the pomegranate tiger

As well as the World Peace Forum this week (June 23 – 28), Vancouver just finished hosting the UN's World Urban Forum III (June 19 – 23, 2006). About World Urban Forum The World Urban Forum was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities, economies and policies. It is projected that in the next fifty years, two-thirds of humanity will be living in towns and cities. Today, I just want to share a few quotes from a speech by John Friedmann. Friedmann is a professor at the University of British Columbia, School of Community and Regional Planning. He talks about "clusters" of assets that are necessary for the development of viable and sustainable city-regions throughout the world. I thought what he had to say about intellectual and creative assets would be of interest to some of the regular readers here as well as those who question why we should support creati...

As some of you know, I can get a wee bit obsessive. This is particularly true of new interests. My interest is piqued very, very easily. You say there's an awesome, new website? I'll be there – for hours – looking at every nook and cranny. Got links? I'll click them. Is there a site meter? I'll wonder what type and if I can access the stats. An About page? Gotta read it. So, if you've wondered where I've been lately, I've been researching my latest obsession. DH and I are thinking about a trip to Europe in the fall. We've always planned on going there - eventually. But so far, life and family commitments have gotten in the way. I suppose we should have gone when we lived in Toronto, before kids, and where the time and travel distance wouldn't have been so great. But, we were interested in other things back then. All of which seem superficial and frivolous now. But hindsight's kind of a bitch that way. Anyways, we put Europe on the backburner and ...

World Peace Forum 2006 - Vancouver, Canada, June 23 - 28 Be informed. Read. Look beyond the confines of your own borders. We all live on the same planet. There will always be conflict and problems, but we have the choice to help make things better or worse. We have the choice to care or to ignore the suffering of others. It's possible to make a difference. You just need to care enough to take action, no matter how big or small.