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Indianapolis
Posted 29 April, 2000 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
Thanks to the USA Grand Prix site, I now have photo proof that Indianapolis isn't just another bland, sprawly city. As this photo demonstrates, Indy has quite a few colourful, historic cottages (more can be seen here). This is a beautiful Neo-Gothic church, probably built during the first decade of the 20th century when many churches were built in this fashion, notable for the two elaborate spires and the smooth plaster exterior. This photo shows the rear of the Indiana State Capitol, whereas this one focuses on the front. This downtown overview highlights the beautiful 200 foot Soldier and Sailor's Memorial. One thing that really surprised me was this canal running through downtown, dating back to 1836. All of these and more can be found in this index.

Hello, New Haven!
Posted 28 April, 2000 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
Mike Verilli, Boston resident and skyscraper affictionado, has kindly donated some of his great New Haven, CT photos to us. You can view them in the Miscellaneous Cities section of the site. In other news, former UPP contributor and longtime loyal fan Tony Peric has pointed me to this article, regarding Cincinnati's debate over whether or reinstate streetcars into the city's public transit system. Another article he mentioned was this one on the interesting concept of carsharing. Check 'em out. / Before I leave you alone to check out the two articles and the photos (and eagerly await another fantastic update!), I'd like to share a great Montréal panorama with you. You might have already seen it, but if you haven't, it's worth it: a view from the Olympic Tower.

A gift for Torontophiliacs
Posted 25 April, 2000 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
The University of Toronto has set up a site detailing the 1995 Conference on Cities in North America. Complete with lots of interesting maps and images (and even more great images in this photo index), the site is an interesting look into the unique urban environment that is Toronto. You can access the site here. / We're not leaving Bostonophiliacs out, either! Many urbanites and ex-suburbanites that have been priced out of Boston are moving to nearby Lowell, famous for being the "birthplace of American industry". Nowadays, its historic and dense core of former mills, historic retail blocks and beautiful homes, is experiencing a renaissance that is good news for the Lowell region. Read the article here. / Chris Szabla, my "associate editor", has directed me towards seven great walking tours of Philly. Check 'em out.

Buy stuff from us!
Posted 22 April, 2000 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
To celebrate this fine Easter weekend (well, okay, not really), I've put the finishing touches on our new merchandise page, the UPP Shop. You can buy books, shirts, mugs and mousepads. Expect to see the collection grow over time. / As Sprawl Watch reports, the US Conference of Mayors has announced the winners of the Inner City 100, an award that is given to private enterprises "thriving in inner cities". See the story.

FTP Problems
Posted 20 April, 2000 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
Due to some problems with the FTP server, I was unable to upload my most recent postings. Sorry for any inconvenience, and be sure to read the updates below. / Tony Peric, our loyal Australian contributor (see the April issue of Urbanite) has pointed me towards this article on the great Britannica online encyclopedia: Car Free and Carefree is a brief report on people who live without cars. Also, I recommend you stop by your local newsstand and pick up the March-April issue of Audubon Magazine; it has a great cover story on urban sprawl in Atlanta. / In response to the Sierra Club's recent report on the cost of sprawl, the US's National Association of Home Builders has released this statement. I'd love to hear what you think of the NAHB's response, so give me a shout.

Photos and stuff
Posted 18 April, 2000 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
I've moved all the previous posts to the news archives. Dylan Leblanc of the excellent skyscraperpage.com site has taken some photos of his current town of residence, Parksville, British Columbia. With approximately 15,000 residents, the town is pretty small. Nevertheless, some good photos:

· A building on the Alberni Highway; note the bus.
· Harrison Street with a little blue building.
· A tidy little cottage on Hirst Avenue.
· Some buildings on McCarter Street.
· Some seaside Weld Street condominiums.

On the topic of photos, Paul Anthony of San Antonio will be taking some photos of that city for us during the week. A giant thanks to him! / Some original and non-original St. Paul, MN photos can be found at the great St. Paul Pictures page, run by a St. Paul resident and UPP visitor. / I've been notified of the new website CityInfo, run by Paul Pezzano. Although parts of it are still under construction, it already has a great wealth of information, particularily in the Featured City section, Check it out.

Montréal metro overhaul
Posted 17 April, 2000 by Chris DeWolf - Back to the top
Hope you all had a good weekend. A visitor to UPP has informed me that STCUM, Montréal's transit authority, will be giving the city's famed Métro a complete overhaul over the next two years, including an expansion to the southern commuter rail line and various metro line improvements and extentions. Although I can't find any official information on this (though a news report on the RDI confirms this story), you can gather your own information on the metro at Marc Dufour's Le Métro de Montréal (warning, only in French). / As CNN reported last Thursday, the Sierra Club has released a report that claims that taxpayers in non-sprawl areas are unwittingly funding suburban sprawl, which in turn is not generating enough tax revenue to fund the services it consumes. See the story and visit the Sierra Club's Stop Sprawl Campaign for more information. / Due to a technical mishap, I was unable to scan the Nanaimo and Victoria photos on Friday. This holiday weekend I'll try and get them up.

