÂ's strongest shopping magnets, generating roughly $5 billion a year in retail sales, an amount about equal to the gross domestic product of Cambodia, Nicaragua or the sultanate of Brunei.
There are larger malls and there are fancier malls elsewhere, but few places rival the sheer concentration of stores in this otherwise unremarkable suburb 18 miles northwest of Times Square. In an already densely populated state, Paramus has more parking spots than people.
Four major malls and dozens of smaller shopping centers are packed into 10 square miles. Paramus is home to Garden State Plaza, New JerseyÂ's largest mall, whose two million square feet of stores attract 20 million shoppers a year. The town has 27,000 residents, and about 2,700 stores. There is a Saks Fifth Avenue and a Sears; at least two dozen chains, including Borders, Old Navy and MacyÂ's, have more than one outlet within ParamusÂ's boundaries.
It is a Faustian bargain that brings 200,000 cars a day into town during December, turning the roads into virtual parking lots, but also keeps property tax rates in Paramus relatively low — $1.55 per $100 of assessed value, compared with $3.88 in Maywood, the next town over.
And there is no sign of letup: two of the four malls are spending $100 million each to spruce themselves up, big-box stores are sprouting where strip malls and bygone department stores once sat, and traffic seems to get worse each year. All of which has made residents like Paul Giblin III seem a lot like Scrooge.
Growing up in Paramus, a bedroom community with many white-collar workers, Mr. Giblin considered the malls a playground. Later, he saw them as a convenient place to get a lot done at once. But this year, the stores and roads have become so packed that Mr. Giblin, a 30-year-old financial adviser, said he was buying half his gifts online and the rest at smaller shops.
Â"I donÂ't have the time to deal with the traffic and the malls,Â" he said over chicken fingers and fries at the Suburban Diner on Route 17. Â"My wife lives to shop, but she didnÂ't go to the malls this year, either.Â"
Residents have groaned about the traffic for years, but largely put up with it because of how much money visitors spent in the townÂ's stores. They also won reprieves on Sundays, when the town prohibits sales of practically everything, making Paramus a virtual ghost town.
Over all, analysts expect retail sales this season to be up about 4 percent over last year; owners of the Paramus malls would not provide specific figures about how they are doing. Yet while nearly all the available construction space in Paramus has been exhausted, developers keep adding movie theaters and restaurants in hopes of getting consumers to spend more during each visit.
Among the attractions is that New Jersey has a lower sales tax than New York City (7 percent compared with 8.375 percent), and none on clothing and shoes — New York has no state sales tax on clothing and shoe purchases of less than $110. And Paramus sits in wealthy Bergen County, where the average household income is $71,000 a year, 41st in the nation for counties with more than 65,000 residents.
Â"Other than New York and Beverly Hills, where else do people go to shop as their profession? Paramus,Â" said Marshal Cohen, a retail industry analyst at NPD Group, a market research firm. Â"You can go there on a Wednesday afternoon and still see people shopping.
Â"For the last 20 years, the industry has felt that the area was saturated,Â" Mr. Cohen added, Â"but to everyoneÂ's amazement, it still grows and attracts people from all over.Â"
Paramus has no town center per se, but it seems to have a mall to suit every shopperÂ's personality.
Visitors from New York traveling west on Route 4 first hit Bergen Town Center, with a middle-market collection of shops, like the discount clothier Century 21. Upscale outfits like Brooks Brothers and Abercrombie & Fitch are among the 285 stores at the huge Garden State Plaza, where Wall Street analysts and investors flock for hints of how well the Christmas shopping season is going.
A bit north on Route 17 is a 45-acre plot featuring Ikea, Sports Authority and Bed, Bath & Beyond — and room for 2,800 cars. And a mile up the road are the Fashion Center and Paramus Park malls, the latter with a sweeping second-floor food court overlooking child-friendly Build-A-Bear Workshop, Lego and Disney stores.
While outsiders gravitate to the malls, residents try to avoid the congestion. Irma Weishaupt and her husband, Lou, who have lived in Paramus for 45 years, say they stick to side streets and sometimes leave town to shop.
Â"Rule No. 1 is to avoid Route 17 in either direction,Â" Mrs. Weishaupt said. Â"ItÂ's the worst around Thanksgiving, but weÂ're always questioning whatÂ's happening because it is getting worse.Â"
Though a headache for residents, traffic has a silver lining for retailers: If cars crawl along at half the 50 mile-an-hour speed limit, potential customers have more time to size up the stores, and are more likely to stop someplace they might have otherwise passed.
The mayor, James J. Tedesco III, considers the malls Â"a double-edged sword.Â"
Â"For the benefit of almost 50 percent of the taxes being paid for by the business community, we have to put up with congestion,Â" Mr. Tedesco said. Â"You can say during the holiday season, the traffic is exasperating. ItÂ's a constant battle.Â"
The battle began in the 1950s, when both the Bergen Mall, which was recently renamed Bergen Town Center, and Garden State Plaza were built. The suburbs in northern New Jersey were growing, and the main roads that crisscross Paramus and head in every direction were a retailerÂ's dream.
But the traffic the malls generated swamped the roads. They have been widened repeatedly to accommodate the cars, with recent improvements to off-ramps and intersections, but it never seems to be enough.
And the building continues. The Westfield Group, which manages Garden State Plaza, is expected to finish a $100 million renovation, adding shops and entertainment options, early next year; Vornado, which bought Bergen Town Center last year for $146 million, is just starting a $100 million overhaul of its own.
Already, Paramus has 320 stores with more than $1 million in annual sales each, second in the country only to the 10021 ZIP code on the East Side of Manhattan. The vacancy rate for stores is 3 percent, several percentage points below the rate for similar real estate elsewhere. Some properties are filled even before the previous tenants move out.
Â"Paramus is a town with a waiting list,Â" said Chuck Lanyard, a commercial real estate broker at the Goldstein Group in Glen Rock.
One sign of the mallsÂ' success is the booming valet services in their parking lots. Pro Valet Event Parking, which has 50 spots near the Papa Razzi restaurant in the Garden State Plaza, doubled its prices to $10 this holiday season.
While the traffic is overwhelming for some in Paramus, the commercial frenzy has its rewards — chiefly, businesses that pick up much of the tax burden. That has created a measure of jealousy in Maywood.
A half-century ago, developers wanted to put a mall in Maywood and the parking lots in Paramus. Eager to preserve their townÂ's character, Maywood residents rejected the proposal and instead got the lots, which generate little tax revenue. The town also has to grapple with the occasional stolen car, and for a fee, sewage from Bergen Town Center.
Â"We have gotten the short end of the stick for 50 years,Â" said Thomas H. Richards, mayor of Maywood, which unlike Paramus still has something resembling a small-town Main Street.
Maywood recently approved VornadoÂ's plan to build three stores in Bergen Town Center on its side of the border, a decision that could add $250,000 to the townÂ's tax rolls, Mr. Richards said, calling it Â"a dream come true.Â"
Â"WeÂ'd like our share of the pie,Â" he said.>
Shoppers inside the Garden State Mall can choose from 285 stores.
December 20, 2006
In This Town, Even a Mall Rat Can Get Rattled
By KEN BELSON
PARAMUS, N.J., Dec. 15 — It is fitting that the first store drivers heading south on Route 17 see as they enter town is a Stop & Shop. After all, Paramus is one of the nationÂ's strongest shopping magnets, generating roughly $5 billion a year in retail sales, an amount about equal to the gross domestic product of Cambodia, Nicaragua or the sultanate of Brunei.
There are larger malls and there are fancier malls elsewhere, but few places rival the sheer concentration of stores in this otherwise unremarkable suburb 18 miles northwest of Times Square. In an already densely populated state, Paramus has more parking spots than people.
Four major malls and dozens of smaller shopping centers are packed into 10 square miles. Paramus is home to Garden State Plaza, New JerseyÂ's largest mall, whose two million square feet of stores attract 20 million shoppers a year. The town has 27,000 residents, and about 2,700 stores. There is a Saks Fifth Avenue and a Sears; at least two dozen chains, including Borders, Old Navy and MacyÂ's, have more than one outlet within ParamusÂ's boundaries.
It is a Faustian bargain that brings 200,000 cars a day into town during December, turning the roads into virtual parking lots, but also keeps property tax rates in Paramus relatively low — $1.55 per $100 of assessed value, compared with $3.88 in Maywood, the next town over.
And there is no sign of letup: two of the four malls are spending $100 million each to spruce themselves up, big-box stores are sprouting where strip malls and bygone department stores once sat, and traffic seems to get worse each year. All of which has made residents like Paul Giblin III seem a lot like Scrooge.
Growing up in Paramus, a bedroom community with many white-collar workers, Mr. Giblin considered the malls a playground. Later, he saw them as a convenient place to get a lot done at once. But this year, the stores and roads have become so packed that Mr. Giblin, a 30-year-old financial adviser, said he was buying half his gifts online and the rest at smaller shops.
Â"I donÂ't have the time to deal with the traffic and the malls,Â" he said over chicken fingers and fries at the Suburban Diner on Route 17. Â"My wife lives to shop, but she didnÂ't go to the malls this year, either.Â"
Residents have groaned about the traffic for years, but largely put up with it because of how much money visitors spent in the townÂ's stores. They also won reprieves on Sundays, when the town prohibits sales of practically everything, making Paramus a virtual ghost town.
Over all, analysts expect retail sales this season to be up about 4 percent over last year; owners of the Paramus malls would not provide specific figures about how they are doing. Yet while nearly all the available construction space in Paramus has been exhausted, developers keep adding movie theaters and restaurants in hopes of getting consumers to spend more during each visit.
Among the attractions is that New Jersey has a lower sales tax than New York City (7 percent compared with 8.375 percent), and none on clothing and shoes — New York has no state sales tax on clothing and shoe purchases of less than $110. And Paramus sits in wealthy Bergen County, where the average household income is $71,000 a year, 41st in the nation for counties with more than 65,000 residents.
Â"Other than New York and Beverly Hills, where else do people go to shop as their profession? Paramus,Â" said Marshal Cohen, a retail industry analyst at NPD Group, a market research firm. Â"You can go there on a Wednesday afternoon and still see people shopping.
Â"For the last 20 years, the industry has felt that the area was saturated,Â" Mr. Cohen added, Â"but to everyoneÂ's amazement, it still grows and attracts people from all over.Â"
Paramus has no town center per se, but it seems to have a mall to suit every shopperÂ's personality.
Visitors from New York traveling west on Route 4 first hit Bergen Town Center, with a middle-market collection of shops, like the discount clothier Century 21. Upscale outfits like Brooks Brothers and Abercrombie & Fitch are among the 285 stores at the huge Garden State Plaza, where Wall Street analysts and investors flock for hints of how well the Christmas shopping season is going.
A bit north on Route 17 is a 45-acre plot featuring Ikea, Sports Authority and Bed, Bath & Beyond — and room for 2,800 cars. And a mile up the road are the Fashion Center and Paramus Park malls, the latter with a sweeping second-floor food court overlooking child-friendly Build-A-Bear Workshop, Lego and Disney stores.
While outsiders gravitate to the malls, residents try to avoid the congestion. Irma Weishaupt and her husband, Lou, who have lived in Paramus for 45 years, say they stick to side streets and sometimes leave town to shop.
Â"Rule No. 1 is to avoid Route 17 in either direction,Â" Mrs. Weishaupt said. Â"ItÂ's the worst around Thanksgiving, but weÂ're always questioning whatÂ's happening because it is getting worse.Â"
Though a headache for residents, traffic has a silver lining for retailers: If cars crawl along at half the 50 mile-an-hour speed limit, potential customers have more time to size up the stores, and are more likely to stop someplace they might have otherwise passed.
The mayor, James J. Tedesco III, considers the malls Â"a double-edged sword.Â"
Â"For the benefit of almost 50 percent of the taxes being paid for by the business community, we have to put up with congestion,Â" Mr. Tedesco said. Â"You can say during the holiday season, the traffic is exasperating. ItÂ's a constant battle.Â"
The battle began in the 1950s, when both the Bergen Mall, which was recently renamed Bergen Town Center, and Garden State Plaza were built. The suburbs in northern New Jersey were growing, and the main roads that crisscross Paramus and head in every direction were a retailerÂ's dream.
But the traffic the malls generated swamped the roads. They have been widened repeatedly to accommodate the cars, with recent improvements to off-ramps and intersections, but it never seems to be enough.
And the building continues. The Westfield Group, which manages Garden State Plaza, is expected to finish a $100 million renovation, adding shops and entertainment options, early next year; Vornado, which bought Bergen Town Center last year for $146 million, is just starting a $100 million overhaul of its own.
