City and Community

I AM THE MEGAPHONE: Reblog: Support the Kelowna Women's Shelter

keegansydney — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 13:11:19 -0500

I AM THE MEGAPHONE: Reblog: Support the Kelowna Women's Shelter:

This is the sixth year that my mom and her nurses along with my dad have collected toiletries for the Kelowna Women’s shelter. Last year was the most successful year they have had so far, filling 140 women’s bags and 60 children’s parcels, several large boxes filled with supplies for the Shelter,…

Indoor Velodrome In Edmonton

keegansydney — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 21:45:28 -0400

Indoor Velodrome In Edmonton:

This makes me immensely happy.

Rain Smell: Rad opportunity for any Edmontonians between 18-29 years of age

keegansydney — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 20:51:30 -0400

Rain Smell: Rad opportunity for any Edmontonians between 18-29 years of age:

strayner:

The City of Edmonton, Centre for Public Involvement, and Alberta Climate Dialogue are looking for residents of Edmonton between the ages of 18 and 29 to participate in a Citizens’ Panel on Edmonton’s

Energy and Climate Challenges.

WHAT WILL IT DO?

Over the course of six Saturdays, sixty…

urbanism-etc: The Edmonton Public Library has book vending...

keegansydney — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 20:19:30 -0400

urbanism-etc:

The Edmonton Public Library has book vending machines in LRT stations. The last place I saw this was in Medellín’s metro system. Public transportation and public libraries seem to go well together.

Really cool!

Cycling Commuter's Town Hall

keegansydney — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 01:54:58 -0400

Cycling Commuter's Town Hall:

keegansydney:

I can’t make it, but if you are free and ride a bike at all go and make your presence felt.

What Where You Live Can Say About You, Suburbia & Third Places: Edmonton A.M Interview

keegansydney — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 18:49:43 -0400

What Where You Live Can Say About You, Suburbia & Third Places: Edmonton A.M Interview

massurban: “Is London Serious About Building a Network of...

keegansydney — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:02:57 -0400

massurban:

“Is London Serious About Building a Network of Elevated Bike Lanes?

HENRY GRABAR

SEP 06, 2012

The bicycle infrastructure arms race has moved forward once again with the news that London is toying with the idea of elevated bike highways.

The project is the work of Sam Martin, of Exterior Architecture, who’s spent the last two years developing a concept for bike lanes truly separated from traffic. Martin doesn’t bike anymore for safety reasons. But he would get back on two wheels to ride the SkyCycle, his proposal for elevated bike lanes that’s already piqued the interest of London Mayor Boris Johnson.

“It came as all good ideas do,” Martin says, “walking to the pub.” London’s outer districts are threaded with overhead railways, erected during the Victorian era and still used daily by commuter trains. Passing under one such viaduct, a young colleague of Martin’s, Ollie Clark, mentioned to his boss an idea he had to use that infrastructure for something else — why not bike lanes, they reasoned. Two years after hammering out a concept, Martin and co. got the chance to pitch it to Johnson and affiliates of Network Rail, which owns the city’s overground rail infrastructure.

The meeting, he says, went well. “There’s a huge appetite and desire to make this happen, but it needs to be thoroughly tested and we need to identify potential sites.” Exterior Architecture is working now on assembling a more concrete proposal. Contrary to reports in the Daily Mail, Martin says, no location has been chosen. It would probably be somewhere in North London.

Made of steel and glass, the SkyCycle pathways would provide an above-ground path for long-distance bicycle commuters. Entrances and exits would be placed at regular intervals, perhaps at stations, and users would pay a swipe-in toll of one pound with their Oystercards. Because overhead rail links suburbs to the city and runs between London’s biggest stations, such a network could serve all types of commuters. With a corporate sponsor, SkyCycle could avoid dependence on public funding. Londoners are wary of the latter option, particularly with a project as fantastic as this one.

Johnson has said he’s interested, and has a record for realizing biking infrastructure. “The Mayor is committed to leading a cycling revolution in London,” a spokesman for the mayortold the Times of London. “The use of railway land or elevated cycleways to provide fast and direct cycling routes around the capital is an exciting idea that his team are looking into.”

