"After living in an intensely urban environment for 12 years I had very fresh eyes, " she said.

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"We want to make it easy for you to live in an urban environment with a dog, " Ms. Salusbury said.

WSJ: Where Dogs Rule the Roost

The potential for mobile devices to transform the urban environment is of particular interest to Anthony Townsend, an urban planner at the Taub Urban Research Centre at New York University.

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Although for developers like Urban Splash or the Environment Trust, or similar private, trust or charity based organisations, there is the scope to listen to residents, for most large developers, their overriding concern is to their shareholders whose interests (profit maximisation) are opposite to those of local residents (community focus, low energy-cost housing, etc.).

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C. to Boston, bike sharing has become an increasingly popular way for people to travel around urban environments while decreasing vehicular congestion and doing something positive for the environment.

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