Already, Paramus has 320 stores with more than $1 million in annual sales each, second in the country only to the 10021 ZIP code on the East Side of Manhattan. The vacancy rate for stores is 3 percent, several percentage points below the rate for similar real estate elsewhere. Some properties are filled even before the previous tenants move out.
Â"Paramus is a town with a waiting list,Â" said Chuck Lanyard, a commercial real estate broker at the Goldstein Group in Glen Rock.
One sign of the mallsÂ' success is the booming valet services in their parking lots. Pro Valet Event Parking, which has 50 spots near the Papa Razzi restaurant in the Garden State Plaza, doubled its prices to $10 this holiday season.
While the traffic is overwhelming for some in Paramus, the commercial frenzy has its rewards — chiefly, businesses that pick up much of the tax burden. That has created a measure of jealousy in Maywood.
A half-century ago, developers wanted to put a mall in Maywood and the parking lots in Paramus. Eager to preserve their townÂ's character, Maywood residents rejected the proposal and instead got the lots, which generate little tax revenue. The town also has to grapple with the occasional stolen car, and for a fee, sewage from Bergen Town Center.
Â"We have gotten the short end of the stick for 50 years,Â" said Thomas H. Richards, mayor of Maywood, which unlike Paramus still has something resembling a small-town Main Street.
Maywood recently approved VornadoÂ's plan to build three stores in Bergen Town Center on its side of the border, a decision that could add $250,000 to the townÂ's tax rolls, Mr. Richards said, calling it Â"a dream come true.Â"
Â"WeÂ'd like our share of the pie,Â" he said.>
Studies : Urban Sprawl, Health & Pollution
2 studies: Urban sprawl adds pounds, pollution
Eric Pryne
Seattle Times staff reporter
25 January 2006
Residents of King County's less-walkable neighborhoods -- can you say sprawl? -- are more likely to be overweight, a recently completed study concludes.
Another related study has found, perhaps not surprisingly, that people who live and work in those neighborhoods generate more auto- related air pollution, another potential threat to health.
The two studies' findings are summarized in the winter edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Planning Association. The authors, who collaborated in their research, say their work constitutes the most comprehensive look yet at the link between urban-development patterns and human health in a single metropolitan area.
Earlier research has raised the possibility of a connection between sprawl, obesity and other health problems. The King County results suggest "current laws and regulations are producing negative health outcomes," the authors warn.
"None of this is saying suburbia is bad," said Lawrence Frank, an urban-planning professor at the University of British Columbia and co-author of both studies. "It just says these are the relationships you get ... and they should be taken into account."
A top aide to King County Executive Ron Sims said the county already has adopted some changes as a result of the studies and is planning more.
The research isn't likely to end the debate over sprawl and health.
"If you're listing things that impact obesity, neighborhood design would be maybe 10th on my list," said Tim Attebury, King County manager for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. "I would put McDonald's and too much TV way in front of neighborhood design."
But Frank and co-author Frank Sallis, a health psychologist at San Diego State University, said the two new studies go beyond previous work in showing that development patterns can have a significant impact on health even when taking into account other variables such as age, income, education and ethnicity.
The walkability factor
For both studies, researchers ranked neighborhoods using a "walkability index" that included such factors as residential density, the number of street connections, and the mix of homes, stores, parks and schools. All are believed to influence how much people walk.
In one study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers surveyed and monitored about 75 adults in each of 16 King County neighborhoods. Eight neighborhoods, including Upper Queen Anne and White Center, scored high on the walkability index; the other eight, including Kent's East Hill and part of Sammamish, scored low.
Each group of eight included four wealthier and four lower- income neighborhoods.
On average, researchers found, the Body Mass Index -- a measure of height and weight -- of residents of the more walkable neighborhoods was lower, and they were more likely to get the U.S. Surgeon General's recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise.
In the second study, funded by the Federal Transit Administration, King County and other local governments, researchers estimated the auto-related pollution generated by about 6,000 King County residents who kept detailed records of their travel for two days in 1999 as part of another study.
Again, people who lived and worked in more walkable neighborhoods produced fewer pollutants associated with smog, the study found.
Surprising finding
After subjecting the data to statistical analysis, Frank said, researchers were surprised to learn that even small changes in neighborhood design can make a difference.
A 5 percent increase in a neighborhood's walkability index, for instance, was associated with a 0.23-point drop in Body Mass Index. For someone 6 feet tall, that's a difference of less than 2 pounds, but Frank said bigger changes in a neighborhood's walkability would be expected to produce greater differences in weight.
The presence or absence of stores, parks, schools and other destinations within a quarter- to a half-mile of home appears to be the most important factor in how much people walk, he said.
Karen Wolf, a senior policy analyst in Sims' office, said that as a result of the studies, the county already has amended the policies that guide its planning to make health a priority.
County officials also are working on a checklist to rate development projects' impact on health, she said.
In White Center, one of three neighborhoods that Frank and other researchers studied in detail, Wolf said the county has rezoned property to encourage "mixed-use" development that allows both housing and shops, and is seeking a grant to develop an inviting walkway between a redeveloped housing project and the community's business district.
"The whole idea is to make walking something you don't even think about," she said. "It's part of your everyday life."
Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com>
Eric Pryne
Seattle Times staff reporter
25 January 2006
Residents of King County's less-walkable neighborhoods -- can you say sprawl? -- are more likely to be overweight, a recently completed study concludes.
Another related study has found, perhaps not surprisingly, that people who live and work in those neighborhoods generate more auto- related air pollution, another potential threat to health.
The two studies' findings are summarized in the winter edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Planning Association. The authors, who collaborated in their research, say their work constitutes the most comprehensive look yet at the link between urban-development patterns and human health in a single metropolitan area.
Earlier research has raised the possibility of a connection between sprawl, obesity and other health problems. The King County results suggest "current laws and regulations are producing negative health outcomes," the authors warn.
"None of this is saying suburbia is bad," said Lawrence Frank, an urban-planning professor at the University of British Columbia and co-author of both studies. "It just says these are the relationships you get ... and they should be taken into account."
A top aide to King County Executive Ron Sims said the county already has adopted some changes as a result of the studies and is planning more.
The research isn't likely to end the debate over sprawl and health.
"If you're listing things that impact obesity, neighborhood design would be maybe 10th on my list," said Tim Attebury, King County manager for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. "I would put McDonald's and too much TV way in front of neighborhood design."
But Frank and co-author Frank Sallis, a health psychologist at San Diego State University, said the two new studies go beyond previous work in showing that development patterns can have a significant impact on health even when taking into account other variables such as age, income, education and ethnicity.
The walkability factor
For both studies, researchers ranked neighborhoods using a "walkability index" that included such factors as residential density, the number of street connections, and the mix of homes, stores, parks and schools. All are believed to influence how much people walk.
In one study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers surveyed and monitored about 75 adults in each of 16 King County neighborhoods. Eight neighborhoods, including Upper Queen Anne and White Center, scored high on the walkability index; the other eight, including Kent's East Hill and part of Sammamish, scored low.
Each group of eight included four wealthier and four lower- income neighborhoods.
On average, researchers found, the Body Mass Index -- a measure of height and weight -- of residents of the more walkable neighborhoods was lower, and they were more likely to get the U.S. Surgeon General's recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise.
In the second study, funded by the Federal Transit Administration, King County and other local governments, researchers estimated the auto-related pollution generated by about 6,000 King County residents who kept detailed records of their travel for two days in 1999 as part of another study.
Again, people who lived and worked in more walkable neighborhoods produced fewer pollutants associated with smog, the study found.
Surprising finding
After subjecting the data to statistical analysis, Frank said, researchers were surprised to learn that even small changes in neighborhood design can make a difference.
A 5 percent increase in a neighborhood's walkability index, for instance, was associated with a 0.23-point drop in Body Mass Index. For someone 6 feet tall, that's a difference of less than 2 pounds, but Frank said bigger changes in a neighborhood's walkability would be expected to produce greater differences in weight.
The presence or absence of stores, parks, schools and other destinations within a quarter- to a half-mile of home appears to be the most important factor in how much people walk, he said.
Karen Wolf, a senior policy analyst in Sims' office, said that as a result of the studies, the county already has amended the policies that guide its planning to make health a priority.
County officials also are working on a checklist to rate development projects' impact on health, she said.
In White Center, one of three neighborhoods that Frank and other researchers studied in detail, Wolf said the county has rezoned property to encourage "mixed-use" development that allows both housing and shops, and is seeking a grant to develop an inviting walkway between a redeveloped housing project and the community's business district.
"The whole idea is to make walking something you don't even think about," she said. "It's part of your everyday life."
Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com>
the two german gigants : Berlin and rhine ruhr
A few facts about the "biggest" city in Germany ,the rhine ruhr area :
the area has an population of around 12 milllion inhabitans
it goes from Wesel in the norf to bonn in the south and from Mönchengladbach in the west to Hamm in the east , some people took the area around Aachen to it !
Cities in the Rhine ruhr /Rhine ruhr north: -Essen, Duisburg , Dortmund ,Mühlheim ,Oberhausen, Gelsenkirchen , Hagen , Wuppertal Solingen , Remscheid ,Düsseldorf ,Hamm,Krefeld, Bochum ,Bottrop ,Marl, Moers ,Herne, Recklinghausen , Oeroerkenschwick,Velbert ,Iserlohn,Schwerte,Unna,Kamp-Lintfort (around 6 million inh.)
Rhine ruhr west: Mönchengladbach ,Dormagen,Viersen (around 1 milllion inh) (some count also Aachen,Stolberg and Eschweiler)
Rhine ruhr south :Cologne, Düsseldorf,Bonn,Leverkusen,Langenfeld,Hilden,Hürth, frechen,Siegburg,Troisdorf,Hennef,Lohmar,Bergisch Gladbach (around 5 Millions )
----------------
So you can see the rhine ruhr is polycentric the biggest "city" of germany !
The second gigant city is Berlin the urban area have around 3,6 mill. the metro (or commuter) area has 4,2 million inhabitans
The urban area streches from Oranienburg in the north to Königs Wusterhausen in the south and from ;Falkenhagen to Strausberg in the east
Cities in urban area :clearly Berlin,Falkensee, Falkenhagen , Zeuthen , Wildau, Königswusterhausen , Hohen neuendorf , Bergfelde, Potsdam, Glienicke ,Rüdersdorf , Petershagen , Fredersdorf,Neuenhagen,Zepernik,Eichwalde Bernau ,Oranienburg Hennigsdorf,werder (3,6 million inhabitans)
Cities in the commuter area :Lübbben,Velten,Neuruppin, Fürstenwalde Frankfurt, Cottbus , brandenburg city, Lübbenau, Vetschau , cottbus , eberswalde , Velten
---------------
So thats a few facts about Berlin and the rhine ruhr ; the only real "gigants in germany ! What do you think about this areas and have anyone a few other facts so pls. post here !>
the area has an population of around 12 milllion inhabitans
it goes from Wesel in the norf to bonn in the south and from Mönchengladbach in the west to Hamm in the east , some people took the area around Aachen to it !
Cities in the Rhine ruhr /Rhine ruhr north: -Essen, Duisburg , Dortmund ,Mühlheim ,Oberhausen, Gelsenkirchen , Hagen , Wuppertal Solingen , Remscheid ,Düsseldorf ,Hamm,Krefeld, Bochum ,Bottrop ,Marl, Moers ,Herne, Recklinghausen , Oeroerkenschwick,Velbert ,Iserlohn,Schwerte,Unna,Kamp-Lintfort (around 6 million inh.)
Rhine ruhr west: Mönchengladbach ,Dormagen,Viersen (around 1 milllion inh) (some count also Aachen,Stolberg and Eschweiler)
Rhine ruhr south :Cologne, Düsseldorf,Bonn,Leverkusen,Langenfeld,Hilden,Hürth, frechen,Siegburg,Troisdorf,Hennef,Lohmar,Bergisch Gladbach (around 5 Millions )
----------------
So you can see the rhine ruhr is polycentric the biggest "city" of germany !
The second gigant city is Berlin the urban area have around 3,6 mill. the metro (or commuter) area has 4,2 million inhabitans
The urban area streches from Oranienburg in the north to Königs Wusterhausen in the south and from ;Falkenhagen to Strausberg in the east
Cities in urban area :clearly Berlin,Falkensee, Falkenhagen , Zeuthen , Wildau, Königswusterhausen , Hohen neuendorf , Bergfelde, Potsdam, Glienicke ,Rüdersdorf , Petershagen , Fredersdorf,Neuenhagen,Zepernik,Eichwalde Bernau ,Oranienburg Hennigsdorf,werder (3,6 million inhabitans)
Cities in the commuter area :Lübbben,Velten,Neuruppin, Fürstenwalde Frankfurt, Cottbus , brandenburg city, Lübbenau, Vetschau , cottbus , eberswalde , Velten
---------------
So thats a few facts about Berlin and the rhine ruhr ; the only real "gigants in germany ! What do you think about this areas and have anyone a few other facts so pls. post here !>
Are the bigger/taller cities the better cities?
