Urban Planning-ish Observations

• Traffic lights here are blue rather than green when signaling "go." (I think it's really more of a teal...)

• It seems like power lines aren't ever buried here, because streets are just loaded with them overhead. It drives me crazy to look at, because I think it takes away so much from the aesthetic of the street. Purty, huh?
  

• Within our neighborhood, even within a couple of blocks, there is a big mix of housing types. From lower-end apartments to large (for here anyway) estate type houses. The drastic difference would be hard to find in the US, but anything nicer than the lowest-end apartment building is gated, which I'm not crazy about. I think it takes away some of the allure of the 'mixed' environment - because is it really mixed if everyone's behind a gate?