The Urban Photo Page is devoted to urbanity. With our photos, for which we were orginally acclaimed, we express the joy of urban exploration through images. In our urban affairs section, we bring awareness to you about sprawl, cities and current development. The following two people have dedicated their time and effort to maintaining this site:

• Chris DeWolf, Calgary
• Chris Szabla, Boston

The photo sections are designed for the armchair traveller or "urban connoisseur" more than anyone else. Our articles are designed not only to give the average person an insight on how cities work and what they do, but also to express this Urban Photo Page's opinion on certain matters. For the record, the editors here at UPP - that is to say, Chris Szabla, Chris DeWolf and Mark Grotkiewicz - are both fans of the city or trained in urban design and sociology (in Grotkiewicz's case). We hope you enjoy the Urban Photo Page and both it's photos and articles.

• Lonely Planet - This TV series, made by the same people who publish the acclaimed guidebooks, is worth watching not only for it's excellent urban episodes but also it's adventurous treks into the wild. The filmography is top-notch. Plays on Outdoor Life Network in Canada, and the Travel Channel in the US. Check local listings for times.

Be sure to check the links to your right in "Other Sites of Interest". Here are a few other city-related, non-photo page links: Back to the top.

• City.net - Excite Travel's page has over 5000 destinations in it's databanks. Type in the name of the city you're looking for, and it'll spew out all sorts of information, as well as links. This is a great starting point for the online urban explorer; be sure to check it out.
  
• Lonely Planet Online - The online version of the great TV show (see above) and guidebooks, LP Online offers a full online version of it's guides to world cities, as well as featured articles.
  
• Carfree Cities - J.H. Crawford presents a convincing argument on why our cities should be car-free and oriented towards the pedestrian. In his comprehensive site, he draws up plans of what a car-free city might look like, and he uses Venice and various other cities as an example that pedestrian-oriented cities can work.
  
• OTRF Urban Links - A page chock-full of urban-related links. Some turn out to be duds, but others are golden. Worth a look.
  
• Sierra Club Sprawl Report - A wonderful site dealing with the urban sprawl that affects our cities. Includes articles, links, and a list of the American cities that have the worst sprawl.
  
• Planning and Design Institute - A comprehensive and wonderful site chock-full of interesting architectural and urban designs. There are some great plans here. Thanks go out to markgro@csd.uwm.edu for recommending this site.
  
• Rough Guides Online - Uncompromising and honest-to-the-bone guides to hundreds upon hundreds of cities around the globe. A great reference source.
  

Click on the title of each book to go to it's Amazon.com page. We are an Amazon.com Associate, so any book you buy via these links will help support our site. Back to the top.

• The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jabobs. (1961). 451 pages. A classic that changed the way we see our cities. Sometimes the writing can be long and redundant, but overall, it's a must-read for anyone remotely interested in cities and how they work.
  
• City Life, by Witold Rybczynski. (1996). Unknown pages. An engaging and interesting book that explains why North American cities are the way they are. What really got me about this book was how easy it was to read - it's made for the layman.
  
• Cityscapes of Boston: An American City Through Time, by Robert Campbell, photographs by Peter Vanderwarker. (1992). 219 pages. Composed of "before and after" photos of city scenes in Boston, with intelligent and often witty commentary by Robert Campbell. A great book.
  
• Central Square, by George Packer. (1998). Unknown pages. Okay, okay, so this is fiction - but I heartily recommend you all read it. It really gives you an insight into the lives of the average urban dweller, in this case the ones in the gritty but lively Central Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Mass.
  
• The City Reader, edited by Richard T. Legates and Frederic Stout. (1996). 532 pages. This is a collection of essays by various acclaimed urban writers, ranging from Le Corbusier to Frank Lloyd Wright to Jane Jacobs. Each essay is prefaced by a summary and an editor's introduction; in essence, this is a miniature library and a great resource for all those interested in the city.
  
• Home Town, by Tracy Kidder. (1999). 349 pages. An interesting look into the life of a rather unusual small town - Northampton, Massachusetts, with one of the largest gay populations in the US - and it's two faces. One is the wild and liberal side, revolving around yuppified Main Street, and the other is the traditional conservative town. Reads like a fiction novel even though it's entirely factual.

If you have something to recommend, give us a shout.

Urban Photo Page © 1999 Chris DeWolf; All rights reserved. No portion of this website may be reproduced without the written consent of the webmaster.

A note about the art on this page: the painting featured in the title graphic is Nighthawks, by Robert Hopper.

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