Via: The Atlantic Cities

Image: Sam Martin/Exterior Architecture

wingsofstarlight: orangeyouellis: boredofnoooooodles: A bus...

keegansydney — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:17:03 -0400

wingsofstarlight:

orangeyouellis:

boredofnoooooodles:

A bus stop with swings

One of the best ideas

perfect

Beautiful.

Me at the 2012 WDCAG in Kelowna BC presenting my poster on...

keegansydney — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 02:22:52 -0400

Me at the 2012 WDCAG in Kelowna BC presenting my poster on Trandscend Coffee’s Embeddedness in Edmonton. Thanks to Stephanie for the photo.

Transcend Coffee's Embeddedness in Edmonton

keegansydney — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 02:21:04 -0400

This is an adaptation from a Human Geography course on economic geography that I took at the University of Alberta. I presented a poster on this research at the Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers. The assignment was designed to help us discover how transnational corporations were shaping the city.

One company that is transforming the urban economy in Edmonton is Transcend Coffee. Transcend is a small batch coffee roaster with several locations throughout the city. Transcend exhibits a distinct production network, alternative to the larger coffee shop chains such as Tim Hortons or even speciality chains such as Second Cup or Starbucks. They want to create a closer connection between the growers and consumers by documenting their trips to the coffee plantations on their blog and podcast. This close degree of connection is what scholars call embeddedness.

There are several firms that have a deep connection with consumers. Google instantly comes to mind. In the area of speciality coffee, could be Starbucks or Tim Hortons depending on what side of Canada you happen to be on. Alternatively, firms such as Transcend, albeit small, are still actively searching for localized assets and will incorporate them as a matter of choice.

To highlight the pervasiveness that Starbucks has in the realm of specialty coffee, Poul Mark, the owner of Transcend stated that, “this was all that I drank (holding up a Starbucks cup), I thought I was the biggest coffee snob there was and if you didn;t drink Starbucks you just weren’t cool.” (Transcend Podcast Ep. 1).

One of the explicit goals of Transcend is to change the consumption practices within Edmonton by increasing the knowledge of coffee through a deeper connection to their consumers cia tastings, twitter, their blog and Podcasts. They have brought growers to Edmonton to not only show them Transcend’s operations but to allow for a closer connection between growers and consumers at special events.

But Transcend is not the only company changing the urban economy of Edmonton. Entire areas are changing. Whyte Ave is changing with the opening of the new Roots Building on the east side of the tracks. The new Downtown Arena will dramatically change the composition of that area and the economy.

Downtown revitalization, porch style, in the city

keegansydney — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 22:08:19 -0400

Downtown revitalization, porch style, in the city

"The mark of at great city isn’t how it treats its special places – everybody does that right – but..."

keegansydney — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 23:59:50 -0400

“The mark of at great city isn’t how it treats its special places – everybody does that right – but how it treats its ordinary ones.”

- Aaron M. Renn, on urban planning and why he doesn’t live in Indianapolis. (via milwaukeestat)

In Barcelona, a 69-Foot Vertical Park

keegansydney — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 13:50:35 -0400

In Barcelona, a 69-Foot Vertical Park:

urban-ecology:

An amazing Urban Design idea that gives so many benefits!

City and Community

I AM THE MEGAPHONE: Reblog: Support the Kelowna Women's Shelter

Indoor Velodrome In Edmonton

Rain Smell: Rad opportunity for any Edmontonians between 18-29 years of age

urbanism-etc: The Edmonton Public Library has book vending...

Cycling Commuter's Town Hall

What Where You Live Can Say About You, Suburbia & Third Places: Edmonton A.M Interview

massurban: “Is London Serious About Building a Network of...

“Is London Serious About Building a Network of Elevated Bike Lanes?

wingsofstarlight: orangeyouellis: boredofnoooooodles: A bus...

Me at the 2012 WDCAG in Kelowna BC presenting my poster on...

Transcend Coffee's Embeddedness in Edmonton

Downtown revitalization, porch style, in the city

"The mark of at great city isn’t how it treats its special places – everybody does that right – but..."

In Barcelona, a 69-Foot Vertical Park