I thought it would be interesting to see what DVDs downtown residents might be watching, so I captured a screenshot of the top 15 as of today, Sunday, August 17, 2008.

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Since moving downtown in March, I find myself walking 300% more than I ever walked living in the burbs. I walk for my health, pleasure, shopping, eating out, grabbing a drink and running miscellaneous errands. With rising gas prices, walking all helps on the budget.

I noticed that cities are starting to be ranked and graded on their “walkability”. A site called Walk Score, gives downtown 50309 a score of 89 out of 100 possible points. Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.
Here are general guidelines for interpreting a score:

• 90–100 = Walkers’ Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
• 70–89 = Very Walkable: It’s possible to get by without owning a car.
• 50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
• 25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
• 0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

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Having recently just traveled to the New England area of the country, and seeing different places, I noticed a lot of real estate “For Sale” and “For Lease” / “For Let” signs on places that advertised their spaces as condos, lofts or flats. So I began to wonder, what’s really the difference or is it just verbiage.

The building I live, is considered the Liberty Condos, but I always refer to place as a “loft”. So I thought I better do a little research on this matter. Here’s what I found:

Lofts:

• Are generally one large area as opposed to rooms
• Lofts usually have a 2nd level partially exposed to the 1st level
• Traditionally, lofts are above a commercial or an industrial space
• Loft living originated in Paris, and was usually owned by artists as a combination residence and studio. Over the past 100 years, however, loft living has evolved and is defined as any apartment-like units with open floor plans, huge windows, and exposed fixtures, in an urban setting
• Typically a loft is a conversion from what was once a industrial of office space
• Lofts are usually found in the downtown cores 
• Most lofts are two floors, have high ceilings, and offer amazing views of the city
• Loft has an edgier sound to it 

Condos:

• A condominium buyer owns the space within his or her individual unit; the common parts of the property, such as the land, building structure, etc., are owned jointly by the unit owners. Each of the condo owners within a property belongs to an owners’ association which manages the complex and collects monthly association fees in order to maintain the common areas. Because unit owners do not own the land beneath their unit, condominium units are often stacked on top of each other.

So during this research i also came across another term, “Loft-Style”. The difference is that lofts do not have any rooms, except bathrooms, while the loft style condos have rooms but still offer open floor plan, high ceiling and big windows.

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