[URBAN NOTE] Five cities links: Hamilton, Boston, New York City, Pristina, Addis Ababa

[rfmcdonald]

• Curbed takes a look at the innovative ways in which the city government of Hamilton has helped boost the city's strengths.


• Commonwealth Magazine shares a revived plan from the 1980s to protect Boston from sea level rise by building a great crescent-shaped dike in Boston Harbor.


• CityLab takes a look at New York City's seemingly-inexplicable decision to back down on a years-long closure of the L Train subway line for repair work.


• Guardian Cities notes the controversy in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, about the construction of a Turkish-funded mosque there. Is this but an element of a new Turkish sphere of influence in the western Balkans?


• This fascinating CNN report takes a look at the sheer scale of Chinese influence in Addis Ababa, the booming capital of Ethiopia, on its own terms and as an example of Chinese influence in Africa at large. (The locals, incidentally, find its models quite relevant and wanted.)

Comments

[armiphlage]

The mosques in Pristina are all OUT OF SYNC! First one starts the call to prayer, then four or five others; then ten minutes later,there's another one starting up.

I expect it's because each mosque defines dawn as when sunrise is perceived at their exact location. Since the city is in a valley, the shadows of the hills will affect the timing.