[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Montréal, Iqaluit, Boston and Halifax, Orange County, Rome

• Some tour guides in Montréal think they should receive more training about their city’s indigenous history. CBC reports.
• After an arson that destroyed their warehouse, the Northmart grocery store in Iqaluit has reopened. CBC reports.
• Nova Scotia is preparing to send a Christmas tree to Boston, a seasonal tradition that started as a thank-you to New England for help to Halifax after the Halifax Explosion. Global News reports.
• Orange County, the Los Angeles Times has noted, has ended its history as a Republican stronghold. Demographic change has resulted in irreversible political change.
• Guardian Cities reports on the catastrophic state of public transit in Rome. Perhaps privatization might be a solution for this system.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Hamilton, Iqaluit, San Francisco, Sydnbey, Sihanoukville

• That the real estate market in Hamilton, Toronto’s traditionally more affordable western neighbor, is so strong that some people have been pushed into homelessness is a concern. The Toronto Star reports.
• Iqaluit is acting to deal with the threatened water shortages, but will it succeed in time to hold off this concern? MacLean’s reports.
• This Bloomberg View article suggesting the unaffordability of San Francisco came not so much as a result of the tech sector as because of Barry Bonds’ sports success is interesting. Thoughts?
• The extended fire season of Sydney, Australia, will force Sydneysiders to adapt to this dangerous new environment. Guardian Cities reports.
• The SCMP looks at how an influx of Chinese investment is transforming Sihanoukville, the leading deep-sea port of Cambodia.