A while back, I mentioned I was reading the book Who’s Your City by Richard Florida. After finishing the book, I must say it was one of the most enjoyable books i’ve read in a long time. For those who have never heard of the book before, it is a book that describes how where we choose to live is one of the most important decisions in our life. The book mentions a ‘place finder’ on it’s website which helps individuals decide on what city is most ideal for them. The concept is very simple. Say, you have a short list of cities you are thinking of perhaps moving to. The place finder allows you to rate each city from 1 to 5 in 20 different categories including obvious criteria such as the job prospects and climate and less obvious ones such as leadership. Perhaps the only problem is you need to have done your research on each and every city you compare. Yet, it helps simplify what can be a very difficult decision. You an find the link to the Who’s Your City Place Finder below:
Who’s Your City Place Finder
26 09 2008Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: Urban Issues
Categories : Book Reviews, Lists
Thoughts on London, England
8 09 2008I thought i’d share my thoughts on London, England which I visited for the first time for two and a half days last week. Obviously, London is an extremely popular tourist destination as well as being one of the economic hubs of the world. I will say without a doubt that I was completely enthralled with the city. For a city of it’s size, London was quite clean, fairly friendly and seemed a bit more grounded than say, New York. Cultural institutions such as the National Gallery and British Museum are government subsidized which allows more people the oppurtunity to visit these fascinating places. Public squares such as Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square are entertaining, busy and non-threatning. Traffic was obviously extremely busy and i’m sure the road network is down right confusing (especially to North Americans), but never seemed as deadlocked as other cities its size.
But there are some issues with the city. Why it doesn’t make better use of the Thames in a lot of areas is beyond me. The Southbank is up and coming promenade, but still seems to be stunted in one too many places to make it a great walk along the river in the downtown region. The reach of the public transit system in London is fantastic, but still suffers from congestion as well as overly-early closures of certain subway lines. And of course, there is the whole outrageous cost of living issue.
All in all, no one can argue that London is one of the top urban destinations in the world. I am throughly impressed with the city and hope to visit it sometime in the future.
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: Urban Issues
Categories : General Thoughts