OK, looks like there has been never-ending discussion about "my city is bigger than that!" or "my city has more number of skyscrapers thus is better".
But really, do you folks think that cities with more population, more number of tall buildings, or bigger area are better cities?>
But really, do you folks think that cities with more population, more number of tall buildings, or bigger area are better cities?>
What's the Most Sustainable U.S. City?
http://www.sustainlane.com/article/895/
Welcome to SustainLaneÂ's 2006 US City Rankings—a nationwide study that measures the 50 largest cities in America on essential quality-of-life and economic factors that affect your personal sustainability.
Who is the City Rankings study for?
ItÂ's for everybody. No matter where you live or what you do, we think youÂ'll find something valuable in this study.
What have we learned?
WeÂ've learned that there are inspiring citizen groups, city governments, and mayors around the country promoting innovative solutions that are improving peopleÂ's lives.
Why rank cities?
Few things matter to our overall well-being as insistently as the place where we live. Whether we realize it or not, weÂ're affected daily by our cityÂ's economy, water quality, and traffic congestion. Understanding how these factors impact our lives can play a key role in our personal health, financial success, and overall happiness.
Similarly, despite the move toward globalized markets, local economies depend on local citizens. Our daily actions, such as where we shop and how we get to work, have lasting repercussions. These choices affect our citiesÂ' wealth, the air we breathe, and the quality of community we experience every day.
What makes a city sustainable?
Hallmarks of sustainable cities include a commitment to public health, an emphasis on creating a strong local economy, and citizens and city officials working together to make positive, thoughtful choices for the long-term benefit of the city and its residents.
Where did the info come from?
SustainLane talked with officials at 37 of the cities in the study and brought together more than 1,700 data points. Our goal has been to gather information—much of it paid for by our tax dollars—and make it accessible, so that youÂ'll have the information you need to make sustainable choices and get involved in making your city an even better place to live. Read our methodology to learn more.
How vital is your city?
Use SustainLaneÂ's study to find out! As cities grow, they inevitably face challenges brought about by swelling population, economic transformation, and environmental pressures. The top cities in this study have taken all these factors into consideration as theyÂ've planned for the future—and their citizens will reap the benefits.
What can you do?
By knowing where your city excels and where it could stand improvement, you get a clearer picture of your cityÂ's health—and a sense of what actions you can take to improve it.
And talk to us—tell us what weÂ've missed, what we can do better, and what you love about your city in our city forums. WeÂ're here to make it easier to live a healthy, sustainable life.>
Welcome to SustainLaneÂ's 2006 US City Rankings—a nationwide study that measures the 50 largest cities in America on essential quality-of-life and economic factors that affect your personal sustainability.
Who is the City Rankings study for?
ItÂ's for everybody. No matter where you live or what you do, we think youÂ'll find something valuable in this study.
What have we learned?
WeÂ've learned that there are inspiring citizen groups, city governments, and mayors around the country promoting innovative solutions that are improving peopleÂ's lives.
Why rank cities?
Few things matter to our overall well-being as insistently as the place where we live. Whether we realize it or not, weÂ're affected daily by our cityÂ's economy, water quality, and traffic congestion. Understanding how these factors impact our lives can play a key role in our personal health, financial success, and overall happiness.
Similarly, despite the move toward globalized markets, local economies depend on local citizens. Our daily actions, such as where we shop and how we get to work, have lasting repercussions. These choices affect our citiesÂ' wealth, the air we breathe, and the quality of community we experience every day.
What makes a city sustainable?
Hallmarks of sustainable cities include a commitment to public health, an emphasis on creating a strong local economy, and citizens and city officials working together to make positive, thoughtful choices for the long-term benefit of the city and its residents.
Where did the info come from?
SustainLane talked with officials at 37 of the cities in the study and brought together more than 1,700 data points. Our goal has been to gather information—much of it paid for by our tax dollars—and make it accessible, so that youÂ'll have the information you need to make sustainable choices and get involved in making your city an even better place to live. Read our methodology to learn more.
How vital is your city?
Use SustainLaneÂ's study to find out! As cities grow, they inevitably face challenges brought about by swelling population, economic transformation, and environmental pressures. The top cities in this study have taken all these factors into consideration as theyÂ've planned for the future—and their citizens will reap the benefits.
What can you do?
By knowing where your city excels and where it could stand improvement, you get a clearer picture of your cityÂ's health—and a sense of what actions you can take to improve it.
And talk to us—tell us what weÂ've missed, what we can do better, and what you love about your city in our city forums. WeÂ're here to make it easier to live a healthy, sustainable life.>
Is the current boom of skyscrapers coming to an end?
Am posting an article from the economist, which skyscraper enthusiasts may find interesting. Was going to post this in the professional thread but thought most of our friends here would find it enlightening. Most Interesting specially the part about the tallest skyscrapers being built at the end of a boom! My comments in red. Opinions anyone? 
http://economist.com/business/displa...ory_id=7001496
The skyscraper boom
Better than flying
Jun 1st 2006 | DUBAI, LONDON AND NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition
Despite the attack on the twin towers, plenty of skyscrapers are rising. They are taller and more daring than ever, but still mostly monuments to magnificence
Getty Images
SKYSCRAPERS are hard to build and even harder to make money from. Perhaps that is why they hold such an enduring fascination. Â"The problem of the tall office buildingÂ", wrote Louis Sullivan in 1896, Â"is one of the most stupendous, one of the most magnificent opportunities that the Lord of Nature in His beneficence has ever offered to the proud spirit of man.Â"
Sullivan, an architect, was enthusiastically observing Chicago at a time when steel-framed buildings clad in stone had reached greater heights than anything that had been built before. But he could have been talking about New York in the 1920s, Hong Kong in the 1980s, or one of the booming cities in Asia that, according to Emporis, a firm which tracks skyscrapers, now lead a boom in high-rise building undaunted by the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001. Roughly 8% of the world's stock of tall buildings is currently under construction, according to Emporis. quite amazing if accurate, an 8% rise worldwide seems a bit excessive if this statistic is accurately monitored!About 40% of the world's 200 tallest buildings have been completed since 2000.
Skyscrapers pose stupendous problems to designers and developers because they have two powerful forces working against them. The first is economic—exemplified by the number of big American companies that now prefer to operate from low-rise campuses built outside cities. There are of course exceptions. These tend to be large financial institutions, on which a skyscraper confers the permanence once embodied by marble halls and oak-panelled dining-rooms.
The second is physical: towers are always fighting against their own weight. As more parts of the building are devoted to holding it up, they encroach on the space for working or living in. Developers and leasing agents refer to the ratio between these two elements as a building's Â"net-to-grossÂ". In a really efficient skyscraper, nearly 70% of the building's volume is useable, with the rest taken up by lift-shafts, stairwells and pillars. In a well designed low-rise building, by contrast, more than 80% of the space can be sold or let.
These obstacles explain why, in each skyscraper boom, many more designs are proposed than built. London, for example, has five towers over 200 metres (656 feet) tall that either have planning permission or are in the planning process, by which stage they must have completed designs and a willing developer. Yet only a couple of them are likely to be built. Francis Salway, chief executive of Land Securities, a developer, predicts that Â"between one and threeÂ" will go up over the next decade. A lot has still to happen before a tower can metamorphose from a design with enthusiastic backers into a few hundred metres of vertical glass and steel.
Penthouse envy
From a developer's point of view, skyscrapers come in three varieties: speculative ventures, commissions for a company headquarters and government-sponsored exercises in gigantism. Tall buildings cost more, so all three types depend on finding someone who is prepared to pay extra to look down on the neighbours.
Of these three types, towers built speculatively are the most common. A developer finds an anchor tenant (which reduces the risk of a flop), borrows the construction costs and looks to fill the rest of the building when it is near completion. A lot of skyscrapers known by a company's name came about like this: Woolworth only ever took up two of the 57 floors of the Woolworth building in New York, for example—the rest was let out in smaller parcels. The new New York Times building, due to be completed this year, will house the newspaper of the same name, but half of its 52 storeys will be let.
These skyscrapers are the riskiest of all and need a rare combination of factors to come together if they are to make money. They include a short supply of land in a desirable location (as in Hong Kong), zoning laws that preserve this scarcity and easy access to finance. Other factors, like bedrock near the surface to drive foundations into, help to keep costs down. The areas around Wall Street and midtown Manhattan have such favourable geology, which partly explains how New York looks. But nature can be mastered: Chicago, home to the first skyscrapers, sits on mud; Dubai's giant towers are being built on sand.
Company headquarters, such as the HSBC and Citibank towers at Canary Wharf in east London, bend these rules but do not break them. Because a single company occupies them, they are less subject to changes in the rental market. Instead, they are part advertising hoarding, part management tool. And for some companies, this is worth paying extra—which removes some of the constraints that apply to speculative towers. Carol Willis, the curator of the Skyscraper Museum in New York, describes company towers as Â"the Cadillacs of skyscraper designÂ".
One company polishing the fins on its machine is Goldman Sachs, an investment bank that is not known for frittering away its shareholders' money. Goldman is building a tower in lower Manhattan, close to the controversial redevelopment of the World Trade Centre site, where the Freedom Tower and other buildings are planned. Goldman's aim is to bring together people from ten office buildings it has in New York. The bank already has a tower a short distance away in New Jersey, but gleeful Manhattan property developers say that Goldman's bankers refused to move to the cheaper office space just across the water. For a bank, then, paying a premium to be near lots of other bankers can be worthwhile.
Government-backed towers discard most of these rules. Whether built as a statement of economic intent (as in Dubai, where much of the building frenzy is financed by companies backed by the government), or as a concrete index finger held up to the outside world (the 330-metre high Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea), any city that aspires to be taken seriously wants a skyscraper or two.
Building skyscrapers for governments can lead to some odd results. In Dubai, for example, skyscrapers stand one deep on either side of the Sheikh Zayed Road in the south of the city, with desert behind them stretching away into the distance. The international skyscraper style, which involves using acres of glass, does not always make sense. It works well in the parts of north America where it first appeared, but when transported to the Gulf, the giant greenhouses require a huge amount of energy to cool them and engineers have to find ways to keep the light out. Some architects have proposed designs with concrete walls and small apertures that recall the screens in early Islamic architecture, but they have been rejected. Skyscrapers don't look like that.
Taller, lighter, stranger
The engineers who have to make the towers stand up, can build taller and stranger shapes only when technology permits. Three sorts of changes have shaped the current wave of skyscraper design: materials, lifts and computing.
New materials have the most visible effect on skyscrapers' looks. In 1922 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a German architect who later moved to America, sketched a tower with a glass skin stretched around the floors of a translucent building that appeared to have no central core. Not only would the building have fallen down, but it would have been impossible to make glass panels that were light enough or that could have been bent into the shapes that the design demanded.
Â"It has taken 80 years for glass technology to catch up with what Mies was sketching,Â" says Neven Sidor, of Grimshaw Architects. Translucent towers, which aside from looking pretty also alleviate one of the worst things about skyscrapers—the long shadows they cast on the streets below—are now proposed by architects everywhere. Thin-film technology (coating the glass in glazes that repel heat, but let in light) and self-cleaning glass are becoming standard. And glass can be formed into shapes that now make Mies's conceptual design look rather conservative, as at 30 St Mary Axe in London (better known as the Â"gherkinÂ") or the Hearst building in New York.
Other changes to materials have helped towers weigh less, which allows them to go higher. Floors and walls have become thinner, thanks to innovations like slim-line insulation made of fibreglass and aluminium foil, an idea borrowed from containers used to transport blood. This brings its own problems, though. When a floor is really large, thin ones become like trampolines and engineers have to find ways to prevent the journey to the photocopier from becoming too bouncy.
Architects are also grappling with Mies's other idea: dispensing with the central core, or breaking it up. Skyscrapers up to 200 metres tall can stand up with a central core of steel and concrete that houses a building's lifts and the plumbing for support services. Any taller and the building needs outriggers, which provide support like the flying buttresses on a gothic cathedral. This structure can apparently be extended heavenwards indefinitely. The Burj Dubai is made up of a central core with outriggers. It is determined to claim the title of tallest building in the world—so determined, in fact, that its final height is a secret and subject to elongation to keep ahead of would-be usurpers.
