Love them or hate them (I happen to love them), Toronto's streetcars are part of this city's identity. Most North American cities got rid of their streetcars around the middle of the 20th century. But Toronto didn't. And that has left us with the largest first generation streetcar network in the Americas in terms of total track length, number of cars, and ridership. That's something. If you're also a fan of streetcars (or just like geeking out about cities), you may enjoy this little ode to Zürich’s tram network by Monocle. It's called, "My life as a tram."

The July/August issue of Monocle is hot off the press and, as has become tradition, it includes their annual Liveable Cities Index. Now, some of this could be construed as objective, but a lot of it is of course subjective. A liveable cities index is also very different from a global cities index, which is why you won't find New York or London, or Toronto for that matter, on this list. Click here for a video of the 25 most liveable cities in 2019.

Spoiler: Zürich takes the top spot.

Photo by 🇨🇭 Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash

The most recent episode of The Urbanist is about the role of private developers in shaping public spaces and public life within our cities. How do you balance private and public interests?

Much of the discussion focuses on the redevelopment of King's Cross in London, which is generally considered to be a successful example of large-scale, developer-led, urban regeneration. Andrew Tuck is less complimentary of Hudson Yards in New York.

One point that I found interesting was the remark that modern zoning tends to force buildings apart. It creates more in-between space. The result is that we are losing some of the more intimate public spaces found in older neighborhoods.

To listen to the full 30 minute episode, click here.

Photo by Josh Edgoose on Unsplash (King's Cross, London)