Terms of Use and Image Licensing Terms

By accessing the Site, creating an account, submitting Content or using an interactive feature, you agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy.

Certain submission choices, including Creative Commons licensing, require a separate confirmation during the upload process.

Do not create an account, submit Content or use interactive features unless you understand and accept these Terms.

You must be at least 16 years old to create an account or submit Content independently.

A person under 16 may only use an account or submit Content with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian.

You must have the legal capacity and authority required to agree to these Terms.

An account is required to:

• submit entries;
• post comments;
• like Content;
• edit shared records; or
• manage your contributions.

You agree to:

• provide accurate account information;
• keep your authentication credentials secure;
• promptly update material changes to your information;
• not share an account in a way that compromises accountability;
• not impersonate another person or organization; and
• notify us if you believe your account has been accessed without permission.

You are responsible for activity performed through your account unless the activity results from a security failure under Urban Design Index's control.

We may suspend or restrict an account where reasonably necessary to investigate misuse, protect the Site or enforce these Terms.

Urban Design Index is a public archive of urban-design precedents, objects, projects, designers, manufacturers and products.

Published Content may be accessible worldwide and may be copied, indexed, archived, downloaded or redistributed by other people and services.

Do not submit Content that you are not prepared to make public under the licence selected during upload.

You retain any copyright and other rights you hold in the Content you submit, subject to:

• the Creative Commons licence or CC0 dedication you select;
• the operational licence granted to Urban Design Index under these Terms; and
• any rights that already belong to another person.

By submitting Content, you represent and warrant that:

• you created the Content or have all permissions needed to submit and license it;
• you are authorized to select the applicable Creative Commons licence or CC0 dedication;
• the Content does not infringe copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, contractual or other legal rights;
• the Content does not violate a confidentiality obligation;
• any information you provide is accurate to the best of your knowledge; and
• you have obtained any permissions reasonably required for recognizable people, private property, artwork or other protected material appearing in the Content.

Creative Commons licensing only covers rights that you are legally entitled to license. It does not give you rights that belong to another person.

The available licensing choices depend on whether you choose public attribution or anonymous posting.

Post anonymously

When you select "Post Anonymously":

• your display name and account identity are hidden from the public-facing entry;
• Urban Design Index privately retains the connection between the submission and your account; and
• the image must be dedicated under the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Anonymous posting is only available with CC0.

CC0 allows anyone to copy, modify, distribute and use the image, including for commercial purposes, without requesting permission or providing attribution, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Do not select anonymous posting unless you understand and accept CC0.

A contributor who wants attribution should not select anonymous posting.

Display your identity

When you choose to display your identity, your selected display name appears with the submission.

You may choose from:

• CC0 1.0 Universal;
• Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0; or
• Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International — CC BY-SA 4.0.

The selected licence will be displayed with the published image.

Creative Commons licences and CC0 are intended to be permanent and irrevocable once properly applied.

Before publishing an image, you must separately confirm that you understand:

• the selected licence applies worldwide;
• members of the public may rely on that licence;
• the licence cannot be withdrawn from people who already received the image under it;
• deleting your account does not revoke the licence; and
• removing the image from Urban Design Index does not eliminate copies already obtained by other people.

When an eligible removal request is completed, Urban Design Index will stop actively displaying the image through the archive. Removal does not revoke rights previously granted under the selected licence.

In addition to the public Creative Commons licence or CC0 dedication, you grant Urban Design Index a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to:

• receive and store your Content;
• create backups;
• reproduce and process the Content;
• resize, crop, compress, format and convert images;
• create display and thumbnail versions;
• display and distribute the Content through the Site;
• associate the Content with locations and metadata;
• make the Content available through hosting and delivery providers;
• moderate and administer the Content; and
• use the Content to identify and promote the relevant entry and the Urban Design Index archive.

This licence allows Urban Design Index to use service providers as reasonably necessary to perform these functions.

The licence continues for as long as the Content is displayed or reasonably required for backups, licence documentation, dispute resolution, legal compliance and copies previously distributed under the selected Creative Commons licence.

Urban Design Index does not acquire ownership of your copyright merely because you submit Content.

You may use the Site for lawful purposes related to viewing, documenting, discussing and learning about urban design and the public realm.

You must comply with the licence shown on any image you reuse.