But some towers (architects refer to them as tubes) use a web of steel struts to transfer the building's weight down to its foundations via a few large piers. These buildings tend to be easy to spot—as with the HSBC building in Hong Kong, their architects like to flaunt their structural elements. This allows the lift shafts to be broken up or even moved to the outside of the building. The skyscrapers that result can look much lighter.
As materials have improved, it has become possible to go higher than the 509-metre Taipei 101 tower, which is currently the world's tallest building. But engineers also have to work out how to get people to the top floors.
Tall buildings have always relied on changes to lifting technology to go higher—the first hydraulic lifts around 1870 made it possible to go higher than the steam-powered lifts they replaced. Now, however, the constraints come less from the ability of a lift to travel half a kilometre vertically than from how long people must wait in the lobby for a lift to take them to the 50th floor. That makes it necessary to find ways to speed up their journeys around the building.
Most tall towers now have at least two banks of lifts: one for the lower floors and one for the upper ones. In the tallest towers in Asia (home to eight of the world's ten highest giants) this still means waiting too long. So engineers run two or more lifts in each lift shaft, and build Â"sky lobbiesÂ" where passengers cross between lifts if they want to go the whole way down or up.
These arrangements, whereby cappuccino-carrying office workers or hotel porters are directed to a particular lift according to where they want to go, are collectively known as Â"hall callÂ". KONE, a Finnish lift company, is working on a lift system that sends text messages to people's mobile phones as they enter a building, informing them to take lift five, say, if they want to go to their desk or lift seven if they want the café on the 60th floor.
Contemplating buildings this complicated has been possible in recent years only because computers have became powerful enough to build three-dimensional models that developers, architects, structural engineers, mechanical engineers and builders can all work on. Before such computer systems arrived, design changes had to be made on several sets of drawings, which increased the chances of mistakes. Strange shapes constructed at lower levels were possible before computers sped up. But ambitious forms like the new 230-metre China Central Television building in Beijing (which looks a little like a bent croquet hoop) needed computer processors to design.
Computers have made other things possible, too. Engineers can use them to test how a building might stand up to a fire or an aeroplane crash. When the main tower at Canary Wharf was proposed in the 1980s, according to Peter Bressington of Arup, an engineering firm that is a prolific builder of skyscrapers, nobody was able to predict accurately how long it would take to evacuate if a fire broke out. Now Arup can run a simulation in which a fire starts on the 35th floor, one lift is out of action and a few thousand people have to get out, and see how long it takes.
As well as allowing skyscrapers to go taller, these changes have made them more efficient machines for living or working in and brought their running costs down. Since the construction of the Commerzbank building in Frankfurt (which is reckoned to be the first green tower) in 1997, architects and some planning authorities have pushed environmental designs. In New York, for example, planners now insist that developers build skyscrapers that conform to tough standards set by the Green Building Council. Boosters argue that green designs improve the productivity of their inhabitants. Workers with access to natural light and fresh air that has not circulated endlessly through a building's air-conditioning system seem to get ill less often and avoid symptoms of Â"sick-building syndromeÂ" associated with the sealed towers built in the 1970s, when energy costs were high.
Building green is more expensive. But developers can demand a premium—partly because of the value to companies of being seen to be green and partly because such buildings use at least 35% less energy. The new Bank of America tower in New York is an example. According to its developers, the building will act as a giant air filter, sucking in dirty air from the city, cleaning it up and eventually sending it out cleaner. It will also have a heat-exchange system whereby heat produced by sunshine, people, computers and lights will be used to make ice, which in turn will be used to cool the offices the following day. Â"The pitchÂ", says one Manhattan-based developer, Â"is higher productivity, lower energy costs, nicer places to work.Â"
Yet all this innovation has not altered the biggest obstacle to towers built speculatively: the vagaries of the property cycle. Developers make money through good timing, releasing office space on to the market when it is picking up and prices are rising. But because skyscrapers take much longer to go from a design to occupancy, it is hard to get the timing right.
The first big attempt to study historical patterns in commercial property markets was made by two economists in the 1930s. Homer Hoyt and Roy Wenzlick looked at the market for office space in Chicago and found that big profits made by developers early in each cycle encouraged further building. This led to oversupply in the market and falling rents.
Monoliths and markets
Skyscrapers have an unfortunate habit of being finished just as the market starts to drop.Are our days as skyscraper enthusiasts numbered ? At least for a certain period of time! The Chrysler building was being completed when the tumble of Wall Street became the crash of 1929; the Empire State in the nadir of the Depression (in 1934, a quarter was vacant, hence its nickname: the Empty State building). Work by Jason Barr of Rutgers University suggests that over the 20th century the tallest skyscrapers in New York have been completed at around the time when America's economy was about to turn downwards (see chart).
It is hard to know if this will hold true for the Asian cities that are now leading the way in skyscraper enthusiasm, since strong demand in the office market has not been around for long enough. Yet the timing of the 452-metre Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, which were completed a year after the East Asian financial crisis began in 1997, suggests it might.
It seems to apply to some other cities, as the history of skyscrapers in London shows. London's office market headed down in 1974, 1982, 1990 and 2002. The two most recent tumbles were marked by the completion of well-known skyscrapers: the main Canary Wharf tower in 1991 and 30 St Mary Axe in 2003. Skyscrapers in London take between five and ten years to go from idea to income, and each cycle lasts for some ten years. This makes it Â"virtually impossible to get the timing right on tall buildings,Â" according to Peter Damesick of CB Richard Ellis, a property agent.
Perhaps it is this defiance of gravity and the market that makes skyscrapers so alluring and explains why people continue to want to build them. Publicity for the Empire State Building claimed the feeling of looking out from its viewing gallery was better than air travel. Nobody explained that the platform was there only because the space could not be soldso funny, in the age of spin, shows you nothing has really changed
.>
http://economist.com/business/displa...ory_id=7001496
The skyscraper boom
Better than flying
Jun 1st 2006 | DUBAI, LONDON AND NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition
Despite the attack on the twin towers, plenty of skyscrapers are rising. They are taller and more daring than ever, but still mostly monuments to magnificence
Getty Images
SKYSCRAPERS are hard to build and even harder to make money from. Perhaps that is why they hold such an enduring fascination. Â"The problem of the tall office buildingÂ", wrote Louis Sullivan in 1896, Â"is one of the most stupendous, one of the most magnificent opportunities that the Lord of Nature in His beneficence has ever offered to the proud spirit of man.Â"
Sullivan, an architect, was enthusiastically observing Chicago at a time when steel-framed buildings clad in stone had reached greater heights than anything that had been built before. But he could have been talking about New York in the 1920s, Hong Kong in the 1980s, or one of the booming cities in Asia that, according to Emporis, a firm which tracks skyscrapers, now lead a boom in high-rise building undaunted by the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001. Roughly 8% of the world's stock of tall buildings is currently under construction, according to Emporis. quite amazing if accurate, an 8% rise worldwide seems a bit excessive if this statistic is accurately monitored!About 40% of the world's 200 tallest buildings have been completed since 2000.
Skyscrapers pose stupendous problems to designers and developers because they have two powerful forces working against them. The first is economic—exemplified by the number of big American companies that now prefer to operate from low-rise campuses built outside cities. There are of course exceptions. These tend to be large financial institutions, on which a skyscraper confers the permanence once embodied by marble halls and oak-panelled dining-rooms.
The second is physical: towers are always fighting against their own weight. As more parts of the building are devoted to holding it up, they encroach on the space for working or living in. Developers and leasing agents refer to the ratio between these two elements as a building's Â"net-to-grossÂ". In a really efficient skyscraper, nearly 70% of the building's volume is useable, with the rest taken up by lift-shafts, stairwells and pillars. In a well designed low-rise building, by contrast, more than 80% of the space can be sold or let.
These obstacles explain why, in each skyscraper boom, many more designs are proposed than built. London, for example, has five towers over 200 metres (656 feet) tall that either have planning permission or are in the planning process, by which stage they must have completed designs and a willing developer. Yet only a couple of them are likely to be built. Francis Salway, chief executive of Land Securities, a developer, predicts that Â"between one and threeÂ" will go up over the next decade. A lot has still to happen before a tower can metamorphose from a design with enthusiastic backers into a few hundred metres of vertical glass and steel.
Penthouse envy
From a developer's point of view, skyscrapers come in three varieties: speculative ventures, commissions for a company headquarters and government-sponsored exercises in gigantism. Tall buildings cost more, so all three types depend on finding someone who is prepared to pay extra to look down on the neighbours.
Of these three types, towers built speculatively are the most common. A developer finds an anchor tenant (which reduces the risk of a flop), borrows the construction costs and looks to fill the rest of the building when it is near completion. A lot of skyscrapers known by a company's name came about like this: Woolworth only ever took up two of the 57 floors of the Woolworth building in New York, for example—the rest was let out in smaller parcels. The new New York Times building, due to be completed this year, will house the newspaper of the same name, but half of its 52 storeys will be let.
These skyscrapers are the riskiest of all and need a rare combination of factors to come together if they are to make money. They include a short supply of land in a desirable location (as in Hong Kong), zoning laws that preserve this scarcity and easy access to finance. Other factors, like bedrock near the surface to drive foundations into, help to keep costs down. The areas around Wall Street and midtown Manhattan have such favourable geology, which partly explains how New York looks. But nature can be mastered: Chicago, home to the first skyscrapers, sits on mud; Dubai's giant towers are being built on sand.
Company headquarters, such as the HSBC and Citibank towers at Canary Wharf in east London, bend these rules but do not break them. Because a single company occupies them, they are less subject to changes in the rental market. Instead, they are part advertising hoarding, part management tool. And for some companies, this is worth paying extra—which removes some of the constraints that apply to speculative towers. Carol Willis, the curator of the Skyscraper Museum in New York, describes company towers as Â"the Cadillacs of skyscraper designÂ".
One company polishing the fins on its machine is Goldman Sachs, an investment bank that is not known for frittering away its shareholders' money. Goldman is building a tower in lower Manhattan, close to the controversial redevelopment of the World Trade Centre site, where the Freedom Tower and other buildings are planned. Goldman's aim is to bring together people from ten office buildings it has in New York. The bank already has a tower a short distance away in New Jersey, but gleeful Manhattan property developers say that Goldman's bankers refused to move to the cheaper office space just across the water. For a bank, then, paying a premium to be near lots of other bankers can be worthwhile.
Government-backed towers discard most of these rules. Whether built as a statement of economic intent (as in Dubai, where much of the building frenzy is financed by companies backed by the government), or as a concrete index finger held up to the outside world (the 330-metre high Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea), any city that aspires to be taken seriously wants a skyscraper or two.
Building skyscrapers for governments can lead to some odd results. In Dubai, for example, skyscrapers stand one deep on either side of the Sheikh Zayed Road in the south of the city, with desert behind them stretching away into the distance. The international skyscraper style, which involves using acres of glass, does not always make sense. It works well in the parts of north America where it first appeared, but when transported to the Gulf, the giant greenhouses require a huge amount of energy to cool them and engineers have to find ways to keep the light out. Some architects have proposed designs with concrete walls and small apertures that recall the screens in early Islamic architecture, but they have been rejected. Skyscrapers don't look like that.
Taller, lighter, stranger
The engineers who have to make the towers stand up, can build taller and stranger shapes only when technology permits. Three sorts of changes have shaped the current wave of skyscraper design: materials, lifts and computing.
New materials have the most visible effect on skyscrapers' looks. In 1922 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a German architect who later moved to America, sketched a tower with a glass skin stretched around the floors of a translucent building that appeared to have no central core. Not only would the building have fallen down, but it would have been impossible to make glass panels that were light enough or that could have been bent into the shapes that the design demanded.
Â"It has taken 80 years for glass technology to catch up with what Mies was sketching,Â" says Neven Sidor, of Grimshaw Architects. Translucent towers, which aside from looking pretty also alleviate one of the worst things about skyscrapers—the long shadows they cast on the streets below—are now proposed by architects everywhere. Thin-film technology (coating the glass in glazes that repel heat, but let in light) and self-cleaning glass are becoming standard. And glass can be formed into shapes that now make Mies's conceptual design look rather conservative, as at 30 St Mary Axe in London (better known as the Â"gherkinÂ") or the Hearst building in New York.
Other changes to materials have helped towers weigh less, which allows them to go higher. Floors and walls have become thinner, thanks to innovations like slim-line insulation made of fibreglass and aluminium foil, an idea borrowed from containers used to transport blood. This brings its own problems, though. When a floor is really large, thin ones become like trampolines and engineers have to find ways to prevent the journey to the photocopier from becoming too bouncy.
