Technology

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

A chronicle of the evolution of popular planning, drawn from data collected from the long history of Planetizen as a forum for discussion and reporting.

February 20, 2014 - Ken Steif

Are we using technology to plan for utopias? Or are we luddites who are ignoring an inevitable future? Should we be for our against smart cities? Two recent books take on this debate.

February 19, 2014 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Over strong objections from some auto and truck manufacturers, President Obama directed EPA to develop new fuel efficiency regulations for medium and heavy-duty trucks by March 2016 as part of his administration's effort to reduce carbon emissions.

February 19, 2014 - The New York Times - Politics

A startup called Placemeter is using public surveillance to track pedestrian traffic in New York City to provide real time information about wait times at services and facilities around the city.

February 18, 2014 - Fast Co.Exist

Plan documents tend to be static, long, and—let's face it—boring. See how three planning organizations started thinking outside the PDF box to encourage more informed citizen participation.

February 15, 2014 - Engaging Cities

Airbnb, arguably the most famous symbol of the sharing economy, has a court date with the New York State Attorney General in March. Meanwhile, a new report has evidence that Airbnb is fudging its numbers relevant to a key issue in the case.

February 14, 2014 - Skift

Google buses, Google ferries, and now, a Google hangar.

February 13, 2014 - San Jose Mercury News