Author Archives: Flavie

Urban revitalization: when retail giants lead the way

By Flavie | Published: November 17, 2009
Please excuse me for the lack of posts in the last few weeks. I’ve been busy preparing my move to Vancouver and slowly adjusting to my new life here. I hope to be able to write about all the good stuff happening in the city and hopefully visit other west coast cities such as Portland [...]
Posted in Architecture, Urbanism | Leave a comment

Charter cities: using urbanization to boost development

By Flavie | Published: October 19, 2009
Economist Paul Romer has an interesting take on getting third-world countries out of poverty. His idea: to build “charter cities” operated under an independent jurisdiction, just like Hong Kong used to be. Think Canada taking over Guantánamo Bay for a while to oversee its development. Romer’s plan might be ambitious and extravagant, but it has [...]
Posted in Business and Economics, Urbanism | Leave a comment

Urban chickens: not always a pleasant affair

By Flavie | Published: October 16, 2009
Raising chickens in Vancouver became legal more than six months ago, but the issue is still subject to much gossip. The Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason had a humorous column in the paper yesterday that brought to light some of the lesser-known aspect of poultry-raising. I also wonder how the lawyer-by-day/chicken-owner-by-night is going to handle certain situations. [...]
Posted in Urban agriculture | Leave a comment

From red light to green living

By Flavie | Published: September 27, 2009
Pittsburgh is currently in the spotlight for hosting the G20 summit, and the changes it has undergone in the past years are finally getting some visibility. The steel city has abandoned its industrial past and embraced a diversified economy. But what drew my attention was a mention about its urban redevelopment in The Economist. The David [...]
Posted in Urbanism | Leave a comment

On giving

By Flavie | Published: September 23, 2009
One of my last readings was Dambisa Moyo’s provocative essay Dead Aid. While I don’t feel qualified and knowledgeable enough to take a definitive position concerning the debate between international aid proponents and its detractors, I do feel that something has gone wrong in the relationship between developed and third-world countries. The situation of dependence of [...]
Posted in Business and Economics | Leave a comment

What is your farmers market for?

By Flavie | Published: September 4, 2009
I just stumbled on this March/April 2009 Mother Jones article discussing the evolution of farmers markets in North America. It explains how many farmers markets bring more diversity into the range of products that are being sold in order to generate more revenue. Street performers, baked goods and restaurants are now commonly seen alongside [...]
Posted in Food | Leave a comment

Wal-Mart’s eco-labels: brilliant or evil?

By Flavie | Published: July 16, 2009
Wal-Mart announced today the launching of an eco-labelling program that will allow customers to see the environmental footprint of the products they wish to buy. In collaboration with a consortium of universities, the giant retailer will work on issuing an index that will reflect the life cycles of its products. The news seems to have been [...]
Posted in Food | 1 Comment

Media literacy in the digital age

By Flavie | Published: July 12, 2009
As a journalist, I often get asked whether the proliferation of news sources online (newspapers’ websites, blogs, aggregators…)  is indeed harming journalism. It will certainly take a while for news organizations to figure out a new business model and for other structures to be put in place to create a balance between traditional reporting, citizen [...]
Posted in Media | Leave a comment

A visit to In Good Company Workplaces

By Flavie | Published: June 26, 2009
A few months ago I found out about a unique coworking space in New York City. In Good Company caters exclusively to women business owners and provides them not only with an extremely convenient and elegant working environment, but also with valuable support and collaboration opportunities. I visited the space last April during a trip to [...]
Posted in Business and Economics | Leave a comment

Microloans work best when business skills are taught to receivers

By Flavie | Published: June 25, 2009
A recent New York Times article looking at several examples of microcredit programs around the world notes that their efficiency is increased when business skills are also taught to the receivers. Small business owners thrive when povided with basic entrepreneurship skills and networking opportunities, which allow them to discover new approaches and ideas.
Posted in Business and Economics | Leave a comment