Architects are also grappling with Mies's other idea: dispensing with the central core, or breaking it up. Skyscrapers up to 200 metres tall can stand up with a central core of steel and concrete that houses a building's lifts and the plumbing for support services. Any taller and the building needs outriggers, which provide support like the flying buttresses on a gothic cathedral. This structure can apparently be extended heavenwards indefinitely. The Burj Dubai is made up of a central core with outriggers. It is determined to claim the title of tallest building in the world—so determined, in fact, that its final height is a secret and subject to elongation to keep ahead of would-be usurpers.
But some towers (architects refer to them as tubes) use a web of steel struts to transfer the building's weight down to its foundations via a few large piers. These buildings tend to be easy to spot—as with the HSBC building in Hong Kong, their architects like to flaunt their structural elements. This allows the lift shafts to be broken up or even moved to the outside of the building. The skyscrapers that result can look much lighter.
As materials have improved, it has become possible to go higher than the 509-metre Taipei 101 tower, which is currently the world's tallest building. But engineers also have to work out how to get people to the top floors.
Tall buildings have always relied on changes to lifting technology to go higher—the first hydraulic lifts around 1870 made it possible to go higher than the steam-powered lifts they replaced. Now, however, the constraints come less from the ability of a lift to travel half a kilometre vertically than from how long people must wait in the lobby for a lift to take them to the 50th floor. That makes it necessary to find ways to speed up their journeys around the building.
Most tall towers now have at least two banks of lifts: one for the lower floors and one for the upper ones. In the tallest towers in Asia (home to eight of the world's ten highest giants) this still means waiting too long. So engineers run two or more lifts in each lift shaft, and build Â"sky lobbiesÂ" where passengers cross between lifts if they want to go the whole way down or up.
These arrangements, whereby cappuccino-carrying office workers or hotel porters are directed to a particular lift according to where they want to go, are collectively known as Â"hall callÂ". KONE, a Finnish lift company, is working on a lift system that sends text messages to people's mobile phones as they enter a building, informing them to take lift five, say, if they want to go to their desk or lift seven if they want the café on the 60th floor.
Contemplating buildings this complicated has been possible in recent years only because computers have became powerful enough to build three-dimensional models that developers, architects, structural engineers, mechanical engineers and builders can all work on. Before such computer systems arrived, design changes had to be made on several sets of drawings, which increased the chances of mistakes. Strange shapes constructed at lower levels were possible before computers sped up. But ambitious forms like the new 230-metre China Central Television building in Beijing (which looks a little like a bent croquet hoop) needed computer processors to design.
Computers have made other things possible, too. Engineers can use them to test how a building might stand up to a fire or an aeroplane crash. When the main tower at Canary Wharf was proposed in the 1980s, according to Peter Bressington of Arup, an engineering firm that is a prolific builder of skyscrapers, nobody was able to predict accurately how long it would take to evacuate if a fire broke out. Now Arup can run a simulation in which a fire starts on the 35th floor, one lift is out of action and a few thousand people have to get out, and see how long it takes.
As well as allowing skyscrapers to go taller, these changes have made them more efficient machines for living or working in and brought their running costs down. Since the construction of the Commerzbank building in Frankfurt (which is reckoned to be the first green tower) in 1997, architects and some planning authorities have pushed environmental designs. In New York, for example, planners now insist that developers build skyscrapers that conform to tough standards set by the Green Building Council. Boosters argue that green designs improve the productivity of their inhabitants. Workers with access to natural light and fresh air that has not circulated endlessly through a building's air-conditioning system seem to get ill less often and avoid symptoms of Â"sick-building syndromeÂ" associated with the sealed towers built in the 1970s, when energy costs were high.
Building green is more expensive. But developers can demand a premium—partly because of the value to companies of being seen to be green and partly because such buildings use at least 35% less energy. The new Bank of America tower in New York is an example. According to its developers, the building will act as a giant air filter, sucking in dirty air from the city, cleaning it up and eventually sending it out cleaner. It will also have a heat-exchange system whereby heat produced by sunshine, people, computers and lights will be used to make ice, which in turn will be used to cool the offices the following day. Â"The pitchÂ", says one Manhattan-based developer, Â"is higher productivity, lower energy costs, nicer places to work.Â"
Yet all this innovation has not altered the biggest obstacle to towers built speculatively: the vagaries of the property cycle. Developers make money through good timing, releasing office space on to the market when it is picking up and prices are rising. But because skyscrapers take much longer to go from a design to occupancy, it is hard to get the timing right.
The first big attempt to study historical patterns in commercial property markets was made by two economists in the 1930s. Homer Hoyt and Roy Wenzlick looked at the market for office space in Chicago and found that big profits made by developers early in each cycle encouraged further building. This led to oversupply in the market and falling rents.
Monoliths and markets
Skyscrapers have an unfortunate habit of being finished just as the market starts to drop.Are our days as skyscraper enthusiasts numbered ? At least for a certain period of time! The Chrysler building was being completed when the tumble of Wall Street became the crash of 1929; the Empire State in the nadir of the Depression (in 1934, a quarter was vacant, hence its nickname: the Empty State building). Work by Jason Barr of Rutgers University suggests that over the 20th century the tallest skyscrapers in New York have been completed at around the time when America's economy was about to turn downwards (see chart).
It is hard to know if this will hold true for the Asian cities that are now leading the way in skyscraper enthusiasm, since strong demand in the office market has not been around for long enough. Yet the timing of the 452-metre Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, which were completed a year after the East Asian financial crisis began in 1997, suggests it might.
It seems to apply to some other cities, as the history of skyscrapers in London shows. London's office market headed down in 1974, 1982, 1990 and 2002. The two most recent tumbles were marked by the completion of well-known skyscrapers: the main Canary Wharf tower in 1991 and 30 St Mary Axe in 2003. Skyscrapers in London take between five and ten years to go from idea to income, and each cycle lasts for some ten years. This makes it Â"virtually impossible to get the timing right on tall buildings,Â" according to Peter Damesick of CB Richard Ellis, a property agent.
Perhaps it is this defiance of gravity and the market that makes skyscrapers so alluring and explains why people continue to want to build them. Publicity for the Empire State Building claimed the feeling of looking out from its viewing gallery was better than air travel. Nobody explained that the platform was there only because the space could not be soldso funny, in the age of spin, shows you nothing has really changed
.>
World's Corporate Capitals-Here's the US'
According to the 2006 Fortune 500 and 1000
Here are the US Metros with the highest concentration of the nation's largest corporations.
Fortune 500 Companies by Metro, 20+
1 New York.............83
2 San Francisco.......29
3 Chicago...............27
4 Dallas..................22
4 Houston...............22
6 Los Angeles..........20
Fortune 1000 Companies by Metro, 40+
1 New York...........139
2 San Francisco......62
3 Chicago..............57
4 Dallas.................43
5 Los Angeles.........42
6 Houston..............41
New York Metro
Fortune 500 Cos. 83
Fortune 1000 Cos. 139
1 General Electric 7 157,153.0 Fairfield
1 Citigroup 8 131,045.0 New York
2 American Intl. Group 9 108,905.0 New York
3 Intl. Business Machines 10 91,134.0 Armonk
4 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. 17 79,902.0 New York
5 Verizon Communications 18 75,111.9 New York
6 Altria Group 20 69,148.0 New York
7 Morgan Stanley 30 52,498.0 New York
8 Pfizer 31 51,353.0 New York
1 Johnson & Johnson 32 50,514.0 New Brunswick
9 Merrill Lynch 34 47,783.0 New York
10 MetLife 35 46,983.0 New York
11 Time Warner 40 43,652.0 New York
12 Goldman Sachs Group 41 43,391.0 New York
2 Medco Health Solutions 51 37,870.9 Franklin Lakes
13 PepsiCo 61 32,562.0 Purchase
14 Lehman Brothers 62 32,420.0 New York
3 Prudential Financial 64 31,708.0 Newark
15 American Express 69 30,080.0 New York
4 Honeywell Intl. 71 28,862.0 Morristown
16 New York Life Insurance 74 28,051.0 New York
17 Alcoa 79 26,601.0 New York
18 TIAA-CREF 81 25,916.8 New York
4 International Paper 82 25,797.0 Stamford
19 News Corp. 86 23,859.0 New York
20 Amerada Hess 88 23,255.0 New York
5 Aetna 91 22,885.0 Hartford
21 Bristol-Myers Squibb 110 20,222.0 New York
5 Merck 95 22,011.9 Whitehouse Station
22 Cendant 114 19,471.0 New York
6 Wyeth 119 18,755.8 Madison
6 Xerox 142 15,701.0 Stamford
23 Loews 145 15,363.3 New York
24 CBS 149 14,536.4 New York
7 Chubb 156 14,082.3 Warren
8 Public Service Enterprise Group 178 12,661.0 Newark
26 Marsh & McLennan 186 12,109.0 New York
27 Pepsi Bottling 192 11,885.0 Somers
28 Consolidated Edison 199 11,732.0 New York
29 Bear Stearns 202 11,552.4 New York
30 Colgate-Palmolive 204 11,396.9 New York
9 Toys "R" Us 208 11,194.0 Wayne
31 Arrow Electronics 209 11,164.2 Melville
32 Omnicom Group 225 10,481.1 New York
10 American Standard 230 10,264.4 Piscataway
33 Viacom 241 9,817.6 New York
11 Schering-Plough 250 9,508.0 Kenilworth
34 L-3 Communications 253 9,444.7 New York
12 Lucent Technologies 255 9,441.0 Murray Hill
35 Guardian Life of America 256 9,377.4 New York
13 Automatic Data Proc. 271 8,499.1 Roseland
36 Bank of New York Co. 278 8,312.0 New York
37 Avon Products 281 8,149.6 New York
38 ITT Industries 291 7,844.7 White Plains
39 KeySpan 295 7,695.8 Brooklyn
7 Praxair 297 7,656.0 Danbury
40 Assurant 306 7,497.7 New York
41 IAC/InterActiveCorp 313 7,118.8 New York
9 MeadWestvaco 322 6,882.0 Stamford
42 Estee Lauder 340 6,336.3 New York
43 Dover 342 6,307.0 New York
44 Interpublic Group 348 6,274.3 New York
10 Terex 355 6,117.0 Westport
45 McGraw-Hill 359 6,003.6 New York
46 Starwood Hotels & Rsrts. 360 5,977.0 White Plains
47 Asbury Automotive Group 364 5,874.2 New York
48 Foot Locker 383 5,653.0 New York
49 CIT Group 384 5,652.6 New York
15 Quest Diagnostics 392 5,503.7 Lyndhurst
11 Pitney Bowes 394 5,492.2 Stamford
16 Becton Dickinson 397 5,464.4 Franklin Lakes
50 Cablevision Systems 414 5,224.7 Bethpage
18 Bed Bath & Beyond 419 5,147.7 Union
51 Barnes & Noble 422 5,103.0 New York
12 W.R. Berkley 428 4,996.8 Greenwich
19 Avaya 434 4,902.0 Basking Ridge
52 Liz Claiborne 440 4,847.8 New York
53 Henry Schein 445 4,788.7 Melville
13 Emcor Group 448 4,730.7 Norwalk
20 Engelhard 454 4,618.1 Iselin
54 Corning 456 4,579.0 Corning
21 Sealed Air 489 4,085.1 Saddle Brook
22 Pathmark Stores 497 3,980.5 Carteret
