Mapping tool reveals all of NYC’s secret public spaces – post on PSFK about the new website, POPS, from APOPS (Advocates for Privately-Owned Public Spaces) showing the location of all 500+ privately owned public spaces (POPS) in New York along with descriptions, including scaled site plans. Skyscraper developers cut a deal with …
5 Outside-The-Box Ideas To Change U.S. Cities For The Better – Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayor’s Challenge is uncovering ways “for local governments to improve the way their cities work by taking on social and economic problems, improving customer service, enhancing accountability to the public, and making government work more effectively.” Among the …
5 Ideas That Could Have Prevented Flooding in New York – the post has details, but here are the five ideas: Sea Gates and Surge Barriers Elevated infrastructure Wave Attenuators Oysters and Sand [“Beach nourishment”] Different development patterns
Tall building specialists reveal concept for 1.3 sq km satellite city outside Chengdu – WAN post about “dense vertical city that acknowledges and in fact embraces the surrounding landscape” just outside of the Chinese city of Chengdu. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture envision it as very pedestrian-friendly, with …
Please Bring This to America: Heated Bike Lanes – It wasn’t until I saw the photo that I understood why this would be desirable. In the Netherlands they’re trying to figure out how to keep people using bikes year-round. The man behind the proposal, Marcel Boerefijn, said there would be savings …
Creating a City-Wide Energy Internet – A joint report from Philips and Cisco for “an intelligent, networked public lighting infrastructure” involves moving from fluorescent city lighting to an interconnected system based on LED technology. “An independent, global trial of LED technology in 12 of the world’s largest cities found …
What if Your Footsteps Could Power Your City Sustainably? – Post on UrbanTimes about Pavegen Tiles, made from recycled rubber, that generate electricity when you walk on them. Here’s a quote from Pavegen‘s CEO: “When you stand on a tile it flexes just 5mm in the centre, which is actually imperceptible …
Check out The World’s Most Walkable Cities, with brief suggestions for seeing 10 world cities on foot. Via 21st Century Tech Blog.