Technology

Thanks to the 2010 federal requirement of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and new Tier 4 emissions standards by the EPA, particulate emissions from non-road diesel engines, including agricultural and construction equipment, have been reduced by 99%.

March 24, 2014 - Environmental Health News

Neil Roberts shares details of Melbourne's Yarra Trams, which has exceeded its service delivery and punctuality goals by the use of intelligent transit technology like sensors, the tramTRACKER app, and mobile work stations for employees.

March 24, 2014 - Neil Roberts

A new web-based program, Global Forest Watch, provides access to almost real-time visualization of forests around the world.

March 22, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

New Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh has installed a large data dashboard in his office to track the performance of everything from city services, hot line call volume, and social media sentiment.

March 21, 2014 - The Boston Globe

Seattle is the first city in the country to limit the number of transportation network drivers allowed on the road at any given moment. The new regulation is a setback for companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar and a major victory for cab companies.

March 19, 2014 - The Washington Post

Cars, smartphones, and Paris’ air quality crisis.

March 18, 2014 - Scott Le Vine

America’s electricity infrastructure is vulnerable to physical attack. And while federal regulators have known this for years, they’ve been slow to compel security upgrades.

March 17, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

MIT’s Senseable City Lab produced a beautiful visualization of every taxi ride taken in New York City in 2011. More valuable than the pretty pictures, however, are the insights the data provide about creating a more efficient transportation system.

March 13, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

Transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar are growing quickly. A recent article examines the potential of such networks to build new efficiencies into urban transportation, as well as some of the risks to that potential.

March 13, 2014 - LA.Streetsblog

It’s no secret that more and more people are using smart phones to get the most out of their urban experiences—at home or while traveling. Guardian Cities lists some of the best urban apps and launches a contest to find the best apps worldwide.

March 11, 2014 - Guardian Cities

The extent to which cities will build data collection systems into the infrastructure—or how much we’ll voluntarily gather and share information from our smartphones—has yet to be determined. Here is a survey of what some cities have launched so far.

March 6, 2014 - Woodhouse

A recent long-read describes the current state of the competition for primacy in the world of online mapping tools. The champ—Google Maps. The challenger—OpenStreetMap.

March 5, 2014 - The Next Web

Jeremy Cato pens an editorial on the dark side of connected cars—the data necessary to track and integrate so many card will allow unprecedented invasions of privacy.

March 3, 2014 - The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Many filmmakers are concerned with set making, but not architecture. Steve McQueen, Best Director nominee for 12 Years a Slave (which is also nominated for Best Picture) has made a career of examining the role of architecture in building narrative.

March 2, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The Oscars are this weekend, so its an appropriate time to turn to movie magic as a powerful force for how American’s perceive environments—from rural to urban and everything between.

February 28, 2014 - Next City

James Murphy has composed a “Subway Symphony”—a unique set of notes for each station in NYC’s Metro system that would sound when users swipe their fare cards. “The busier a station becomes, the richer the harmonies would be.”

February 25, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

In a long read for Metropolis Magazine, Alex Marshall describes the implications of the “Smart City” movement, including the risk of turning over massive data collection operations to large corporations.

February 24, 2014 - Metropolis Magazine

Google's Advanced Technology And Projects (ATAP) group has released information about the new Project Tango—a mobile device that tracks 3D motion, using the data to map user environments.

February 24, 2014 - designboom

Shipping container houses are all the rage right now. So why not a shipping container farm?

February 23, 2014 - Grist

The federal government is notorious for putting off road improvements. The good news? If driverless cars become a reality, they can keep putting them off—forever.

February 23, 2014 - Atlantic Cities