57 NTL 526 3,628.4 New York
58 CA 539 3,530.0 Islandia
59 Warner Music Group 542 3,502.0 New York
60 North Fork Bancorp. 543 3,484.0 Melville
61 New York Times 557 3,372.8 New York
62 Polo Ralph Lauren 567 3,305.4 New York
63 Jarden 585 3,189.1 Rye
64 Forest Laboratories 588 3,159.6 New York
24 New Jersey Resources 592 3,148.3 Wall
26 Cytec Industries 617 2,999.7 West Paterson
65 MasterCard 627 2,937.6 Purchase
66 Leucadia National 631 2,903.5 New York
29 Linens 'n Things 656 2,649.3 Clifton
67 ETrade Financial 679 2,550.7 New York
68 Vornado Realty Trust 681 2,550.1 New York
17 Silgan Holdings 694 2,495.6 Stamford
30 IDT 698 2,468.5 Newark
69 Reader's Digest Assn. 711 2,389.7 Pleasantville
70 Tiffany 727 2,346.8 New York
71 MBIA 742 2,284.9 Armonk
72 Volt Info. Sciences 766 2,177.6 New York
18 Citizens Communications 768 2,167.1 Stamford
73 Scholastic 782 2,079.9 New York
74 Systemax 784 2,077.5 Port Washington
75 AnnTaylor Stores 786 2,073.1 New York
20 Crane 790 2,061.2 Stamford
77 Sequa 808 1,997.6 New York
78 Intl. Flavors & Frag. 812 1,993.4 New York
79 Phillips-Van Heusen 832 1,908.8 New York
80 Pall 835 1,902.3 East Hills
22 Applera 852 1,845.1 Norwalk
25 UST 859 1,801.4 Greenwich
32 C.R. Bard 866 1,771.3 Murray Hill
81 Dow Jones 867 1,769.7 New York
82 Symbol Technologies 868 1,765.6 Holtsville
26 IMS Health 872 1,754.8 Fairfield
27 Cenveo 874 1,749.4 Stamford
83 NBTY 880 1,737.2 Bohemia
84 Moody's 885 1,731.6 New York
85 Mutual of America Life 892 1,713.0 New York
86 Coach 893 1,710.4 New York
87 Jetblue Airways 896 1,701.3 Forest Hills
34 Selective Insurance Group 898 1,696.8 Branchville
35 Children's Place 908 1,668.7 Secaucus
88 Ambac Financial Group 911 1,661.7 New York
36 Suburban Propane Partners 924 1,620.2 Whippany
28 Blyth 934 1,591.3 Greenwich
89 Duane Reade 935 1,589.5 New York
90 Warnaco Group 968 1,504.6 New York
91 Jefferies Group 971 1,497.9 New York
37 Dun & Bradstreet 993 1,443.6 Short Hills
San Francisco Bay Area
Fortune 500 Cos. 29
Fortune 1000 Cos. 62
1 Chevron 4 189,481.0 San Ramon
2 Hewlett-Packard 11 86,696.0 Palo Alto
3 McKesson 16 80,514.6 San Francisco
4 Wells Fargo 46 40,407.0 San Francisco
5 Intel 49 38,826.0 Santa Clara
6 Safeway 50 38,416.0 Pleasanton
10 Cisco Systems 83 24,801.0 San Jose
13 Gap 139 16,023.0 San Francisco
15 Apple Computer 159 13,931.0 Cupertino
20 Oracle 196 11,799.0 Redwood City
22 Sanmina-SCI 198 11,734.7 San Jose
23 PG&E Corp. 200 11,703.0 San Francisco
24 Sun Microsystems 211 11,070.0 Santa Clara
25 Solectron 227 10,456.3 Milpitas
27 Calpine 275 8,384.7 San Jose
30 Applied Materials 317 6,991.8 Santa Clara
31 Agilent Technologies 319 6,935.0 Palo Alto
32 Golden West Financial 326 6,662.0 Oakland
33 Google 353 6,138.6 Mountain View
35 Advanced Micro Devices 367 5,847.6 Sunnyvale
39 Yahoo 412 5,257.7 Sunnyvale
41 Charles Schwab 418 5,151.0 San Francisco
42 Ross Stores 431 4,944.2 Pleasanton
45 Longs Drug Stores 450 4,670.3 Walnut Creek
46 eBay 458 4,552.4 San Jose
47 Clorox 460 4,475.0 Oakland
49 Franklin Resources 474 4,310.1 San Mateo
50 CNF 481 4,169.6 San Mateo
51 Levi Strauss 484 4,125.2 San Francisco
53 URS 503 3,917.6 San Francisco
54 Maxtor 507 3,890.2 Milpitas
57 Williams-Sonoma 537 3,538.9 San Francisco
60 Robert Half Intl. 562 3,338.4 Menlo Park
61 Del Monte Foods 581 3,209.0 San Francisco
62 Bell Microproducts 584 3,193.8 San Jose
63 Electronic Arts 594 3,129.0 Redwood City
65 UTStarcom 613 3,006.7 Alameda
66 Knight-Ridder 614 3,004.0 San Jose
68 Building Materials Holding 629 2,912.2 San Francisco
72 Granite Construction 657 2,641.4 Watsonville
74 ABM Industries 664 2,612.5 San Francisco
75 Symantec 672 2,582.8 Cupertino
79 Nvidia 718 2,375.7 Santa Clara
81 SanDisk 737 2,306.1 Sunnyvale
82 Intuit 779 2,098.5 Mountain View
83 KLA-Tencor 780 2,085.2 San Jose
84 Juniper Networks 789 2,064.0 Sunnyvale
85 Gilead Sciences 801 2,028.4 Foster City
86 Spansion 806 2,002.8 Sunnyvale
88 Adobe Systems 817 1,966.3 San Jose
90 Chiron 828 1,919.7 Emeryville
91 LSI Logic 829 1,919.3 Milpitas
92 National Semiconductor 830 1,913.1 Santa Clara
93 Pacer International 848 1,860.1 Concord
98 Atmel 905 1,675.7 San Jose
99 Maxim Integrated Products 907 1,671.7 Sunnyvale
100 VeriSign 912 1,661.2 Mountain View
104 Network Appliance 929 1,598.1 Sunnyvale
105 Xilinx 938 1,573.2 San Jose
107 Autodesk 960 1,523.2 San Rafael
108 Lam Research 969 1,502.5 Fremont
110 Siebel Systems 999 1,429.1 San Mateo
Chicago Metro
Fortune 500 Cos. 27
Fortune 1000 Cos. 57
2 Boeing 26 54,848.0 Chicago
3 Sears Holdings 33 49,124.0 Hoffman Estates
4 Walgreen 45 42,201.6 Deerfield
5 Motorola 54 36,843.0 Schaumburg
8 Allstate 58 35,383.0 Northbrook
9 Abbott Laboratories 93 22,337.8 Abbott Park
11 McDonald's 109 20,460.2 Oak Brook
12 Sara Lee 111 19,727.0 Chicago
13 UAL 124 17,379.0 Elk Grove Township
14 Exelon 144 15,405.0 Chicago
15 Illinois Tool Works 173 12,921.8 Glenview
16 Navistar International 201 11,696.0 Warrenville
17 Aon 237 10,030.0 Chicago
18 Baxter International 240 9,849.0 Deerfield
19 OfficeMax 258 9,157.7 Itasca
20 R.R. Donnelley & Sons 265 8,651.4 Chicago
21 Smurfit-Stone Container 274 8,396.0 Chicago
22 Fortune Brands 305 7,498.5 Deerfield
23 CDW 343 6,291.8 Vernon Hills
24 Brunswick 363 5,923.8 Lake Forest
25 Ryerson 371 5,782.0 Chicago
26 Tribune 388 5,595.6 Chicago
27 W.W. Grainger 391 5,526.6 Lake Forest
28 USG 420 5,139.0 Chicago
29 Tenneco 463 4,441.0 Lake Forest
30 United Stationers 468 4,408.5 Des Plaines
31 Wm. Wrigley Jr. 482 4,159.3 Chicago
32 ServiceMaster 494 4,004.4 Downers Grove
33 Anixter International 509 3,847.4 Glenview
34 Old Republic Intl. 514 3,805.9 Chicago
35 Laidlaw International 523 3,672.7 Naperville
36 Northern Trust Corp. 533 3,554.4 Chicago
37 Alberto-Culver 538 3,531.2 Melrose Park
38 Pactiv 548 3,450.5 Lake Forest
39 Nicor 561 3,357.8 Naperville
40 Nalco Holding 566 3,312.4 Naperville
41 Equity Office Properties 587 3,162.6 Chicago
42 General Growth Properties 604 3,073.4 Chicago
44 Unitrin 608 3,048.1 Chicago
45 Hewitt Associates 633 2,898.5 Lincolnshire
46 Hospira 660 2,626.7 Lake Forest
47 Peoples Energy 669 2,599.6 Chicago
48 Molex 682 2,548.7 Lisle
49 Solo Cup 702 2,437.7 Highland Park
50 Corn Products Intl. 721 2,360.4 Westchester
51 Equity Residential 793 2,049.1 Chicago
52 True Value 798 2,043.0 Chicago
53 Career Education 800 2,034.6 Hoffman Estates
54 Packaging Corp. of America 811 1,993.7 Lake Forest
55 Andrew 819 1,961.2 Orland Park
56 CF Industries 833 1,908.4 Long Grove
57 Tellabs 838 1,883.4 Naperville
58 Metal Management 895 1,702.0 Chicago
59 Dade Behring Holdings 915 1,658.1 Deerfield
60 Sauer-Danfoss 947 1,547.8 Lincolnshire
61 Hub Group 954 1,531.5 Downers Grove
62 Arthur J. Gallagher 973 1,494.9 Itasca
Dallas Metro Area
Fortune 500 Cos. 22
Fortune 1000 Cos. 43
1. Exxon Mobil 1 339,938.0 Irving
2. AMR 105 20,712.0 Fort Worth
3. Electronic Data Systems 108 20,537.0 Plano
4. J.C. Penney 118 18,781.0 Plano
5. Kimberly-Clark 140 15,902.6 Irving
6. D.R. Horton 162 13,863.7 Fort Worth
7. Texas Instruments 167 13,392.0 Dallas
8. Fluor 169 13,161.1 Irving
9. Burlington No. Santa Fe 171 12,987.0 Fort Worth
10. Centex 175 12,859.7 Dallas
11. Dean Foods 216 10,900.3 Dallas
12. TXU 228 10,449.0 Dallas
13. Tenet Healthcare 236 10,052.0 Dallas
14. Southwest Airlines 300 7,584.0 Dallas
15. Commercial Metals 329 6,592.7 Irving
16. Energy Transfer Partners 347 6,274.3 Dallas
17. Celanese 356 6,070.0 Dallas
18. Blockbuster 366 5,864.4 Dallas
19. RadioShack 423 5,081.7 Fort Worth
20. Atmos Energy 430 4,973.3 Dallas
21. Triad Hospitals 432 4,916.6 Plano
22. Affiliated Computer Svcs. 471 4,351.2 Dallas
23. Brinker International 504 3,912.9 Dallas
24. Neiman Marcus 512 3,821.9 Dallas
25. Michaels Stores 522 3,676.4 Irving
26. XTO Energy 541 3,519.0 Fort Worth
27. Lennox International 560 3,366.4 Richardson
28. Holly 578 3,212.7 Dallas
29. GameStop 601 3,091.8 Grapevine
30. Crosstex Energy 610 3,033.0 Dallas
31. Trinity Industries 632 2,902.0 Dallas
32. Sabre Holdings 683 2,521.3 Southlake
33. Pioneer Natural Resources 708 2,417.1 Irving
34. Zale 715 2,383.1 Irving
35. Rent A Center 729 2,339.1 Plano
36. Builders FirstSource 730 2,337.8 Dallas
37. UICI 773 2,123.2 N. Richland Hills
38. Perot Systems 807 1,998.3 Plano
39. Texas Industries 822 1,951.2 Dallas
40. Pier 1 Imports 836 1,897.9 Fort Worth
41. Alliance Data Systems 946 1,552.4 Dallas
42. Belo 962 1,521.2 Dallas
43. AmeriCredit 988 1,450.8 Fort Worth
Los Angeles Metro Area
Fortune 500 Cos. 20
Fortune 1000 Cos. 42
7 Walt Disney 63 31,944.0 Burbank
8 Northrop Grumman 67 30,721.0 Los Angeles
9 Ingram Micro 72 28,808.3 Santa Ana
11 Countrywide Financial 122 18,536.9 Calabasas
12 Occidental Petroleum 133 16,286.0 Los Angeles
14 Computer Sciences 141 15,849.1 El Segundo
16 DIRECTV Group 168 13,164.5 El Segundo
17 Amgen 181 12,430.0 Thousand Oaks
18 Health Net 191 11,940.5 Woodland Hills
19 Edison International 194 11,852.0 Rosemead
26 KB Home 254 9,441.7 Los Angeles
28 First American Corp. 284 8,061.8 Santa Ana
34 Dole Food 365 5,870.6 Westlake Village
37 Jacobs Engineering Grp. 386 5,635.0 Pasadena
38 Avery Dennison 393 5,496.3 Pasadena
40 Mattel 416 5,179.0 El Segundo
43 Pacific Life 441 4,840.4 Newport Beach
44 Ryland Group 444 4,817.6 Calabasas
48 Hilton Hotels 464 4,437.0 Beverly Hills
52 Standard Pacific 493 4,011.4 Irvine
55 Gateway 508 3,854.1 Irvine
56 Western Digital 525 3,638.8 Lake Forest
58 Stater Bros. Holdings 558 3,372.2 Colton
59 Reliance Steel & Alum. 559 3,370.7 Los Angeles
64 DaVita 605 3,072.4 El Segundo
67 Mercury General 618 2,991.9 Los Angeles
69 CB Richard Ellis Group 630 2,910.6 El Segundo
70 Unified Western Grocers 634 2,866.9 Commerce
71 Broadcom 653 2,670.8 Irvine
73 Fleetwood Enterprises 662 2,623.5 Riverside
77 Beckman Coulter 700 2,443.8 Fullerton
78 New Century Financial 701 2,443.1 Irvine
80 Allergan 734 2,319.2 Irvine
89 Univision Communications 821 1,952.5 Los Angeles
94 William Lyon Homes 850 1,856.4 Newport Beach
95 Guitar Center 862 1,782.5 Westlake Village
96 Quiksilver 863 1,780.9 Huntington Beach
97 Indymac Bancorp 869 1,765.3 Pasadena
101 Molina Healthcare 916 1,650.1 Long Beach
102 Watson Pharmaceuticals 917 1,646.2 Corona
103 Earle M. Jorgensen 927 1,608.9 Lynwood
109 Apria Healthcare Group 979 1,474.1 Lake Forest
Houston Metro Area
Fortune 500 Cos. 22
Fortune 1000 Cos. 41
2 ConocoPhillips 6 166,683.0 Houston
4 Marathon Oil 23 58,958.0 Houston
7 Plains All Amer. Pipeline 65 31,177.3 Houston
8 Sysco 68 30,281.9 Houston
9 Halliburton 103 20,994.0 Houston
13 Lyondell Chemical 121 18,606.0 Houston
19 Waste Management 170 13,074.0 Houston
22 Enterprise Products 183 12,257.0 Houston
24 Continental Airlines 207 11,208.0 Houston
26 Reliant Energy 220 10,708.0 Houston
29 Kinder Morgan Energy 243 9,787.1 Houston
30 CenterPoint Energy 244 9,784.0 Houston
32 TEPPCO Partners 267 8,618.5 Houston
33 Burlington Resources 298 7,587.0 Houston
34 Apache 299 7,584.2 Houston
36 Baker Hughes 310 7,218.0 Houston
37 Anadarko Petroleum 314 7,100.0 The Woodlands
43 Group 1 Automotive 361 5,969.6 Houston
47 Smith International 390 5,579.0 Houston
53 National Oilwell Varco 452 4,644.5 Houston
54 El Paso 455 4,596.0 Houston
56 Frontier Oil 496 4,001.2 Houston
60 EOG Resources 528 3,620.2 Houston
63 BJ Services 573 3,243.2 Houston
64 FMC Technologies 576 3,226.7 Houston
72 US Oncology 684 2,518.6 Houston
73 Cooper Cameron 685 2,517.8 Houston
74 Stewart Information Services 703 2,430.6 Houston
79 Adams Resources & Engy. 746 2,269.7 Houston
81 Noble Energy 761 2,186.7 Houston 83 Pride International 799 2,034.6 Houston
84 Southern Union 803 2,019.4 Houston
86 Quanex 809 1,996.9 Houston
90 Quanta Services 849 1,858.6 Houston
91 Newfield Exploration 870 1,762.0 Houston
92 Service Corp. Intl. 879 1,738.5 Houston
93 Men's Wearhouse 887 1,724.9 Houston
94 HCC Insurance Holdings 918 1,644.3 Houston
95 Kinder Morgan 932 1,594.5 Houston
96 ExpressJet Holdings 942 1,562.8 Houston
100 Pogo Producing 978 1,478.5 Houston
101 BMC Software 984 1,463.0 Houston>
Here are the US Metros with the highest concentration of the nation's largest corporations.
