NEW YORK FARM CITY:
We all know urban farming is really taking root (*ahem*) in many places like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York. Check out this video about urban farmers in NYC showing a bit of what they do, the movements and organizations they’re a part of, and where the food goes once it leaves the rooftop.
LIFE IN 78 SQUARE FEET:
And you thought your apartment was small.
“…To say Tyler does a lot with a little would be inaccurate; he does a ton with a speck. His bed is his couch is his storage closet is his toolshed. His wall is his ottoman. His wardrobe is his medicine cabinet. One leg of his desk is his kitchen. The stand for his printer is his microwave. Oh, and all of the above is also Tyler’s office, since he works from home. Sometimes — no joke — he hosts relatives for the weekend.”
http://www.infrastructurist.com/2011/08/12/how-to-live-in-78-square-feet/
IF EVERYONE LIVED IN ONE CITY:
PerSquareMile.com published this map showing how big a city would be if the World’s entire population lived there. If that city was as dense as Paris, it would be the size of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas together. If it were as dense as New York, it’d be the size of Texas, etc, etc. It’s a pretty cool visual representation of the concept.
Now matter how dense it would be though, traffic would be hell.
http://persquaremile.com/2011/01/18/if-the-worlds-population-lived-in-one-city/
WHY IS THE HIGH LINE SO CRIME-FREE?
Lots of attention has been given to New York’s High Line Park lately with the recent opening of its second phase. Most are talking about how it could be an influence to other cities looking to re-use their old elevated railways (St. Louis has plans for a High Line-esque park, and possibly Philadelphia and Chicago too). However, some think that the High Line is more of a “flash in the pan” trend that will prove to be a failure given the time. Here’s an article discussing why the High Line, after 2 years of being open to the public, still works. As well as how it’s remained crime-free.
ARTIST TURNS BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOOD INSIDE OUT:
“Inside Out is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. By going to the Inside Out website, anyone can upload the black and white portrait of their choice, with the challenge to reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world. Your portrait will then be made into posters and sent back to you to be exhibited in your own community. Several residences in Park Slope have already kicked things off, with portraits of local business owners and community members pasted along the steep steps to their homes.”
Click the photo to read the full article.
Ever been to a public space, whether it be a city park, waterfront, plaza, etc. that just seemed to fail? Something about it just didn’t feel right? Well the urban design group Project for Public Spaces (PPS), founded by the great William Whyte, may be able to shed some light on the issue. PPS have made a list of public spaces that don’t work. It’s pretty extensive too. On the list are cities ranging from Buffalo, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Rotterdam, Paris, Cleveland, and Washington, DC (plus many more).
It’s an interesting list to click through, and provides some insight as to why some of the most famous (or should I say infamous?) places in the world are actually quite dysfunctional. For example, NYC’s Wall Street is listed, as is Paris’s L’Arc de Triomphe.
PPS in general is a wondeful group to follow for anyone interested in the fields of urban design and development, and this list is a good starting point for examples of what NOT to do. Even some of the world’s most revered cities have room to improve.
Anyone who uses flickr knows there’s thousands of groups to join. However, some of them grow to be so big they’re too hard to follow. This group though, Ultimate Urban, is run by a very selective moderator and is really a great showcase of photos that define the term “city scape.” Most of the photos are of the expanding urban environment in many of the world’s largest metropolises. Tokyo and New York are well represented, but it’s much more than that. Check it out.
