The original Graffiti City (by R.bean)
Graffiti City first appropriates the colorful designs donated to the public realm by street artists borrowing buildings.
It then inverts the traditional rejection of such graffiti by landlords city wide by inviting it into a volunteer situation at a scale large enough to abstract the original tag. A re-appropriation.
This is a proposal to beautify some condominium projects in the Flower District of Manhattan.
(via urbanehood)
‘The Renew bins are equipped with Wi-Fi, so the next phase is to offer greater connectivity via the units.’
London broadcasts news to City workers via recycling bins | Mail Online, ibid
The Temporary City
The book questions the need for permanent uses and solutions for sites and argues that we need to increasingly look for short and medium term uses, rather than obsess about the long term; realistically it will take a long time for the economy to achieve stable and meaningful growth and for sites to become viable again – especially with what was paid for many sites at the market peak – and in the meantime these same sites will lie vacant for many years without an effective framework for their interim use.
via humanscalecities:
Cielos y suelos de Badajoz.(djo+a). 2012.
Fuente: laciudadviva.org…el proyecto nace de un pequeño encargo para calcular unos anclajes de toldos que un grupo de comerciantes del centro de la ciudad hizo al estudio de arquitectos. Desde ahí, los arquitectos empiezan a tirar del hilo y su tranquila pero constante estrategia resulta lo suficientemente atractiva como para ampliar su repercusión, casi de forma viral, a una gran zona céntrica y comercial del centro de Badajoz, sobrepasando los límites que los estrechos presupuestos hubieran permitido sin su imaginativa contribución…
(via carex)
A BIXI ride around Toronto. Roadwork, pedestrians, other cyclists, and those pesky motorists. National Post Graphics editor Richard Johnson takes a look at what it is like to cycle through Toronto as a tourist would.
“The key function of a city is to enable exchange, interaction, and the [creative] combination and recombination of people and ideas. When buildings become so massive that street life disappears, they can damp down and limit just this sort of interaction…
What we need are new measures of density that do not simply count how many people we can physically cram into a space but that account for how well the space is utilized, the kinds of interactions it facilitates.”Read more at The Atlantic Cities. (via theatlantic, wellandlighthouse)
fyeaheasterneurope:Podgorica in the fog.
"The adoption of ubiquitous computing, mobile devices, and rich sources of data are changing how we live, work, and play in urban environments. Increasingly, a digital landscape overlays our physical world and is expanding to offer ever-richer experiences that augment—and in some cases, replace—the physical experience: “The city is the platform, the network, the sensors, and the interface,” as frog creative director Rob McIntosh put it in a recent talk. To celebrate the New Cities Foundation summit where frog will be hosting a workshop on the Metacity, design mind presents a special digital issue exclusively on the future of the city."
—
The Future of The City | design mind
Wow. Can’t wait to explore this special edition of Design Mind.
The New Cities Foundation Summit is starting tomorrow in Paris.
(via axelletess)
… “A cidade é a plataforma, a rede, os sensores e a interface”, afirma Rob McIntosh
(via axelletess)
![massurban:
“4 Tips For Starting A Farm In Your City [Video]
By Jude Stewart. May 7, 2012
Urban-farming innovators such as Detroit and Cleveland offer an object lesson in how cities can transform disused land into tomorrow’s (healthy) dinner.
Consider this paradox: 49 million Americans live with daily food insecurity, 23 million live in urban food deserts, and collectively we’re all getting fatter. Simultaneously vacant lots, concrete grooves, and other desolate, empty spots dot urban landscapes, while a quarter of traditional agricultural land is severely degraded according to the UN.
Enter the urban farm: a fast, smart, cheap way to bring healthy food closer to those who need it, transform ugly vacant spaces into lush gardens, and promote a healthier, greener, more connected urban community.
Populate empty lots with crops.
Cities like Cleveland and Detroit are leasing abandoned lots to urban farmers for practically nothing—provided the lessees are committed to filling those spots with edible greenery.
If your lot’s soil is poisoned with lead or other contaminants, simply truck in new soil in raised beds. Even cheaper: Plant your veggies in burlap bags filled with clean soil. Roll the sacks up and fill with more soil as the plants grow, and you can transport them indoors when winter hits.
Use your roof.
ASLA’s video suggests restaurants harness their roofs to grow ingredients for their own meals. Big-box stores can lease or farm their own vast roofs and sell the proceeds in-store or via local greenmarkets. Rooftop farms use wasted space and lower your utility bill, too.
Fill up your food trucks.
Mobile trucks sell prepared foods—often unhealthy at that. Why not use them as fresh-fruit stands? Food truck legislation in many cities has relaxed in recent years. Opportunity knocks, suburban farmers: Coordinate with a food truck owner to sell your produce wherever there’s a need in your city—not just at the Saturday greenmarket. Hook the kids on juicy berries or watermelon in summer, and you may make a confirmed veggie fan year-round.”
A recently released video by the American Society of Landscape Architects uses case studies from edible-city innovators, such as Cleveland and Detroit, to offer practical advice for bringing urban farms to your backyard (or corner lot or rooftop). Here are four helpful tips:
Plant a garden in your own yard (or farm the job out to someone else).
Acres of perfect green grass are both a hassle to maintain and, nutritionally speaking, useless. Inhabitants with yards in D.C. and Portland can even lease their yard to those with greener thumbs—and take a cut of the produce they yield.”
Via: Fast Company
Photo: Flickr user Joel Carranza](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m40rd0dAbD1qm7ffpo1_500.jpg)
“4 Tips For Starting A Farm In Your City [Video]
By Jude Stewart. May 7, 2012Urban-farming innovators such as Detroit and Cleveland offer an object lesson in how cities can transform disused land into tomorrow’s (healthy) dinner.
Consider this paradox: 49 million Americans live with daily food insecurity, 23 million live in urban food deserts, and collectively we’re all getting fatter. Simultaneously vacant lots, concrete grooves, and other desolate, empty spots dot urban landscapes, while a quarter of traditional agricultural land is severely degraded according to the UN.
Enter the urban farm: a fast, smart, cheap way to bring healthy food closer to those who need it, transform ugly vacant spaces into lush gardens, and promote a healthier, greener, more connected urban community.
Populate empty lots with crops.
Cities like Cleveland and Detroit are leasing abandoned lots to urban farmers for practically nothing—provided the lessees are committed to filling those spots with edible greenery.
If your lot’s soil is poisoned with lead or other contaminants, simply truck in new soil in raised beds. Even cheaper: Plant your veggies in burlap bags filled with clean soil. Roll the sacks up and fill with more soil as the plants grow, and you can transport them indoors when winter hits.
Use your roof.
ASLA’s video suggests restaurants harness their roofs to grow ingredients for their own meals. Big-box stores can lease or farm their own vast roofs and sell the proceeds in-store or via local greenmarkets. Rooftop farms use wasted space and lower your utility bill, too.
Fill up your food trucks.
Mobile trucks sell prepared foods—often unhealthy at that. Why not use them as fresh-fruit stands? Food truck legislation in many cities has relaxed in recent years. Opportunity knocks, suburban farmers: Coordinate with a food truck owner to sell your produce wherever there’s a need in your city—not just at the Saturday greenmarket. Hook the kids on juicy berries or watermelon in summer, and you may make a confirmed veggie fan year-round.”
A recently released video by the American Society of Landscape Architects uses case studies from edible-city innovators, such as Cleveland and Detroit, to offer practical advice for bringing urban farms to your backyard (or corner lot or rooftop). Here are four helpful tips:
Plant a garden in your own yard (or farm the job out to someone else).
Acres of perfect green grass are both a hassle to maintain and, nutritionally speaking, useless. Inhabitants with yards in D.C. and Portland can even lease their yard to those with greener thumbs—and take a cut of the produce they yield.”
Via: Fast Company
Photo: Flickr user Joel Carranza