Fortune 500 Companies by Metro, 20+
1 New York.............83
2 San Francisco.......29
3 Chicago...............27
4 Dallas..................22
4 Houston...............22
6 Los Angeles..........20
Fortune 1000 Companies by Metro, 40+
1 New York...........139
2 San Francisco......62
3 Chicago..............57
4 Dallas.................43
5 Los Angeles.........42
6 Houston..............41
New York Metro
Fortune 500 Cos. 83
Fortune 1000 Cos. 139
1 General Electric 7 157,153.0 Fairfield
1 Citigroup 8 131,045.0 New York
2 American Intl. Group 9 108,905.0 New York
3 Intl. Business Machines 10 91,134.0 Armonk
4 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. 17 79,902.0 New York
5 Verizon Communications 18 75,111.9 New York
6 Altria Group 20 69,148.0 New York
7 Morgan Stanley 30 52,498.0 New York
8 Pfizer 31 51,353.0 New York
1 Johnson & Johnson 32 50,514.0 New Brunswick
9 Merrill Lynch 34 47,783.0 New York
10 MetLife 35 46,983.0 New York
11 Time Warner 40 43,652.0 New York
12 Goldman Sachs Group 41 43,391.0 New York
2 Medco Health Solutions 51 37,870.9 Franklin Lakes
13 PepsiCo 61 32,562.0 Purchase
14 Lehman Brothers 62 32,420.0 New York
3 Prudential Financial 64 31,708.0 Newark
15 American Express 69 30,080.0 New York
4 Honeywell Intl. 71 28,862.0 Morristown
16 New York Life Insurance 74 28,051.0 New York
17 Alcoa 79 26,601.0 New York
18 TIAA-CREF 81 25,916.8 New York
4 International Paper 82 25,797.0 Stamford
19 News Corp. 86 23,859.0 New York
20 Amerada Hess 88 23,255.0 New York
5 Aetna 91 22,885.0 Hartford
21 Bristol-Myers Squibb 110 20,222.0 New York
5 Merck 95 22,011.9 Whitehouse Station
22 Cendant 114 19,471.0 New York
6 Wyeth 119 18,755.8 Madison
6 Xerox 142 15,701.0 Stamford
23 Loews 145 15,363.3 New York
24 CBS 149 14,536.4 New York
7 Chubb 156 14,082.3 Warren
8 Public Service Enterprise Group 178 12,661.0 Newark
26 Marsh & McLennan 186 12,109.0 New York
27 Pepsi Bottling 192 11,885.0 Somers
28 Consolidated Edison 199 11,732.0 New York
29 Bear Stearns 202 11,552.4 New York
30 Colgate-Palmolive 204 11,396.9 New York
9 Toys "R" Us 208 11,194.0 Wayne
31 Arrow Electronics 209 11,164.2 Melville
32 Omnicom Group 225 10,481.1 New York
10 American Standard 230 10,264.4 Piscataway
33 Viacom 241 9,817.6 New York
11 Schering-Plough 250 9,508.0 Kenilworth
34 L-3 Communications 253 9,444.7 New York
12 Lucent Technologies 255 9,441.0 Murray Hill
35 Guardian Life of America 256 9,377.4 New York
13 Automatic Data Proc. 271 8,499.1 Roseland
36 Bank of New York Co. 278 8,312.0 New York
37 Avon Products 281 8,149.6 New York
38 ITT Industries 291 7,844.7 White Plains
39 KeySpan 295 7,695.8 Brooklyn
7 Praxair 297 7,656.0 Danbury
40 Assurant 306 7,497.7 New York
41 IAC/InterActiveCorp 313 7,118.8 New York
9 MeadWestvaco 322 6,882.0 Stamford
42 Estee Lauder 340 6,336.3 New York
43 Dover 342 6,307.0 New York
44 Interpublic Group 348 6,274.3 New York
10 Terex 355 6,117.0 Westport
45 McGraw-Hill 359 6,003.6 New York
46 Starwood Hotels & Rsrts. 360 5,977.0 White Plains
47 Asbury Automotive Group 364 5,874.2 New York
48 Foot Locker 383 5,653.0 New York
49 CIT Group 384 5,652.6 New York
15 Quest Diagnostics 392 5,503.7 Lyndhurst
11 Pitney Bowes 394 5,492.2 Stamford
16 Becton Dickinson 397 5,464.4 Franklin Lakes
50 Cablevision Systems 414 5,224.7 Bethpage
18 Bed Bath & Beyond 419 5,147.7 Union
51 Barnes & Noble 422 5,103.0 New York
12 W.R. Berkley 428 4,996.8 Greenwich
19 Avaya 434 4,902.0 Basking Ridge
52 Liz Claiborne 440 4,847.8 New York
53 Henry Schein 445 4,788.7 Melville
13 Emcor Group 448 4,730.7 Norwalk
20 Engelhard 454 4,618.1 Iselin
54 Corning 456 4,579.0 Corning
21 Sealed Air 489 4,085.1 Saddle Brook
22 Pathmark Stores 497 3,980.5 Carteret
57 NTL 526 3,628.4 New York
58 CA 539 3,530.0 Islandia
59 Warner Music Group 542 3,502.0 New York
60 North Fork Bancorp. 543 3,484.0 Melville
61 New York Times 557 3,372.8 New York
62 Polo Ralph Lauren 567 3,305.4 New York
63 Jarden 585 3,189.1 Rye
64 Forest Laboratories 588 3,159.6 New York
24 New Jersey Resources 592 3,148.3 Wall
26 Cytec Industries 617 2,999.7 West Paterson
65 MasterCard 627 2,937.6 Purchase
66 Leucadia National 631 2,903.5 New York
29 Linens 'n Things 656 2,649.3 Clifton
67 ETrade Financial 679 2,550.7 New York
68 Vornado Realty Trust 681 2,550.1 New York
17 Silgan Holdings 694 2,495.6 Stamford
30 IDT 698 2,468.5 Newark
69 Reader's Digest Assn. 711 2,389.7 Pleasantville
70 Tiffany 727 2,346.8 New York
71 MBIA 742 2,284.9 Armonk
72 Volt Info. Sciences 766 2,177.6 New York
18 Citizens Communications 768 2,167.1 Stamford
73 Scholastic 782 2,079.9 New York
74 Systemax 784 2,077.5 Port Washington
75 AnnTaylor Stores 786 2,073.1 New York
20 Crane 790 2,061.2 Stamford
77 Sequa 808 1,997.6 New York
78 Intl. Flavors & Frag. 812 1,993.4 New York
79 Phillips-Van Heusen 832 1,908.8 New York
80 Pall 835 1,902.3 East Hills
22 Applera 852 1,845.1 Norwalk
25 UST 859 1,801.4 Greenwich
32 C.R. Bard 866 1,771.3 Murray Hill
81 Dow Jones 867 1,769.7 New York
82 Symbol Technologies 868 1,765.6 Holtsville
26 IMS Health 872 1,754.8 Fairfield
27 Cenveo 874 1,749.4 Stamford
83 NBTY 880 1,737.2 Bohemia
84 Moody's 885 1,731.6 New York
85 Mutual of America Life 892 1,713.0 New York
86 Coach 893 1,710.4 New York
87 Jetblue Airways 896 1,701.3 Forest Hills
34 Selective Insurance Group 898 1,696.8 Branchville
35 Children's Place 908 1,668.7 Secaucus
88 Ambac Financial Group 911 1,661.7 New York
36 Suburban Propane Partners 924 1,620.2 Whippany
28 Blyth 934 1,591.3 Greenwich
89 Duane Reade 935 1,589.5 New York
90 Warnaco Group 968 1,504.6 New York
91 Jefferies Group 971 1,497.9 New York
37 Dun & Bradstreet 993 1,443.6 Short Hills
San Francisco Bay Area
Fortune 500 Cos. 29
Fortune 1000 Cos. 62
1 Chevron 4 189,481.0 San Ramon
2 Hewlett-Packard 11 86,696.0 Palo Alto
3 McKesson 16 80,514.6 San Francisco
4 Wells Fargo 46 40,407.0 San Francisco
5 Intel 49 38,826.0 Santa Clara
6 Safeway 50 38,416.0 Pleasanton
10 Cisco Systems 83 24,801.0 San Jose
13 Gap 139 16,023.0 San Francisco
15 Apple Computer 159 13,931.0 Cupertino
20 Oracle 196 11,799.0 Redwood City
22 Sanmina-SCI 198 11,734.7 San Jose
23 PG&E Corp. 200 11,703.0 San Francisco
24 Sun Microsystems 211 11,070.0 Santa Clara
25 Solectron 227 10,456.3 Milpitas
27 Calpine 275 8,384.7 San Jose
30 Applied Materials 317 6,991.8 Santa Clara
31 Agilent Technologies 319 6,935.0 Palo Alto
32 Golden West Financial 326 6,662.0 Oakland
33 Google 353 6,138.6 Mountain View
35 Advanced Micro Devices 367 5,847.6 Sunnyvale
39 Yahoo 412 5,257.7 Sunnyvale
41 Charles Schwab 418 5,151.0 San Francisco
42 Ross Stores 431 4,944.2 Pleasanton
45 Longs Drug Stores 450 4,670.3 Walnut Creek
46 eBay 458 4,552.4 San Jose
47 Clorox 460 4,475.0 Oakland
49 Franklin Resources 474 4,310.1 San Mateo
50 CNF 481 4,169.6 San Mateo
51 Levi Strauss 484 4,125.2 San Francisco
53 URS 503 3,917.6 San Francisco
54 Maxtor 507 3,890.2 Milpitas
57 Williams-Sonoma 537 3,538.9 San Francisco
60 Robert Half Intl. 562 3,338.4 Menlo Park
61 Del Monte Foods 581 3,209.0 San Francisco
62 Bell Microproducts 584 3,193.8 San Jose
63 Electronic Arts 594 3,129.0 Redwood City
65 UTStarcom 613 3,006.7 Alameda
66 Knight-Ridder 614 3,004.0 San Jose
68 Building Materials Holding 629 2,912.2 San Francisco
72 Granite Construction 657 2,641.4 Watsonville
74 ABM Industries 664 2,612.5 San Francisco
75 Symantec 672 2,582.8 Cupertino
79 Nvidia 718 2,375.7 Santa Clara
81 SanDisk 737 2,306.1 Sunnyvale
82 Intuit 779 2,098.5 Mountain View
83 KLA-Tencor 780 2,085.2 San Jose
84 Juniper Networks 789 2,064.0 Sunnyvale
85 Gilead Sciences 801 2,028.4 Foster City
86 Spansion 806 2,002.8 Sunnyvale
88 Adobe Systems 817 1,966.3 San Jose
90 Chiron 828 1,919.7 Emeryville
91 LSI Logic 829 1,919.3 Milpitas
92 National Semiconductor 830 1,913.1 Santa Clara
93 Pacer International 848 1,860.1 Concord
98 Atmel 905 1,675.7 San Jose
99 Maxim Integrated Products 907 1,671.7 Sunnyvale
