Author Archives: Flavie

Social networking for gardeners: the landsharing movement

By Flavie | Published: May 12, 2010
This post was long overdue. I first heard about sharing backyards initiatives last year while reporting on the rise of urban agriculture. Since then, these initiatives have flourished and others have been created. Many North American city dwellers have the advantage of having a backyard adjacent to their house, and have been increasingly aware of [...]
Posted in Urban agriculture | Leave a comment

Neo-education: the revolution of learning

By Flavie | Published: March 30, 2010
“The first month of watching TED talks online gave me more knowledge, insight, and inspiration than all four years of the glorified status symbol that is Ivy League education,” writes Brain Pickings editor and TED addict Maria Popova in Good magazine’s Slow Issue. Popova goes on describing how neo-education (free education available on demand through [...]
Posted in Web technologies | Leave a comment

Finding the right city

By Flavie | Published: March 29, 2010
As part of my research on cities and personality, I’ve just finished perusing Richard Florida’s Who’s Your City. Florida says we should look at different factors when searching for the right city to move in. One of them is personality. This shouldn’t be a secret to anybody that certain cities offer different types of stimulation. [...]
Posted in Research | 2 Comments

Cities, happiness and personality: a research manifesto

By Flavie | Published: March 15, 2010
Dear readers, I really tried to love Vancouver. I will not spend a great deal of time trying to convince you that I did, but I really did. The fact is, five months after moving here, I’m a shadow of my old self. I will not spend a great deal of time trying to explain [...]
Posted in Architecture, Research, Urbanism | 2 Comments

Direct Trade: coffee at its best

By Flavie | Published: March 10, 2010
Defiant Imagination is back! After a months-long hiatus, due in part to an international sporting event that took place in Vancouver last month. I hope to be able to write here regularly again. A little bit of self-promotion: my article on Direct Trade was published in The Warehouse. High-end coffee was just beginning to reach [...]
Posted in Food | Leave a comment

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 [...]
Posted in Urban agriculture | 1 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 [...]
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 [...]
Posted in Business and Economics | Leave a comment