An acquaintance just sent me this awesome visualization taken from his Mint records entitled, This is where I spent money in New York:
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2530530&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1
Spending in New York from sha on Vimeo.
As I remarked to him, I wish I had the technical knowledge and the time to figure out how to automatically generate similar images from my Mint stats.
As it was, I’ve been trying to track my daily subway commute, which you can see at Daily Transit by hand using Adobe Illustrator. It seems to me an iPhone app plus some script ninjas could automate this for me.

In the upcoming fight for President Obama’s Cap & Trade system, the media will gnash their collective teeth about any perceived lack of bipartisanship on the side of Democrats. What the media fails to account for, is that you can’t negotiate with a bloc which will vote against you no matter what the plan is (see the Stimulus Bill vote) and is fundamentally ignorant or deceitful. Come forth and see what your Republican Party thinks:

Minority Leader John Boehner, April 19, 2009

Minority Leader John Boehner described the overwhelming scientific consensus that carbon dioxide is contributing to climate change as “comical” during an appearance on Sunday, noting that cow flatulence contributes CO2 to the environment all the time.
Appearing on ABC’s This Week, the Ohio Republican was asked what to describe the GOP plan to dealing with greenhouse gas emissions, “which every major scientific organization said is contributing to climate change.”
Boehner replied: “The idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know when they do what they do you’ve got more carbon dioxide.”

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), April 22, 2009

I think this is the largest assault on democracy and freedom in this country that I’ve ever experienced. I’ve lived through some tough times in Congress — impeachment, two wars, terrorist attacks. I fear this more than all of the above activities that have happened.

Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), April 22, 2009

“I don’t know that there is a party position on this issue,” Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday during an appearance on the Fox Business Network. “I think that there is some debate on whether global warming is in fact being caused by man-made greenhouse gases.”

There is no debate: our actions are fundamentally changing the Earth’s climate. Full Stop. Either come on board negotiations in good faith or step aside.
You lost the election(s).

Cincinnati Union Terminal was built between 1929-1933 and unified five existing rail terminals in the city into one Art Deco masterpiece. Built on axis with the existing Music Hall, Union Terminal unified not only the railroads but the city itself. The only complete half dome in the United States, Alfred Fellheimer & Stewart Wagner created an engine for travel, linking rail, trolley, cabs & buses and personal vehicles into one multi-modal center. Best known for its two 22 foot murals and 14 smaller murals which only the two largest murals survive to this day on site.
More history of Cincinnati Union Terminal.


Cincinnati Union Terminal, Cincinnati, Ohio, originally uploaded by Jasperdo

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