Latest news with #cityplanning
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Worcester curry house's HMO bid rejected over listed fears
Plans to build student housing above an Indian restaurant in Worcester have been owners of the Bombay Palace in The Tything, Worcester, had wanted to build a two-storey extension to create a six-bed house of multiple occupation (HMO).City planners said the development would harm the Grade II listed building and would fail to respect the character of the to plans submitted to Worcester City Council, the two floors above Bombay Palace are currently empty. A statement with the application said the proposal would have provided much needed student accommodation for the city as well as more income for the plan was that the two-storey extension at the back of the building would have allowed the restaurant to extend its kitchen - and increase the living space in the upper would have had their own separate access to the HMO rooms through an external metal news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
CNET
23-07-2025
- CNET
This App Is Like a Waze for Accessibility. Here's How You Can Use It -- and Pitch In
When's the last time you checked to see how accessible the spaces you enter are? OK, now what about the cities you live in? I've started to notice how accessibility -- whether for physical or invisible needs -- isn't often baked into city planning. This sent me on a search for ways to find spaces and points on the map that support people with disabilities. That's how I found AccessNow, a crowdsourced accessibility platform that covers 2 million locations in more than 35 countries and uses AI to help interpret and predict accessibility features. What is AccessNow and how does it use AI? AccessNow was launched in 2015 by Maayan Ziv in response to her own experiences with muscular dystrophy. She wanted to build an app so people could find and share information about accessible spaces. AccessNow uses the Google Maps Platform API. When you search for a location or to see if somewhere is accessible, the platform uses a mix of artificial intelligence technology, business-provided information and customer reviews. It uses this to assess and predict the accessibility of locations, and then it refines its output over time. How to use AccessNow to navigate accessibility challenges Using AccessNow is simple and efficient, and it's available on iOS and Android. Navigate to your app store and download AccessNow. Look for a blue icon with a white arrow. Create a profile account, or log in with your Facebook or Apple account. This will allow you to contribute reviews and access personalized recommendations. You can customize your profile to reflect the specific accessibility needs you have or that the person you're supporting has. Examples include wheelchair access and braille signage. Your map's interface will help sort and filter results based on nearby places and selected accessibility preferences. The best way to stay updated with AccessNow, and further integrate with the software, is its reviews system. AccessNow relies on user-generated content, so you can read reviews from other users to keep accessibility likelihood high. Contributing your own review helps others with questions or support and can improve the platform's data. Should you use AccessNow? AccessNow is training its AI model based on the lived experiences of people with disabilities. I see it as a reviews and data collection site that you can weigh in on, almost like Waze's functionality, but for a specific community. AccessNow/Screenshot by CNET Though you don't need to input your location to find accessibility watch-outs, you will need to in order to find specific accessibility support on the interactive map. Upgrading to an Essential or Pro tier will give you access to other features, like a Slack channel and a robust content library that looks to be launching soon. So if you're looking for support beyond map watch-outs, this can be a useful resource to invest in for $12-$17 per month, though I'd wait until all features are available and working before signing up for a paid account. With its global reach of more than 200,000 places across 35 countries, you can find accessible locations worldwide. However, due to its user contribution model, areas with fewer people may have limited data, and reviews may reflect personal perspectives that don't apply universally -- so remember that community information isn't fact (or fiction) but rather information that may or may not work for you. We reached out to AccessNow's team for comment but didn't hear back before publishing. AccessNow is a generally reliable resource using AI and machine learning to support community members who can be overlooked in city planning. And with a free tier that gives you information and other community-contributed data, it's financially accessible.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stillwater: Community development director is hired
Jason Zimmerman, interim community development director in Stillwater, is dropping the 'interim' from his title. Zimmerman, who has served as the city's part-time interim community development director since February, has been hired for the permanent position. He will be transitioning to the new position during the rest of July and August and will start full-time Sept. 2. His salary will be $158,538. Zimmerman, 52, of Minneapolis, has worked as a planner for HKGi since January 2024. He previously worked as the planning manager and as a planner for Golden Valley. Stillwater City Administrator Joe Kohlmann said Zimmerman impressed officials with his 'can-do attitude' and ability to 'address issues head-on.' 'Jason is an articulate professional who has demonstrated a strong commitment to the betterment of Stillwater,' Kohlmann said. 'He gets along very well with coworkers, elected officials, and members of the public.' Zimmerman grew up in Waconia, Minn., a rural community west of Minneapolis, and said 'Stillwater has that same small-town feel, but with an oversized impact on the surrounding area due to its history and draw for visitors.' 'I'm looking forward to helping capture that enthusiasm and sense of pride as we work to update and improve policies, procedures, and a shared vision for the future,' he said. 'Stillwater seems poised to cement itself as a premiere city, and I'm excited to be a part of that.' Zimmerman has a master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in economics from Carleton College. In his spare time, he enjoys running ultra-marathons — '50 miles, 100 miles and even some that are over 100 miles,' he said. 'The longest distance I've ever run at one time is 180 miles. That was in Moab, Utah. That took a little more than four days. There was some sleep sprinkled in there.' He and his wife, Amie DeHarpporte, have four children and numerous household pets. Tim Gladhill, who previously held the position, left Stillwater in August 2024 to become community development director in Brooklyn Park. Danette Parr, the community development director in Maplewood, was hired in November to do the job; she resigned effective Dec. 31. Parr, who returned to her job in Maplewood, said Monday that Stillwater 'wasn't the fit (she) was looking for and, unfortunately, sometimes you just don't know that until you get there.' Related Articles Stillwater cracks down on use of e-moto bikes on city trails After spending decades as an actor, Reed Sigmund tries his hand at directing Stillwater installs cameras, license-plate readers to deter crime Stillwater: Silver Sobriety marks 10 years with new location, new executive director St. Croix River bridge inspection underway; delays expected Solve the daily Crossword
CBC
15-07-2025
- General
- CBC
It's grind and patch season in St. John's. Here's what goes into road rehab
With road construction well underway across the St. John's region, navigating can sometimes feel like an obstacle course. But what goes into the decision of what roads get worked on, and why does the City of St. John's take a grind and patch approach to fixing roads? We asked Mark White, the city's manager of construction engineering.
CBC
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Seen this car around Ottawa? It's not Google Street View. It's the GATSmobile
The City of Ottawa has a new tool to measure and map out the city's roadways, intended to make city planning and design easier. CBC's Robyn Miller rides along with the city's Geospatial Analytics, Technology and Solutions (GATS) branch.
