>> Mapping Information

"But then once I saw this I thought ‘hey, that kind of fits the mood, doesn’t it?’ So I just kept..."

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 19:15:58 -0500

“But then once I saw this I thought ‘hey, that kind of fits the mood, doesn’t it?’ So I just kept stripping it down, taking everything off. The ferries weren’t going, why should they be there? The parks were closed, remember? So why should the parks be there? So I just took out everything that wasn’t actually happening and ended up with this.”

- Chuck Gordanier on stripping back the subway map post-Sandy (via thisbigcity)

TrafficCom ! Get involved in transport planning and data...

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 19:08:16 -0500

TrafficCom ! Get involved in transport planning and data gathering for your city!

"Andrés Duany makes a good case for considering density at the scale of the neighborhood rather than..."

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 02:58:29 -0400

“Andrés Duany makes a good case for considering density at the scale of the neighborhood rather than the individual building. He states that the types listed above, in the context of a neighborhood reflecting the average United States market for need and choice results in roughly thirds: or one acre of apartments per two acres of townhouses per four acres of single family houses. This delivers a net density of 10 units per acre for a complete neighborhood. Next time you’re faced with a frightened crowd of density opponents, try turning the conversation to types of buildings, and allow that discussion to evolve into addressing the neighborhood as a whole, rather than simply a sum of its individual parcels.”

- –Susan Henderson

"Planning cannot eliminate slums. As long as there is large-scale deprivation, as long as our rulers,..."

Mon, 28 May 2012 05:28:20 -0400

““Planning cannot eliminate slums. As long as there is large-scale deprivation, as long as our rulers, our media and our urban middle class believe that proletarianization is better than being a farmer, artisan or a tribal, there will be sizeable number of people who will be made available for blue-collar work in our cities. Such people will like to stay close to their places of work.””

- Ashis Nandy, http://www.sacw.net/article1389.html

"El socialismo* puede llegar solo en bicicleta,"

Sat, 26 May 2012 06:52:31 -0400

““El socialismo* puede llegar solo en bicicleta,””

- José Antonio Viera-Gallo

"In some ways, cities need to ‘make the road by walking’ by involving people and..."

Sat, 26 May 2012 02:45:13 -0400

“In some ways, cities need to ‘make the road by walking’ by involving people and understanding how they interact with the city, instead of building the roads to be walked on. Planners and policymakers must also involve citizens as stakeholders and design for urban usability, particularly groups that have not had a strong voice - artists, immigrants, youth and the elderly.”

"The secrets of the letters are in the numbers, and the epiphanies of the numbers are in the letters...."

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:29:18 -0400

““The secrets of the letters are in the numbers, and the epiphanies of
the numbers are in the letters. The numbers are the realities of above,
belonging to the spiritual entities. The letters belong to the circle of
the material realities and to the becoming.””

- Aḥmad al-Būnī (d. 1225)

"The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already..."

Thu, 24 May 2012 03:36:51 -0400

““The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the inferno and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and apprehension: seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space.””

- ― Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

Dream graphing?

Tue, 22 May 2012 04:05:45 -0400

What did I want to / enjoy doing at each st(age) of my life:

Age 4: drawing, coloring and sewing in school (with one non sharp needle).

Age 6: drawing and painting

Age 8: drawing and painting + recording songs off the radio + TV onto a tape

Age 10: making mix tapes and covers and collecting / reading books

Age 13: making mix tapes, covers and collage / posters

Age 15: making mix cds, collecting CDs, painting on walls

Age 17: drawing / painting / making recycled jewellery

Age 21: drawing / painting on canvas

Age 24: designing / drawing / video / photo

Age 27: drawing / sewing / taping

Apparently time is cyclic.

Fake is the new real

Tue, 22 May 2012 03:53:42 -0400

and this goes for the occupations and protests in New York and Moscow. Performed / enactment of what could and should be but really isn’t. But is temporarily.

"We thought we had put slavery, holocausts and apartheid behind us - that humanity would never again..."

Tue, 22 May 2012 02:36:06 -0400

“We thought we had put slavery, holocausts and apartheid behind us - that humanity would never again allow dehumanizing and violent systems to shape the rules bywhich we live and die. Yet globalization is giving rise to new slavery, new holocausts and new apartheid. It is war against nature, women, children and the poor. A war that is transforming every community and home into a war zone.”

- (Vandana Shiva 2002)

"If there’s a lesson in street-watching it is that people do like basics — and as environments go, a..."

Sun, 20 May 2012 17:24:14 -0400

““If there’s a lesson in street-watching it is that people do like basics — and as environments go, a street that is open to the sky and filled with people and life is a splendid place to be.””

- Holly Whyte

urbanfunscape:How to pimp your car - In Nea Ionia, Athens,...

Sun, 13 May 2012 15:55:00 -0400

urbanfunscape:How to pimp your car - In Nea Ionia, Athens, Greece

"Town planning is not industrial design, the city is not a functional object, aesthetically sound or..."

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:22:20 -0400

““Town planning is not industrial design, the city is not a functional object, aesthetically sound or otherwise; the city is an artificial landscape built by human beings in which the adventure of our life unfolds.””

- Constant Nieuwenhuys, 1960

Love this - using it as inspiration for a new map project about...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 03:11:40 -0400

Love this - using it as inspiration for a new map project about what parts of a city different people and communities occupy / and why.

The interesting part is waiting to see people begin to argue...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:32:00 -0400

The interesting part is waiting to see people begin to argue over the decor and living room styles. I love the fact that people hang out together outside, but minimal infrastructure that allows for un-choreographed possibilities is always the best way.

joshduv:

Some cities, specifically in Europe, are turning their streets and curbsides into modern living rooms with some high-end street furniture. (via Dwell magazine)

"The modern city is ugly not because it is a city but because it is not enough of a city, because it..."

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:21:38 -0400

“The modern city is ugly not because it is a city but because it is not enough of a city, because it is a jungle, because it is confused and anarchic, and surging with selfish and materialistic energies.’ – G. K. Chesterton”

The old situationists were about domestication. The new...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:42:50 -0400

The old situationists were about domestication. The new situation is about play and fun. Cities in Revolution?

fuckyeahpublicspace:

Invasión Verde, Lima, Peru.

From the Architizer blog:

“…Invasion Verde was one of five selected artistic interventions chosen out of 137 proposals for Lima’s Great Week.

…According to the World Health Organization, every person living in a city should have 8 sq meter of recreation space, and Lima only has 1.98 sq meter per capita, resulting in a shortfall of 4,800 hectares of recreational spaces. Invasion Verde is an attempt to insert extra park space into a packed city, in order to improve the quality of life for Lima’s citizens…”

The project utilizes recycled materials, natural grass and drought resistant plants.

"Your eyes are so blue they leak."

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:08:57 -0400

“Your eyes are so blue they leak.”

- from a poem I never thought I would revisit.

thisbigcity: It’s Tuesday and we want your questions! Want to...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 05:06:00 -0400

thisbigcity:

It’s Tuesday and we want your questions! Want to ask us about cities or social media (or both)? Drop us an ask in English or Chinese and we’ll get back to you ASAP!