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.
THE “SEXY” BIRD SONGS GET DROWNED OUT BY CITY NOISE:
“When bombarded by noise pollution, some male birds begin to sing higher tunes, found a new study. And that tonal shift makes them less attractive to females.
The findings suggest that birds must make difficult trade-offs in urban areas and places where traffic and industrial noises threaten to drown them out. Either they sing less appealing songs or tones in an effort to rise above the din, or they sing the songs that make them sound appealing at the risk of not being heard at all.” http://news.discovery.com/animals/noise-pollution-birds-110829.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1
EVERY CITY HAS A BLEAK SIDE:
In a photo thread on skyscraperpage.com, Omaha’s dusty and deserted side of downtown gets explored. The poster, “DTO Luv”, has some interestingly composed shots and some great wide-angle views. A nice tour, though a bit lonely.
BUFFALO - RENAISSANCE CITY:
Next American City has started a multi-piece report on Buffalo, NY, highlighting how the city is beginning to revitalize itself through things like sustainability initiatives and low cost of living in spite of its less flattering current reputation. So even if Buffalo is the 6th most segregated city in America, and more than 10% of its population left over the last decade, Buffalo seems to be doing something right… or is trying to, at least.
AUTHENTICITY, AND THE PEOPLE/PLACE DYNAMIC:
“Nothing is better for advocates of urbanism than simple immersion in the look and feel of a successful, authentic place. After a week of observation in the cities, towns and villages of Pugila, Italy, most notable is the age-old, multi-dimensional relationship between people and such places, especially given American aspirations—often rhetorical—for walkable and liveable cities back home.”
THE OTHER NEW ORLEANS:
The conventional wisdom about New Orleans these days is for the most part positive: an engaged mayor (with the obligatory “60 Minutes” profile under his belt), rebounding neighborhoods, improving schools, young people flocking in. All of this is true, as far as it goes, but it’s an incomplete accounting. What has gone largely unreported in the mainstream press is the condition of the neighborhood hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina. Much of the Lower Ninth Ward—despite the heroic efforts of Brad Pitt and Make It Right—remains desolate.
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/
TENDERLOIN NATIONAL FOREST:
“It’s late afternoon in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood –- one of America’s densest urban areas—and a homeless man is sitting in the shade of a redwood tree. Out on the sidewalk, just one hundred feet away, people yell, smoke and shoot up in broad daylight, but in this narrow alley where the redwood grows, the scene is calm and green.
FILTHADELPHIA:
“When it comes to trash, Philadelphia has a bit of a reputation. And a problem.
“Filthadelphia” is just one of the disparaging nicknames thrown our way. In a recent survey from Travel + Leisure magazine, locals and tourists alike claim that when it comes to dirty streets, Philadelphia’s are among the nation’s worst.”
http://articles.philly.com/2011-08-12/news/29880806_1_trash-cans-cleaner-cities-clean-cities
photo credit: Scott Lunt, www.pixelshot.com
THE FILTHY SECRET OF THE MODERN MEGA-CITY:
“There is a long curve of water and, as far as the eye can see, there are shacks, garbage, washing, tin, bits of wood, scraps of cloth, rats and children. The water is grey, but at the edges there’s a flotsam of multicoloured plastic rubbish. This is the Estero de San Miguel, the front line in an undeclared war between the rich and poor of Manila. Figures emerge from creaky doors to move along bits of walkway. In the deep distance is the dome of a mosque; beyond that are skyscrapers…
…This is a place where you cannot stride along without hitting your head or bruising your elbow, so people creep and shuffle. Here, you cannot go to the toilet without standing in a queue. Here, sex between a man and a woman has to happen within breathing distance of their kids and earshot of 20 other families. This is the classic 21st-century slum. A billion people live in them, one in seven of the world’s population. By 2050, according to the United Nations, there could be three billion. The slum is the filthy secret of the modern mega-city, the hidden achievement of 20 years of untrammelled market forces, greed, neglect and graft.”
http://www.newstatesman.com/global-issues/2011/08/slum-city-manila-gina-estero
