The mayor of Ottawa is suggesting freezing Confederation Line fare increases in light of the system’s problems. https://globalnews.ca/news/6146499/ottawa-mayor-transit-fare-freeze-lrt/

• The mayor of Ottawa is suggesting freezing Confederation Line fare increases in light of the system’s problems. Global News reports.
• La Presse looks at the problems faced by the Marché Jean-Talon, here.
• Greater Moncton, arguably the leading metropolis of New Brunswick, wants to double its intake of immigrants. Global News reports.
• Jamie Bradburn looks at Lafayette Park in Detroit, designed by Mies van der Rohe.
• Will Vancouver be connected to Washington State by a high-speed train route? Global News reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Peterborough, Kingston, Québec City, Detroit, Richmond

• Peterborough is facing a serious shortage of housing. Global News reports.
• In Kingston, the restoration of the Bellevue House that was home to John A MacDonald continues. Global News reports.
• The federal government will provide funding for the new streetcar route in Québec City. CTV News reports.
• Will the Detroit television documentary series filmed by Anthony Bourdain see a release? One hopes.
• Richmond, a Vancouver suburb home for decades to a substantial diaspora from Hong Kong, is deeply affected by the ongoing protests there. The Toronto Star reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Seven city links: Brampton, Kitchener, Waterloo, Montréal, Sainte-Marte, Detroit …

• Sean Marshall considers how recent changes in provincial policy are affecting the Ontario city of Brampton.
• There is some interest in the city of Kitchener in deeper integration of the Kitchener-Waterloo region, though not necessarily amalgamation. Global News reports.
• The Waterloo Record notes that Waterloo city council has voted unanimously against amalgamation.
• Taylor Noakes at CBC Montreal notes that a revived Expos baseball team, whartever its other merits, would not be an economic asset for the city.
• Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, unaccountably, was built on a lakebed regardless of the flooding risks. CBC Montreal reports.
• The Detroit Free Press looks at the impressive former home of Patti Smith in suburban St. Clair Shores.
• Guardian Cities reports on the upset of residents in Newcastle at a recent claim that their city’s high street is the worst one in the United Kingdom.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Montréal, Detroit, New York City, Mumbai, Stratford

• La Presse interviews one owner of a calèche, an iconic horse-and-carriage from Montréal, who claims that an impending ban will be devastating.
• blogTO notes the possibility, in the early 2020s, of a new passenger rail route connecting Toronto to Detroit.
• CityLab takes a look at The Shed, the performing arts centre in the controversial Manhattan development of Hudson Yards.
• Bloomberg makes the argument for India to create a purpose-built financial centre for Mumbai.
• Stu Neatby at The Guardian looks at the shortage of rental housing in the growing Charlottetown PE suburb of Stratford.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Kingston, Moncton, Detroit, Brussels, Tokyo

• The reopening of the main library in Kingston is the subject of this article over at Global News.
• Moncton will host a CFL game in August, part of the league’s efforts to build up a football-watching audience in the Maritimes generally. Global News reports.
• CityLab reports on the historic Hamtranck stadium in Detroit, a key element of black history.
• Politico Europe reports on the many British immigrants in Brussels, facing an uncertain fate come Brexit.
• Beth Elderkin writes at io9 about all of the cool nerd culture attractions she saw on a recent visit to Tokyo.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Detroit, Québec City, Boston, Queens, Colonia del Sacramento

• CityLab shares newly unearthed photos of the destroyed Detroit neighbourhood of Black Bottom.
• The National Post reports that apparently the latest iteration of the Winter Carnival in Québec City has not met with popular approval.
• CityLab explored for Valentine’s Day the notable history of Boston as a centre for the manufacture of candy.
• CityLab notes how the nascent condo boom in Queens’ Long Island City, set to capitalize on the Amazon HQ2 there, has been undermined abruptly by Amazon’s withdrawal.
• Ozy looks at the historic Uruguay town of Colonia del Sacramento.

[URBAN NOTE] Six city links: Detroit, Oslo, Cox’s Bazar, Ho Chi Minh City, Shenzhen, Tokyo

• CityLab notes a new black-owned food coop in Detroit.
• CityLab notes the cool new designs of a new Oslo subway station.
• Al Jazeera notes the vulnerability of Cox’s Bazar, the Bangladesh city that is the heart of the Rohingya refugee settlements, to climate change.
• Guardian Cities notes how rapid redevelopment is devastating the architectural heritage of Ho Chi Minh City.
• This Culture Trip article looks at how, among other things, copying foreign technology helped make Shenzhen a global tech hub.
• Tokyo is offering subway users free food if they opt to travel on the subway outside of peak times, CityLab notes.

[BLOG] Five city links: Mississauga, Simcoe County, Detrroit, Burnaby, El Paso

• Hazel McCallion, the nonagenarian former mayor of Mississauga, has been appointed an advisor to the Ford government in Ontario. Global News reports.
• A Simcoe County that faces a threat of amalgamation under the Ontario provincial government is already composed of communities feeling they lack adequate representation. The Toronto Star reports.
• CityLab notes how a history of racism complicated efforts to plant new trees in Detroit.
• Douglas Todd at the Vancouver Sun notes how ethnic tensions in multicultural South Burnaby surfaced in the former Liberal candidate’s treatment of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
• The NYR Daily looks at what is going on in and around El Paso as the Mexican-American border facing further closing.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Detroit, Calgary, Tijuana and San Diego, Kathmandu, Chernobyl

• CityLab looks at how, facing the impending closing of a General Motors plant that brutally displaced and mostly destroyed the (mostly) Detroit neighbourhood of Poletown, there is question about what to do with this space. Can Poletown live again?
• Taylor Lambert at Sprawl Calgary writes about how Calgary is learning to adopt Indigenous names for its growing communities and roads, and more, how Calgary is learning to do so respectfully.
• Guardian Cities notes the extreme sensitivity of the binational conurbations straddling the US-Mexico border in the Californias to the possibility of border closures.
• Guardian Cities notes how people in Kathmandu, struggling to rebuild their homes after the 2015 earthquake, are now facing terrible levels of debt.
• The Guardian reports on a remarkable rave/art party held in Chernobyl not far at all from the ruined reactor.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Detroit and Windsor, Africville, New York City, Calgary, Shenzhen

• The TVO show The Life-Sized City is spotlighting the revival of the binational conurbation of Detroit and Windsor. The Windsor Star reports.
• Owners of a house that is a rare survival of Africville, currently in Lower Sackville, are seeking heritage status for this building. CBC reports.
• VICE reports on how New York City is preparing for the L train shutdown.
• Students seeking to set up Gay-Straight Alliances in Calgary Catholic schools are reportedly being hindered, even harassed, by hostile administrators despite provincial policy. Global News reports.
• This SCMP article suggests Shenzhen is a popular destination for daytrippers from Hong Kong, for people who seek a Hong Kong experience at affordable prices.