Michael Dudley

<p class="MsoNormal"> <em>Where there are no facts, sentiment rules.</em> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> - Oswald Spengler, <em>The Decline of the West</em> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> In my previous two posts I have set the stage for our consideration of information sources in planning by arguing for the relevance of such an effort when it comes to<a href="/node/53999"> (increasingly controversial) urban planning issues</a>, and to situate such in terms of recognizing the<a href="/node/54355"> influence of our world views</a> on the production and use of informational and built environments.  </p>

Over the past two years, German funding and Israeli philanthropy led to the construction of solar installations for Palestinians living in "Area C" in the West Bank. Now Israel says the panels are illegal and wants them demolished.

In a stunning blow to Mayor Rob Ford -- who, on his first day in office in 2010 scrubbed the "Transit City" plan in favor of an ill-thought out and unfunded subway scheme -- the Toronto City Council has quashed his plans and resurrected the old one.

<div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> &quot;What is an ideology without a space to which it refers, a space which it describes, whose vocabulary and kinks it makes use of, and whose code it embodies?&quot;  </div> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center"> <span>            </span>- Henri Lefebvre, <a href="http://books.google.ca/books/about/The_production_of_space.html?id=SIXcnIoa4MwC&amp;redir_esc=y"><em>The Production of Space</em></a> p. 44. </p>

When compared to China's accomplishments in completing subway lines, North America's cities look exceedingly timid, where construction timeframes can stretch into decades. Will Doig examined why.