The growth in hybrid car sales is a welcome sign that a major change in the automobile industry is afoot. The shift to transport infrastructure that is not based on the archaic complexity of an internal combustion engine, with its hundreds of moving parts and compressed fuel explosions, has been long put off by an automobile industry, happy with status quo, partnered with oil cartels with the power to price their product as if it were in endless supply. But with smack-in-the-face-reality fuel prices last summer, the collapse of the so-called “Big Three” over the winter, and the simultaneous heralding assertion of alternative energy technologies (Daimler AG bought a 10% stake in Tesla Motors last month!), the fallout of western economic near-collapse has changed everything we’ve known to be sacrosanct; Leonard Lopate even waxed nostalgic about the “Death of the Car Song” yesterday on National Public Radio’s local station, WNYC.
Berlin
Secret Photos of Destroyed Berlin
Spiegel Online has published rarely seen photos of Berlin just a few months after the end of World War Two, depicting the massive destruction of the city.
Spiegel Online
Making Artificial Mountains
In Berlin and The Netherlands, crazy ideas of building mountains for recreational purposes are actually being entertained.
Pruned
Airport Redesign Brings New Park to Berlin
Plans are moving ahead to convert Berlin's Tempelhof airfield into the city's newest park.
The Wall Street Journal
Berlin Wall Site Now a Hot Neighborhood
The Berlin Wall was constructed 50 years ago by Communist East Germany. Parts of the wall remain as a remembrance, but much of the area has been transformed into hip neighborhoods and parks.
NPR
Locals Upset As Neighborhood Attracts Tourists
As a Berlin neighborhood gains favor among foreign tourists, locals are fighting to preserve their community's charm and identity.
Der Spiegel
A Look at Contemporary Berlin
This photo slideshow from Places offers a look at the city of Berlin and the fast pace of change underway there.
Places
Finalists Chosen in Redesign Bid for Decommissioned Airport
Six finalists have been chosen in a bid to redesign Berlin's decommissioned Tempelhof Airport. The airport is currently open as a park, but the city wants a more formal redesign.
Der Spiegel
Unrealized Berlin
A new exhibit in Germany looks at a variety of unrealized and unbuilt plans for Berlin created by 100 different architects and planners.
Der Spiegel
Berlin's Former Airport Opens As Park
Decommissioned Tempelhof Airport in Berlin had been the subject of grand plans for reusing the massive space for the last two years. But with little money in city coffers, officials decided to simply open it to the public as-is.
Los Angeles Times
Friday Funny: Slide to Work
This video shows a slide installed on a staircase leading down to a subway station in Berlin, making it quick an easy to catch the train on time.
Chicago Now
Tourism Flourishes Below Berlin
A group of historians and urban enthusiasts have developed a successful tourist organization that explores the underground structures and spaces of Berlin.
The New York Times
Man-Made Mountain Proposed in Berlin
An architect in Berlin has proposed replacing the city's now-unused Tempelhof airport with a giant man-made mountain, dubbed The Berg.
The Architect's Journal
Broken Windows Theory Busted?
The Broken Windows theory suggests that a high concentration of small, petty crimes leads to a higher incidence of bigger, nastier crimes. Some European cities run counter to that premise, according to this piece from Next American City.
Next American City
Berlin Airport to Be Reborn as Public Park
A historic airfield in Berlin will be transformed over the next year into the city's largest park.
The Local
Global Recession, But Berlin's Got Nowhere to Fall
The economic recession is hard to notice in Berlin. The German capital has struggled economically for years and continues to.
Der Spiegel
Creative Ideas Stream In for Berlin Airport Reuse
A massive WWII-era airfield in Berlin has been closed down, but city officials are looking for ways to take advantage of the large space. New ideas abound -- from a proposal for a "red light" district to plans for an artificial mountain.
Der Spiegel
Re-Creating Historic Places - But Why?
Plans to construct a replica of a German palace in Berlin are being met with confusion and derision. It's a project that many critics say has no point.
International Herald Tribune
The 10 Best Commutes
Density gives cities an edge, according to this study of commutes around the world. Hong Kong, Osaka, and Berlin all rank highly.
MSNBC
Friday Funny: Masking the Smells of Public Transit
Stinky trains may become a thing of the past in Berlin, where officials are sniff-testing new fragrances to mask the odors of public transit.
Der Spiegel
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Feb 13, 2012
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