You are responsible for determining whether additional rights or permissions are required for a proposed reuse.

You must not use the Site to:

• submit Content you do not have the right to submit;
• knowingly provide false designer, manufacturer, product, project or location information;
• falsely claim that a submission has been verified;
• falsely imply endorsement, sponsorship, partnership or official affiliation;
• impersonate another person or organization;
• publish another person's private contact or identifying information without authorization;
• submit defamatory, threatening, harassing, hateful or unlawful material;
• submit malicious files, code or links;
• interfere with the Site's security or operation;
• attempt to access another user's account or private information;
• scrape or extract data in a manner that creates an unreasonable load or circumvents technical protections;
• manipulate likes, comments, views or other activity;
• use automated systems to create accounts or submit Content without written permission;
• evade an account suspension or moderation decision; or
• encourage another person to violate these Terms.

Users may contribute comments and information about designers, manufacturers, products, elements and locations.

This information may be incomplete, unverified or incorrect. Unless expressly marked as verified by Urban Design Index, user-contributed information should not be treated as an official statement from the named designer, manufacturer, property owner or other organization.

By editing a shared record, you agree to:

• act in good faith;
• provide information you reasonably believe to be accurate;
• identify uncertainty where appropriate;
• not remove accurate information merely because you disagree with it; and
• not use metadata to advertise, harass or misrepresent an affiliation.

Urban Design Index may correct, reorganize or remove metadata without changing the underlying ownership of a submitted photo.

The appearance of a designer, manufacturer, product, project or organization on Urban Design Index does not by itself mean that the person or organization:

• submitted the entry;
• reviewed or approved the information;
• endorses Urban Design Index;
• sponsors the entry; or
• has a commercial relationship with Urban Design Index.

Any future sponsored, paid or promotional Content will be identified separately where required.

Urban Design Index does not guarantee that every submission will be reviewed before publication.

We may investigate, edit metadata, restrict access to, remove or restore Content where reasonably necessary to:

• enforce these Terms;
• correct inaccurate information;
• address copyright, privacy or legal complaints;
• protect users or third parties;
• prevent misuse;
• maintain archive quality;
• protect website security; or
• comply with law.

We may request additional information from a contributor before making or reversing a moderation decision.

Moderation decisions do not amount to a determination of legal ownership or liability.

A copyright owner or authorized representative may report allegedly infringing Content by emailing:

founder.urbandesignindex@gmail.com

A copyright complaint should include:

• the claimant's name and contact information;
• identification of the copyrighted work;
• the specific Urban Design Index page or submission at issue;
• an explanation of why the use is alleged to infringe;
• information showing that the claimant owns or represents the relevant rights;
• a statement that the complaint is made in good faith;
• a statement that the information provided is accurate; and
• the claimant's physical or electronic signature.

We may request additional information where a complaint is incomplete or unclear.

After receiving a complaint, Urban Design Index may:

• acknowledge receipt;
• temporarily restrict or remove the Content;
• preserve relevant account and submission records;
• forward the substance of the complaint to the contributor;
• ask the contributor for proof of ownership or permission;
• permit the contributor to provide a response;
• restore the Content where the complaint appears unsupported or resolved;
• keep the Content restricted while the parties resolve the matter; or
• take another step reasonably required by law.

We will not provide legal advice or decide private copyright disputes on behalf of the parties.

Submitting a knowingly false or misleading complaint may expose the complainant to legal responsibility.

A person may report Content that allegedly:

• identifies them without appropriate permission;
• exposes private or sensitive personal information;
• depicts a private location in a harmful or misleading way;
• violates a reasonable privacy interest; or
• creates an immediate safety concern.

Reports should identify the submission, explain the concern and include enough information for us to assess the request.

We may temporarily restrict Content while investigating. We may ask the reporter to verify their identity or relationship to the Content.

Designers, manufacturers, product owners, project owners and other affected people may request a correction to inaccurate information.

A correction request should include:

• the relevant page or entry;
• the information believed to be inaccurate;
• the requested correction;
• supporting evidence where reasonably available; and
• the requester's relationship to the subject.

Urban Design Index may correct the record, add a clarification, request more evidence or leave disputed information in place with an appropriate note.

A correction request does not automatically establish ownership of the image or control over the entire entry.