100 VeriSign 912 1,661.2 Mountain View
104 Network Appliance 929 1,598.1 Sunnyvale
105 Xilinx 938 1,573.2 San Jose
107 Autodesk 960 1,523.2 San Rafael
108 Lam Research 969 1,502.5 Fremont
110 Siebel Systems 999 1,429.1 San Mateo
Chicago Metro
Fortune 500 Cos. 27
Fortune 1000 Cos. 57
2 Boeing 26 54,848.0 Chicago
3 Sears Holdings 33 49,124.0 Hoffman Estates
4 Walgreen 45 42,201.6 Deerfield
5 Motorola 54 36,843.0 Schaumburg
8 Allstate 58 35,383.0 Northbrook
9 Abbott Laboratories 93 22,337.8 Abbott Park
11 McDonald's 109 20,460.2 Oak Brook
12 Sara Lee 111 19,727.0 Chicago
13 UAL 124 17,379.0 Elk Grove Township
14 Exelon 144 15,405.0 Chicago
15 Illinois Tool Works 173 12,921.8 Glenview
16 Navistar International 201 11,696.0 Warrenville
17 Aon 237 10,030.0 Chicago
18 Baxter International 240 9,849.0 Deerfield
19 OfficeMax 258 9,157.7 Itasca
20 R.R. Donnelley & Sons 265 8,651.4 Chicago
21 Smurfit-Stone Container 274 8,396.0 Chicago
22 Fortune Brands 305 7,498.5 Deerfield
23 CDW 343 6,291.8 Vernon Hills
24 Brunswick 363 5,923.8 Lake Forest
25 Ryerson 371 5,782.0 Chicago
26 Tribune 388 5,595.6 Chicago
27 W.W. Grainger 391 5,526.6 Lake Forest
28 USG 420 5,139.0 Chicago
29 Tenneco 463 4,441.0 Lake Forest
30 United Stationers 468 4,408.5 Des Plaines
31 Wm. Wrigley Jr. 482 4,159.3 Chicago
32 ServiceMaster 494 4,004.4 Downers Grove
33 Anixter International 509 3,847.4 Glenview
34 Old Republic Intl. 514 3,805.9 Chicago
35 Laidlaw International 523 3,672.7 Naperville
36 Northern Trust Corp. 533 3,554.4 Chicago
37 Alberto-Culver 538 3,531.2 Melrose Park
38 Pactiv 548 3,450.5 Lake Forest
39 Nicor 561 3,357.8 Naperville
40 Nalco Holding 566 3,312.4 Naperville
41 Equity Office Properties 587 3,162.6 Chicago
42 General Growth Properties 604 3,073.4 Chicago
44 Unitrin 608 3,048.1 Chicago
45 Hewitt Associates 633 2,898.5 Lincolnshire
46 Hospira 660 2,626.7 Lake Forest
47 Peoples Energy 669 2,599.6 Chicago
48 Molex 682 2,548.7 Lisle
49 Solo Cup 702 2,437.7 Highland Park
50 Corn Products Intl. 721 2,360.4 Westchester
51 Equity Residential 793 2,049.1 Chicago
52 True Value 798 2,043.0 Chicago
53 Career Education 800 2,034.6 Hoffman Estates
54 Packaging Corp. of America 811 1,993.7 Lake Forest
55 Andrew 819 1,961.2 Orland Park
56 CF Industries 833 1,908.4 Long Grove
57 Tellabs 838 1,883.4 Naperville
58 Metal Management 895 1,702.0 Chicago
59 Dade Behring Holdings 915 1,658.1 Deerfield
60 Sauer-Danfoss 947 1,547.8 Lincolnshire
61 Hub Group 954 1,531.5 Downers Grove
62 Arthur J. Gallagher 973 1,494.9 Itasca
Dallas Metro Area
Fortune 500 Cos. 22
Fortune 1000 Cos. 43
1. Exxon Mobil 1 339,938.0 Irving
2. AMR 105 20,712.0 Fort Worth
3. Electronic Data Systems 108 20,537.0 Plano
4. J.C. Penney 118 18,781.0 Plano
5. Kimberly-Clark 140 15,902.6 Irving
6. D.R. Horton 162 13,863.7 Fort Worth
7. Texas Instruments 167 13,392.0 Dallas
8. Fluor 169 13,161.1 Irving
9. Burlington No. Santa Fe 171 12,987.0 Fort Worth
10. Centex 175 12,859.7 Dallas
11. Dean Foods 216 10,900.3 Dallas
12. TXU 228 10,449.0 Dallas
13. Tenet Healthcare 236 10,052.0 Dallas
14. Southwest Airlines 300 7,584.0 Dallas
15. Commercial Metals 329 6,592.7 Irving
16. Energy Transfer Partners 347 6,274.3 Dallas
17. Celanese 356 6,070.0 Dallas
18. Blockbuster 366 5,864.4 Dallas
19. RadioShack 423 5,081.7 Fort Worth
20. Atmos Energy 430 4,973.3 Dallas
21. Triad Hospitals 432 4,916.6 Plano
22. Affiliated Computer Svcs. 471 4,351.2 Dallas
23. Brinker International 504 3,912.9 Dallas
24. Neiman Marcus 512 3,821.9 Dallas
25. Michaels Stores 522 3,676.4 Irving
26. XTO Energy 541 3,519.0 Fort Worth
27. Lennox International 560 3,366.4 Richardson
28. Holly 578 3,212.7 Dallas
29. GameStop 601 3,091.8 Grapevine
30. Crosstex Energy 610 3,033.0 Dallas
31. Trinity Industries 632 2,902.0 Dallas
32. Sabre Holdings 683 2,521.3 Southlake
33. Pioneer Natural Resources 708 2,417.1 Irving
34. Zale 715 2,383.1 Irving
35. Rent A Center 729 2,339.1 Plano
36. Builders FirstSource 730 2,337.8 Dallas
37. UICI 773 2,123.2 N. Richland Hills
38. Perot Systems 807 1,998.3 Plano
39. Texas Industries 822 1,951.2 Dallas
40. Pier 1 Imports 836 1,897.9 Fort Worth
41. Alliance Data Systems 946 1,552.4 Dallas
42. Belo 962 1,521.2 Dallas
43. AmeriCredit 988 1,450.8 Fort Worth
Los Angeles Metro Area
Fortune 500 Cos. 20
Fortune 1000 Cos. 42
7 Walt Disney 63 31,944.0 Burbank
8 Northrop Grumman 67 30,721.0 Los Angeles
9 Ingram Micro 72 28,808.3 Santa Ana
11 Countrywide Financial 122 18,536.9 Calabasas
12 Occidental Petroleum 133 16,286.0 Los Angeles
14 Computer Sciences 141 15,849.1 El Segundo
16 DIRECTV Group 168 13,164.5 El Segundo
17 Amgen 181 12,430.0 Thousand Oaks
18 Health Net 191 11,940.5 Woodland Hills
19 Edison International 194 11,852.0 Rosemead
26 KB Home 254 9,441.7 Los Angeles
28 First American Corp. 284 8,061.8 Santa Ana
34 Dole Food 365 5,870.6 Westlake Village
37 Jacobs Engineering Grp. 386 5,635.0 Pasadena
38 Avery Dennison 393 5,496.3 Pasadena
40 Mattel 416 5,179.0 El Segundo
43 Pacific Life 441 4,840.4 Newport Beach
44 Ryland Group 444 4,817.6 Calabasas
48 Hilton Hotels 464 4,437.0 Beverly Hills
52 Standard Pacific 493 4,011.4 Irvine
55 Gateway 508 3,854.1 Irvine
56 Western Digital 525 3,638.8 Lake Forest
58 Stater Bros. Holdings 558 3,372.2 Colton
59 Reliance Steel & Alum. 559 3,370.7 Los Angeles
64 DaVita 605 3,072.4 El Segundo
67 Mercury General 618 2,991.9 Los Angeles
69 CB Richard Ellis Group 630 2,910.6 El Segundo
70 Unified Western Grocers 634 2,866.9 Commerce
71 Broadcom 653 2,670.8 Irvine
73 Fleetwood Enterprises 662 2,623.5 Riverside
77 Beckman Coulter 700 2,443.8 Fullerton
78 New Century Financial 701 2,443.1 Irvine
80 Allergan 734 2,319.2 Irvine
89 Univision Communications 821 1,952.5 Los Angeles
94 William Lyon Homes 850 1,856.4 Newport Beach
95 Guitar Center 862 1,782.5 Westlake Village
96 Quiksilver 863 1,780.9 Huntington Beach
97 Indymac Bancorp 869 1,765.3 Pasadena
101 Molina Healthcare 916 1,650.1 Long Beach
102 Watson Pharmaceuticals 917 1,646.2 Corona
103 Earle M. Jorgensen 927 1,608.9 Lynwood
109 Apria Healthcare Group 979 1,474.1 Lake Forest
Houston Metro Area
Fortune 500 Cos. 22
Fortune 1000 Cos. 41
2 ConocoPhillips 6 166,683.0 Houston
4 Marathon Oil 23 58,958.0 Houston
7 Plains All Amer. Pipeline 65 31,177.3 Houston
8 Sysco 68 30,281.9 Houston
9 Halliburton 103 20,994.0 Houston
13 Lyondell Chemical 121 18,606.0 Houston
19 Waste Management 170 13,074.0 Houston
22 Enterprise Products 183 12,257.0 Houston
24 Continental Airlines 207 11,208.0 Houston
26 Reliant Energy 220 10,708.0 Houston
29 Kinder Morgan Energy 243 9,787.1 Houston
30 CenterPoint Energy 244 9,784.0 Houston
32 TEPPCO Partners 267 8,618.5 Houston
33 Burlington Resources 298 7,587.0 Houston
34 Apache 299 7,584.2 Houston
36 Baker Hughes 310 7,218.0 Houston
37 Anadarko Petroleum 314 7,100.0 The Woodlands
43 Group 1 Automotive 361 5,969.6 Houston
47 Smith International 390 5,579.0 Houston
53 National Oilwell Varco 452 4,644.5 Houston
54 El Paso 455 4,596.0 Houston
56 Frontier Oil 496 4,001.2 Houston
60 EOG Resources 528 3,620.2 Houston
63 BJ Services 573 3,243.2 Houston
64 FMC Technologies 576 3,226.7 Houston
72 US Oncology 684 2,518.6 Houston
73 Cooper Cameron 685 2,517.8 Houston
74 Stewart Information Services 703 2,430.6 Houston
79 Adams Resources & Engy. 746 2,269.7 Houston
81 Noble Energy 761 2,186.7 Houston 83 Pride International 799 2,034.6 Houston
84 Southern Union 803 2,019.4 Houston
86 Quanex 809 1,996.9 Houston
90 Quanta Services 849 1,858.6 Houston
91 Newfield Exploration 870 1,762.0 Houston
92 Service Corp. Intl. 879 1,738.5 Houston
93 Men's Wearhouse 887 1,724.9 Houston
94 HCC Insurance Holdings 918 1,644.3 Houston
95 Kinder Morgan 932 1,594.5 Houston
96 ExpressJet Holdings 942 1,562.8 Houston
100 Pogo Producing 978 1,478.5 Houston
101 BMC Software 984 1,463.0 Houston>
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