The above video was made as part of Detroit’s bid to host the Olympics, and if you have 18 minutes to spare, it’s worth a look. ...

Two weeks ago I spent Good Friday afternoon walking around the fine and solid City of Sudbury. Because it was a holiday the city felt silent and empty. Only a few places were open, like the Tim Hortons, where the employees swear like hockey players but are very kind and funny and run the most popular place in town. With most things closed, I felt like I had the downtown to myself -- and it's quite a downtown, with interesting looking buildings and a crazy topography. Like many Ontario cities and towns, gentrification isn't a word that applies to much of anything, and though it might have been a cinematic imagination at work, Sudbury reminded me of the Pennsylvania mining and steel town that The Deer Hunter was supposed to have taken place in. It had a similar 1970s feel with unadorned clapboard homes, clinging to rocky ground -- not run down, but slightly weathered. Times, we were told, are not so bad in Sudbury, as nickel is in demand and the mines are hiring (though some native sons and daughters may indeed be about to ship off to a far off war), so the comparison stops there. Below is a quick photo tour of Subury.

IRELAND: A day trip to Dublin reveals many fine things but none finer than this bus with a Montreal advertisement seen yesterday moving up the city's main drag, O'Connell Street. It's interesting to see home (or near home) represented abroad. I have never seen an ad for Toronto (in my unscientific and casual survey of various cities), but perhaps because Air Transat is headquartered in Montreal it was a natural fit. Of interest are the "Quebec" and "Quebec: City and Area" logos on the signs, indicating some kind of partnership with Air Transat. Cross ...

On his blog yesterday Richard Florida posted "Shades of Robert Moses" and asked "So you thought urban renewal and the destruction of neighborhoods and tearing down of historic buildings was a thing of the past. Think again: Not in New Orleans." He first linked to a CNN article describing the violent clash yesterday at New Orleans city council (video of this is looping on CNN TV this morning) where "the members voted unanimously to allow the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to demolish 4,500 public housing units." Much has been written about ...

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=C-3wza6rnck[/youtube] Despite the wave of happy-urbanism that has gripped Canadian cities over the past few years, one still hears tales of various relatives and old high school friends living in deepest suburbia who truly believe the city is a dangerous place full of the perps and perverts featured in the Taking of Pelham One Two Three trailer posted on Spacing Toronto in October. It's sort of how one hears an urban legend, not knowing that person personally, but assured they're out there. I wonder how much of this false city-view is the result of the gritty films of the 1970s ...