WellUrban: the highlights package

File under: urbanism, arts, nightlife, photography, Wellington

I've been writing this blog for about six weeks now, so it seems like a good time to sum up where it's at and look back at some of the highlights. Some have asked where the name comes from. "Urban" is self-explanatory, but "Well" stands for three things. It's short for "Wellington", but also refers to "wellness" or "wellbeing", because I'm interested in liveable, sustainable cities. Finally, there's the English colloquial sense of "well" = "very", as in "well fit" or "well sorted". So this blog is well urban, innit?

The original purpose of WellUrban was to discuss architecture and urban design, and while I've wandered into other areas of urban life, that's still my focus. I've been writing up some highlights from last week's Urbanism Down Under conference, discussing the future of the Futuna Chapel, and having the occasional rant about waterfront controversies and sprawl. I also take a look at downtown parks and other greenery in Keep on the Grass, Pimp my Park and the old Urbane Jungle gallery.

My original WellUrban site contains more in-depth analysis of urban developments, including some examples of very good urbanism (the Left Bank, Midland Park) and urban disasters (Big Box retail on Tory St, the "bypass"). I'll update some of the articles shortly.

Virtually all of the photos on this blog were taken on my phone (an i-mate JAM), and I discuss some of the better images in Pick of the Pix. Some recent posts (such as Re-Greta-ble?) were created completely on my phone and uploaded from the field, with help from flickr and software such as Blogs in Hand and Pocket Artist. I've just added a couple of highly Photoshopped camera photos (Greenery for your Desktop) to show the potential of these photos at even relatively high resolutions.

I write about local arts news in Fireside Korero, Inside the Arts Centre and Neighbourhood Spaces, while In the LOOP, Sans Souci and Cabaret Fever deal with music and nightlife. The more liquid side of Wellington culture is covered in Staggering Distance and Wellingtonpista.

Those interested in sexual geography (and who wouldn't be?) should check out my infamous series of posts inspired by the "man drought": Where the Boys Are parts one and two, and the follow-up, Toyboys & Sugar Daddies. The title of that post has led to some very interesting search results! I also analyse the relationship between Wellington's high educational levels and liberalism in Sex, Sin and Latte. Enjoy.