logo intials, originally uploaded by cmeydesign

THE INCIDENTAL 01, originally uploaded by dcharny
Last year, as part of my work at my current job, we entered the Situated Technologies: Toward the Sentient City competition sponsored by the Architectural League of New York – you can see the entry here, Situated Technologies: Beacons. As you know, I am semi-obsessed with maps and the intersection of the physical with the ephemeral.

So today, my mind was blown.

First, Matt Jones has a post entitled, A palimpsest for a place: The Incidental at Salone Di Mobile 2009 which illustrates the publishing of The Incidental, sponsored by the British Council and produced by Schulze&Webb, Fromnowon, Åbäke and others, for the Salone Di Mobile furniture and design event in Milan. They are printing 5,000 copies daily with content pulled in from Twitter, Flickr and a team of curators.
That was cool. But Matt also linked to Aaron Cope’s Papernet speech which in turn features Aaron’s call and explanation of The Papernet, which is a physical manifestation of digital bits which the user prints our guides which eventually turned into Eat Drink Feel Good.

Just like the Typologies from the New Cartographic Explosion, there are many ways developers are fusing place with data and ephemera. So Aaron’s writings have just blown my mind in ways I can’t explain, but can sum up in his project: New York Times Related (explanation) which plots each day’s Times coverage by relationship (shown above) and geography.
Carry on.

• Type Designer’s take on Web Fonts
• In Defense of Eye Candy
• Ben has the scoop on the MTA funding status: Assessing the new MTA funding plan, The taxi surcharge problem and Latest MTA funding plan rife with problems. It costs me $2.00 to cross the East River, why doesn’t it cost drivers the same?
• Looking Into Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Dry Dock 1
• The Frank Lloyd Wright Ax Murders
• The Maturation of Urban Agriculture – also see my podcast where in Smogr Alert Episode 07 we discuss urban agriculture
• Conservatives should embrace transit (and bicycling), but don’t
• Project Puts Spotlight on Women’s Issues in North Korea
• How local “green” policies negatively affect the global climate: Those Green Developers
• Ink Posters by Joff & Ollie and Zoot
• New Map Color Codes Your Commute

Snapshots of Flint- Vehicle City, originally uploaded by chicagokristi

I’ve written previously about the Rust Belts continual urban issues, specifically Detroit’s Artist Repopulation and Cleveland’s Foreclosure Crisis. Now comes word via the New York Times of a new plan to Save Flint, Michigan by Shrinking It:

Dozens of proposals have been floated over the years to slow this city’s endless decline. Now another idea is gaining support: speed it up.
Instead of waiting for houses to become abandoned and then pulling them down, local leaders are talking about demolishing entire blocks and even whole neighborhoods.

Frankly I like the idea of creating a surrounding forest and parkland where empty suburbs once existed. The trick is to not only plan for the way down but also encourage growth in the core by creating walkable urbanism which according to Christopher Leinberger, the minimum FAR to support walkable urbanity is 0.8. Some residents will have to move into denser neighborhoods in order to save the city.
It seems to me like this is a completely logical idea which will encounter political resistance unless those being moved will see tangible results. Reshape the city, and urban designer’s dream, except instead of designing for growth, this is designing for contraction.

Gherkin Sky Reflection, originally uploaded by Alan Cotter

• Architects Tell Prince Charles to Stuff it over his Meddling, methinks the good Prince should STFU about architecture due to Exhibit 1, Poundbury fire station he designed
• The muddled magic kingdom that is English Heritage
• Once more unto the MTA budget breach
• Sand/Stone Sahara Wall Project
• New York Notes
• The High Cost of Short Buildings
• Save the Rust Belt?
• John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, Is Ignorant

The Layers of SF, originally uploaded by SF Brit

Molly Wright Steenson’s Research on Steam Powered Pneumatic Tubes of the 1800s Paris is a must read.