Anonymous posting hides the contributor's identity from public display. It does not prevent Urban Design Index from privately associating the submission with the contributor's account.

Urban Design Index may use private account information to:

• manage submissions;
• investigate misconduct;
• document licence acceptance;
• respond to copyright or privacy complaints;
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims; and
• comply with valid legal requirements.

We will not publicly identify an anonymous contributor merely because another user, designer, manufacturer or claimant asks us to do so.

We may disclose account information where permitted or required by law or where disclosure is authorized by the account holder.

The Site may contain links to manufacturers, designers, products, mapping providers, social-media services and other third parties.

Urban Design Index does not control third-party services and is not responsible for their availability, accuracy, security, privacy practices or content.

A link does not imply endorsement unless expressly stated.

Your use of a third-party service is governed by that provider's own terms and policies.

Urban Design Index is collaborative and may contain mistakes, outdated information, subjective descriptions or disputed identifications.

We do not guarantee:

• the identity of a designer or manufacturer;
• the name or model of a product;
• the precise location or date of a submission;
• the accuracy of user comments;
• that an image is properly licensed by its uploader; or
• that an entry is complete, current or suitable for professional reliance.

The Site is provided for general informational, archival and educational purposes. It is not architectural, engineering, planning, legal, safety, procurement or other professional advice.

You are responsible for independently confirming information before relying on it for a project, purchase, specification, publication or legal decision.

We may add, change, suspend or discontinue features at any time.

We do not guarantee that:

• the Site will always be available;
• Content will remain available indefinitely;
• every error will be corrected;
• the Site will be free from malicious activity; or
• stored Content will never be lost.

You should retain your own copy of any Content you submit.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Site and all Content are provided "as is" and "as available," without representations, warranties or conditions of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory.

Urban Design Index disclaims implied warranties and conditions including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, availability, title and non-infringement.

Nothing in these Terms excludes a warranty, condition or legal right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Urban Design Index and its operator will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, opportunity or business arising from:

• use of or inability to use the Site;
• reliance on archive information;
• unauthorized reuse of Content;
• a contributor's lack of rights;
• a moderation decision;
• third-party conduct;
• interruption or loss of service; or
• unauthorized access to an account or submission.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the total aggregate liability of Urban Design Index and its operator arising from the Site or these Terms will not exceed the greater of:

• the amount you paid directly to Urban Design Index during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim; and
• CAD $100.

This limitation does not apply to liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Urban Design Index and its operator from claims, damages, losses, liabilities and reasonable legal costs arising from:

• Content you submit;
• your infringement of another person's rights;
• your breach of these Terms;
• your misuse of the Site; or
• a false representation made through your account.

Urban Design Index will provide reasonable notice of a covered claim and will not agree to a settlement that imposes a personal admission or non-monetary obligation on you without your consent.

You may stop using the Site at any time and may request account deletion under the Privacy Policy.

We may suspend, restrict or terminate access where reasonably necessary because of:

• a material or repeated breach of these Terms;
• copyright or privacy violations;
• abusive or fraudulent activity;
• security risks;
• a valid legal requirement; or
• discontinuation of the Site.

Termination does not revoke Creative Commons rights already granted.

Sections that by their nature should continue after termination—including licensing, intellectual-property provisions, disclaimers, liability limitations, dispute provisions and legal-record obligations—will survive termination.

Our collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal information are described in the Privacy Policy.

The Privacy Policy forms part of these Terms but may be updated separately to accurately reflect our information practices and applicable legal requirements.

We may update these Terms as the Site develops.

The effective date will identify the latest version. Material changes may also be communicated through the Site or an account notice.

Changes will not retroactively replace a Creative Commons licence that was already applied to an image.

Where additional consent is legally required, we will request that consent separately.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the applicable federal laws of Canada, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

Subject to any legal right that cannot be waived, disputes relating to the Site or these Terms will be brought before the courts located in Toronto, Ontario.

If a provision of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the extent legally permitted.

A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.

These Terms, the Privacy Policy and any specific terms presented during a submission or feature form the agreement between you and Urban Design Index concerning use of the Site.

If specific submission terms conflict with these general Terms, the more specific terms apply to that submission to the extent of the conflict.

Questions, complaints and legal notices may be sent to: