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+42 +1
Automated Vehicles Can’t Save Cities
They could actually make cities much worse.
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+33 +1
Unpleasant Design in Disguise: Bike Racks & Boulders as Defensive Urbanism
A lot of so-called “defensive design” is explicit and easy to spot, like sloped benches or anti-homeless spikes to prevent rough sleeping. But in some cases, the designs are more subtle, masquerading as aesthetic improvements or even other kinds of public infrastructure — sprinklers, for instance.
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+6 +1
Integrated emergency response in a not-quite-connected world
Despite the complex environment, advanced technology is changing the way cities respond to calls for help. Here are some of the most visible ways that's happening.
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+26 +1
Monorails are making a comeback
They’re a cheap transportation option for dense cities, and track production is set to double or triple in Asia and Latin America.
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+34 +1
'Shared Space' Design: Road Signs Suck. What if We Got Rid of Them All?
It seems counterintuitive, but there’s evidence that getting rid of signals, signs and barriers might actually make streets a lot safer. Towns all over Europe are starting to experiment with streets where cars, buses, bikes and pedestrians can travel freely in the same space.
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+26 +1
How public art helped to shape New York
The city installs more public art than any other in the world, and it serves developers as well as artists
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+10 +1
Zoöpolis
Jennifer Wolch conceptualizes an urban theory that takes nonhumans seriously.
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+8 +1
Paris is getting a 'White Forest' wooden tower that will feature 2,000 plants — take a look
Construction on a greenery-covered tower, designed by the Italian firm Stefano Boeri Architetti, will soon start in the Parisian suburb of Villiers-sur-Marne. On the outside, 2,000 trees, plants, and shrubs will fill the building's facade, roof, and balconies. Inside, the building will feature luxury apartments, offices, and retail.
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+10 +1
Fixing open cities' data privacy problem
Several issues appear in the crossroads of data privacy and smart cities' push toward open data frameworks. Municipal organizations must create policies, right now, to keep from spilling personally identifiable information and ensure privacy.
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+28 +1
How Seattle Bucked a National Trend and Got More People to Ride the Bus
Seattle saw a 4 percent increase in bus ridership, a crucial component of both its public transit and emissions reduction plans.
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+23 +1
Can Gowanus Survive Its Renaissance?
Brooklyn’s famously filthy canal is getting cleaned up. A building boom is coming. And not everyone is happy.
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+20 +1
Cities Should Think About Trees As Public Health Infrastructure
Planting trees is an incredibly cheap and simple way to improve the well-being of people in a city. A novel idea: Public health institutions should be financing urban greenery to support well-being and air quality.
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+13 +1
The Miracle of Minneapolis
If the american dream has not quite shattered as the Millennial generation has come of age, it has certainly scattered. Living affordably and trying to climb higher than your parents did were once considered complementary ambitions. Today, young Americans increasingly have to choose one or the other—they can either settle in affordable but stagnant metros or live in economically vibrant cities whose housing prices eat much of their paychecks unless they hit it big.
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+23 +1
Stuck in traffic: we need a smarter approach to congestion than building more roads
Instead of focusing on freeways, governments should change the way we pay for urban roads and public transport.
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+14 +1
The ancient abandoned city Teotihuacan was designed in a remarkably modern way
Entire city was planned on a carefully thought-through grid system.
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+6 +1
Smart cities must focus on networks and governance first, apps second
In the race to become "smart," many cities are reaching for the bright, shiny (IoT) objects. Instead, they should plan the infrastructure required for implementing truly innovative services and systems.
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+32 +1
The 'Self Drive' Act puts America on the road to reducing congestion
The legislation will create a more uniform standard of regulation for the industry.
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+25 +1
Pollution levels in Bolivia plummet on nationwide car-free day
Air pollution levels have plunged in cities across Bolivia as the country marked a nationwide car-free day in which all non-emergency vehicles were banned from city streets. As Bolivia’s middle-class population has increased over the past 10 years so has the number of cars clogging city streets. The car-free event started 18 years ago in Cochabamba, one of Latin America’s five most polluted cities, and has gradually taken root across the country.
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+29 +1
Houston’s flooding shows what happens when you ignore science and let developers run rampant
The city's gung-ho approach to development has destroyed the area's natural ability to drain away hurricane floodwaters.
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+21 +1
World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
The world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opened in Switzerland on Sunday, a ribbon-thin span nearly a third of a mile long that challenges hikers to proceed in places at nearly 28 stories above ground. Officials in the south of Switzerland unveiled the bridge after just 10 weeks of construction. It measures 1,620 feet long and rises as high as 278 feet above the Grabengufer ravine. The span is also impossibly narrow, at just 25.6 inches wide.
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