Roundabout Downtown Sarasota

A nice new roundabout in beautiful downtown Sarasota on Main Street near the water. Very nicely done.

Motorcycle Parking in front of the roundabout. My Harley Davidson.


Click to see a short video

Park and nice streetscape.

Outdoor sculpure overlooking the new roundabout.

Habitable Bridges Stage a Comeback

"The habitable bridge, out of favor since the Renaissance, has been making a bit of a comeback. After the I-670 cap opened in Columbus, Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid designed this stunning habitable bridge in Zaragoza, Spain, completed in 2008 (pictured above). The following year, architect Steven Holl, whose designs often include sky-borne passages, completed an apartment complex in Beijing where a swimming pool, bookstore and cafe hang between buildings."

Click to read the article in The Atlantic Cities.

http://rocker-lange.com/blog/?tag=competitions

Murder Rates by Region, Nation and State

Intentional Homicide, Rate Per 100,000 Population, By Sub-Region, 2004 

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/unodc-releases-global-homicide-data.html

English: Murder rate per year and 100,000 inhabitants.

   0-1

   1-2

   2-5

   5-10

   10-20

   >20

The map above shows the murder rate by nation and US State. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Homicide-world.png


By State from another source.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/general-u-s/1085852-state-state-map-murder-rates-updated.html#b

http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/06/2006_murder_rate_tops_in_natio.html

Belgium has a higher rate then the US?


http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?137136-Belgium-has-a-higher-murder-rate-than-the-USA-Really

http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/491022-again-again-5.html

For Creative Cities, the Sky Has Its Limit

"Over the next 50 years we will spend trillions of dollars on city building. The question is: How should we build? For many economists, urbanists and developers, the answer is simple: We should build up. But the answer is more complex than that."

"Researchers at the Santa Fe Institute have been able to demonstrate that bigger, denser cities literally speed up the metabolism of daily life. Larger beasts may have slower metabolisms in the animal kingdom, but the opposite occurs in cities, which get faster as they grow. Doubling a city's population, the Santa Fe researchers found, more than doubles its creative and economic output, a phenomenon known as "superlinear scaling."

Interesting Essay by Richard Florida

Click to Read The Article

Beijing's Olympic Ruins

While being awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics allowed Beijing to construct new architectural icons and receive international accolades, its current reality is a collection of unused sports facilities with few if any plans for reuse.


Click to Read More

History of the World in Two Minutes

The history of the world in a 2 minute video produced by a high school student.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrqqD_Tsy4Q

Walking - New Urban

An important focus on new urban development and city planning is to create walkable communities. And of course walking is good for your health and good for the environment, reducing miles driven by getting people out of their cars.

Walking can add minutes to your life. 

This enables you at 85 years old

to spend an additional months in a nursing home at $4,000 per month.

My grandfather started walking when he was 63. Now he's 97 years old

and we have no idea where he is.

I like long walks,especially when they are taken

by people who annoy me.

The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing...

I joined a health club last year, spent about 250 bucks. Haven't lost a pound.

Apparently you have to go there!

Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise', I wash my mouth out with chocolate. I do have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day is so when you die, they'll say,

'Well, he looks good doesn't he.'

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years,...... just getting over the hill.

We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

AND

Every time I start thinking too much about how I look,

I just find a pub with a Happy Hour and by the time I leave,

I look just fine!

You could run this over to your friends

But just e-mail it to them!

It will save you the walk!

Submitted by Charlie Van Liere

One more thought on walking.

My mother once told us she was going to start walking a mile every day. I said "great by Thanksgiving you'll be in Omaha". She wasn't sure if I was kidding or not, and I did not tell her.

Tom Schildhouse

              God gave me a finite number of heartbeats 

              and I am not going to waste them on walking.

The White City...Then and Now

Chicago - THE WHITE CITY...THEN AND NOW

Go back in time to visit the Museum during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

This fascinating virtual simulation tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition takes you back in time to the Museum’s origins as the Palace of Fine Arts. A Museum host presents the computer reconstruction of the White City, created by Dr. Lisa Snyder of UCLA’s Urban Simulation Team. With highly detailed views and showing a variety of altitudes and angles, the simulation is narrated with facts and anecdotes about the Exposition. A 25-minute architectural walking tour follows the presentation. The outdoor portion of the tour is not accessible.

The Museum of Science and Industry

The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI), the largest science center in the Western Hemisphere, is home to more than 35,000 artifacts and nearly 14 acres of hands-on experiences designed to spark scientific inquiry and creativity. Since opening our doors in 1933, we’ve welcomed more than 175 million guests from around the world. Our mission, to inspire the inventive genius in everyone by presenting captivating and compelling experiences that are real and educational, is realized through world-class exhibits such as: Science Storms, the newest permanent exhibit revealing the science behind some of nature’s most powerful phenomena;YOU! The Experience, an exhibit that lets you explore what it means to live a vital, healthy life in the 21st century; and the U-505 Submarine, the only German U-boat in the United States.

