Saturday I grow one year older and so, happy birthday to me! I am headed down to Bend, Oregon tonight to spend a couple days with my family, not just for my birthday but because I could use a break and because apparently my parents have acquired some free snowboarding passes :-)

This video from Streetfilms shows lines of cyclists crossing the Hawthorn Bridge in Portland, Oregon. For some kind of biking event? Nope. Just the daily work commute. In fact, 20% of the traffic on this bridge is from cyclists. And with the latest addition of Portland’s Bike Box (the green things in the street on the video), the city is recognizing the high number of riders and is looking for ways to continue to encourage the use of a bike as transportation and to make it safe.

Check out the original article over at Streetfilms.org here.

Vancouver B.C. recognizes the need for people to take charge of the future of their city and their own communities in terms of promoting great urban space and has formed the Vancouver Public Space Network. The network is devoted to things like “challenging the increase of advertising ‘creep’ in public places, promoting creative, community-friendly urban design, monitoring private security activities in the downtown core, fostering public dialogue and democratic debate, and devising creative ways to re-green the neglected corners, alleys and forgotten spaces of the city.”

The VPSN has 11 working groups the focus on different areas from public art to mapping and security as well as urban design. The urban design group is currently working on 4 initiatives….the public realm report card, where’s the square?, ecodensity & livability, and planning & design advocacy. While there are a bunch of different initiatives going on concurrently, one that I find particularly interesting is Where’s the Square? a design competition to imagine a public square for the city. According to the website over 100 design teams entered the competition and they are trying for one of two awards: the Jury Selection and the People’s Choice.

This competition was formally launched on September 23rd, 2008 and several events like walking tours, dialogues and presentations from prominent professionals covering various topics important to the public realm. Some background, as stated by the website:

“Public squares form the heart of many great cities around the world. When well-designed, they provide a central location for accessible, year-round activity – whether these are as straightforward as eating a bite of lunch, catching some sun, or playing a game of chess, or as elaborate as community celebrations, concerts and political rallies. Public squares are engines of cultural and local economy. They are a key factor in fostering community connections and quality of life.”

Now, the competition has ended and the designs have been submitted. This evening of April 28th, the shortlist of competitors will be revealed and available for public viewing. The public will then decide on the winner of the Public Choice Award. A link will also be available this evening online to view the competitors.

Update, April 29:
The 13 shortlisted entries are available for viewing online.
You can view them here now.