The Sunday Diigo Links Post (weekly)

• RIP EveryBlock | Holovaty.com

  Sadly, EveryBlock was shut down. Its founder, Adrian Holovaty, comments.
  QUOTE
  More than six years ago, I wrote a blog post that got some attention about how newspaper (and, really, journalism) sites needed to change. EveryBlock was an attempt at that kind of change — in my eyes, a successful attempt. EveryBlock was among the more innovative and ambitious journalism projects at a time when journalism desperately needed innovation and ambition. RIP.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: everyblock adrian_holovaty citizen_journalism local_news localnews

• Urban Innovation And Density | Sustainable Cities Collective

  And now, a contrarian view of density – it’s not magic after all? (But what about walkability in those sprawling places in TX or AB?)
  QUOTE
  Cheaper condos may not be enough to save Toronto or San Francisco. More importantly, sprawling Texas metropolitan regions are becoming more productive. What’s all this fuss about the magic of density?

  Alberta and Texas are attracting a lot of migrants. Birthplace diversity is increasing, rapidly. Up goes productivity and innovation. The magic is migration, not density.

  We needn’t worry about cramming more people into Toronto or San Francisco. The spiraling cost of real estate is forcing relocation, across all incomes. People of modest means are fleeing Los Angeles and putting down roots in San Antonio. Yet the urban core is hollowing out in that Texas metro. San Antonio isn’t booming, converging in terms of productivity, because of density. Talent is pouring in from elsewhere. People develop, not places.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: walkability urbanism density demographics population migration sustainable_cities jim_russell

• Walkable Communities and Adolescent Weight – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

  Walkability as a public health issue; lack of walkability as contributor to the obesity epidemic.
  QUOTE
  Key Findings:
  *The odds of a student being overweight or obese decreased if they lived in communities with higher walkability index scores.
  *The average prevalence of adolescent overweight and obesity was 15 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
  *The mean walkability index across communities was 6.38.
  *Key street features associated with reduced prevalence of obesity included increased presence of sidewalks and public transit.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: walkability urbanism communities public_health obesity

• Why Walkability isn’t Just About Proximity to Shops | This Big City

  More walkability.
  QUOTE
  [Julie] Campoli acknowledges that having destinations nearby is essential for getting more people walking, but she adds to this several other key qualities of walkable urban neighbourhoods:

  * Connections – a fine-grained network of sidewalks and footpaths with plenty of intersections;
  *Tissue – Great architecture with small human-sized buildings, not big boxes!
  * Density – of housing and population;
  * Streetscape – well designed streets with wide sidewalks and crossings, that are easy and safe to walk in;
  * Green networks – plenty of street trees and green spaces.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: walkability thisbigcity urbanism

• Book Club: Walking and Talking – Next City

  Walkability. All over the web lately.
  QUOTE
  As a follow-up to my review about Jeff Speck’s Walkable City, I invited Brendan Crain, communications manager for the Project for Public Spaces, to have an online chat about the new book. Crain has broad experience working to expand civic involvement in planning urban spaces and had his own review of Walkable City published today.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: next_city walkability brendan_crain urbanism

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.