[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Oshawa, Halifax, Porto, Tel Aviv, Tehran

[rfmcdonald]

• MacLean's looks at Dan Carver, mayor of Oshawa. Can this man, who overcame a very rough early adulthood, help the city survive the end of its automotive sector?


• A park in Halifax has been named in honour of murdered LGBTQ activist Raymond Taavel. Global News reports.


• Open Democracy notes how the rapid spread of rental accommodations in Porto, the second city of Lisbon, is threatening permanent residents with the loss of their homes.


• CityLab notes how activists in Tel Aviv are trying to save the ficus trees planted along major avenues decades ago from mass transit construction.


• Guardian Cities looks at how a lack of effective planning threatens to make Tehran unlivable for most of its residents.