Even bigger than our mission is our vision, which is to inspire and motivate children to achieve their full potential in the fields of science, technology, engineering and medicine. In addition to our fun and interactive exhibits, the Museum’s Center for the Advancement of Science Education (CASE) is continually developing and facilitating student learning labs, after-school science clubs, teen volunteer programs, teacher development classes and community outreach—all ways in which MSI makes science come alive for children and adults of all ages.

http://www.msichicago.org/about-the-museum/museum-overview/

Sout Side Sliders

From Mike Tuggle on Facebook

The original White Castle Restaurant at 22nd & Wabash in 1929

Thanks to Judy Halligan Willingham MPHS 67 for sharing.  Excellent advice for a person fromdasoutsideaChicaga who aintgonoEnglish.

Always

Streetscape Vision

The Future

Planning is always difficult, especially for the future.

How To Write Good

Thanks to Judy Halligan Willingham for sharing.  Excellent advice for a person fromdasoutsideaChicaga who aintgonoEnglish.

CNU Illinois Happy Hour

Join CNU Illinois for a trip out to Oak Park to explore their downtown. In recent years, Oak Park has built a wonderful streetscape on Marion Street (past CNU Illinois Charter Award Winner), which has added to their already lively downtown. We’ll be heading out to a happy hour at Poor Phil’s Bar & Grill on Marion Street for drinks and conversation.  RSVP and learn who else is coming via Facebook.

Nice Park Downtown

Great urban spaces.

Ugly Urban

Sad Streetscape. We have lots of these streescapes.

Normandy Animation

Nice animation of Normandy. We have been there. The animation makes us want to go back again, which we shall do.

http://www.youtube.com/v/AmrCH0AhbDg?version=3&autohide=1   

Thanks to 

Green Bridge For Wildlife Road Crossing

This wildlife bridge provides a crossing for wildlife amidst the danger of highways.

Thanks to John Wason for sharing.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_crossing

Population Way Up, Federal Workers Down

Since 1968, the U.S. population has increased from 200 million to 314 million, and federal government employees have declined from 2.9 million to 2.8 million, according to the source below. And numerous other surprising tidbits.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/07/17/100-mind-blowing-facts-about-the-economy-.aspx#.UAtIDLTOybU

FESTIVAL MARKETPLACE - MCCORMICK PLACE

FESTIVAL MARKETPLACE  -  MCCORMICK PLACE

The view from McCormick Place is spectacular. It overlooks Lake Michigan, Burnham Harbor, Meigs Field, and downtown Chicago. Incredibly, the Lake side of the building is a truck loading dock!  The visitor never sees the Lake and cannot enjoy the sailboats, airplanes, and bicyclists maneuvering along the stunning park and harbor. 


The location is ideal for a Festival marketplace. Conventioneers and local citizens could eat overlooking the lake and harbor, shop in boutiques, and enjoy the vista. They would spend a substantial amount of money and thoroughly enjoy our City.

Existing dining facilities are limited and not what a world class city should offer. Most waterfront cities have dining facilities on the water. We are an exception.  The festival marketplace would attract local citizens who would enjoy eating and relaxing next to the Lake. Our model for this development is the Baltimore Harborfront, which turned a underused area into the best part of City.  The Festival Marketplace would achieve the same success.


The Festival marketplace with "Restaurant Row" will be a tremendous asset to McCormick Place and the City of Chicago.  Restaurant Row could be constructed below the existing roof, or just below the existing building, or above the truck loading docks. The development would be a public/ private endeavor to tax expenditures low.  The facility would provide a substantial revenue to entrepreneurs and to the City, and make conventions more pleasant. 

PANEs (People Against Nearly Everything) will automatically oppose any lakeside development.  But McCormick Place exists. The location is stunning.  The replacement of a truck loading dock with an attractive amenity would greatly enhance the city.


Restaurant Row would enhance Chicago and improve its attractiveness for future conventions. It would provide additional revenue to the city. New business opportunities would be created.  It would provide a place for Chicagoans to dine overlooking the Lake. It requires vision to make it a reality. It should be built.

ILCMA Downstate Summer Meeting

Dear Downstate City/County Management Association:

The Town of Normal will host the Downstate Summer Meeting on Aug. 16 & 17.  The host community has put together an excellent program!  Sessions include "Managed Competition:  Factors to Consider and Stories of Success," "Proven Strategies for Containing Healthcare Costs in the Public Sector," and "Uptown Station (Multi-modal Transportation, Multi-funded, Multi-use, Green)."

For complete details please visit

http://www.ilcma.org/DocumentCenter/View/2060

If you would like to secure your room now, please call the Marriott Bloomington-Normal at            309-862-9000        and be sure to mention you are with Downstate Managers. 

Sincerely,

Dawn S. Peters

Executive Director, ILCMA

ILCMA ILCMA ILCMA@wpo.cso.niu.edu
to ILCMA