[difference in edmonton]

As I've mentioned before, driving to and from uni gives me time to notice all sorts of differences between the village in Hertfordshire (Kimpton, just north of London) where I was living in England and now Edmonton.  Exiting the Anthony Hendy motorway (or rather, highway here) and travelling east on 100 avenue (all the streets go north and south, all the avenues go east and west), I found myself marvelling at the six lanes of traffic, all going in one direction while the next street north had six lanes for the opposite direction.

Although there are a few traffic lights, there doesn't seem to be a build-up and we flowed along nicely. Also notable each time I'm on the road is the sheer size of the vehicles. Most drivers here seem to prefer trucks though there are a few smaller jeeps and SUVs.

[views from the car]

Driving home from uni I always catch myself marvelling that I'm here. In Edmonton. Living and working back in Canada. It feels amazing. And, as many of you know, I'm seldom without my camera, so I find myself nabbing shots when at a red light or waiting my turn at four-way stop.

 

 

 

 

 

[downtown edmonton on whyte ave]

I've been told that there's some great people-watching to be done on Whyte Ave in Edmonton.

This is what I spotted the other day:






Yes, that is a man, walking down the street with a snake around his neck. And yes, that's a young girl petting the snake.

[views of edmonton]

[street performers festival: edmonton]

The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival was the first of its kind in North America. Now in its 25th year, it is known worldwide for its amazing artists and generous audiences. Since 1984, almost four million people have participated. Read more on the streetfest site.

[nlab social networks conference - roland harwood]

Roland Harwood: "Are Online Social Networks the New Cities?"

social networks are starting to fulfill some of the interactions upon which cities are traditionally based

two books that have inspired Roland:
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs and Emergence by Steven Johnson

Manchester - first formed as a settlement in 76 and 1301 there was a town charter and in 1700-1850 because of industrial revolution it grew ten-fold though not formally recognised as a city until 1853.

People who study urban growth talk about the role of technology (field rotation etc...) on the development of cities. "I think the internet is going to have as profound effect on cities but we're only at the beginning."

See Richard Florida Flight of the Creative Class.

Jane Jacobs talks about the essence of cities, especially cites in which you can walk. In a car you are isolated but on foot you overhead conversations, have encounters and even change your behaviour based on those encounters. The characteristics of good cities:

random encounters, information storage and exchange, communities, space to play, economies of scale, trade/sharing, organised complexity, anonymity.

Diversity drives innovation. We need to create more space to cross-fertilise our ideas (this can feed into my IOCT research on transdisciplinarity).

Roland's just mentioned a really interesting idea of "bothies": random shelters that people can use for free?! See here for more info: http://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/

[toronto in june]