Technology

NYC's Taxi and Limousine Commission approved a pilot program for apps that will allow users to request a yellow taxi ride on their smartphones rather than having to “raise [their] arms toward oncoming traffic” the old-fashioned way.

December 15, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Following Boston's visionary lead, this week Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter formally created the city's Office of New Urban Mechanics, "a civic innovation tool for urban transformation.”

December 13, 2012 - Government Technology

A new study from the New Cities Foundation suggests that those of us who use transit apps such as Waze and Roadify have shorter and more pleasant commutes.

December 11, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

The "best of 2012" lists are just starting to spread and, already, one of the most unique collections we've come across is Caitlin Dempsey's look at the year's most interesting maps. You don't have to be a cartographer to enjoy these visualizations.

December 11, 2012 - GIS Lounge

Planetizen is pleased to release its eleventh annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2012.

December 10, 2012 - Abhijeet Chavan

Does your town have sensors embedded in the pavement of parking stalls that signal when one becomes available? D.C. and N.Y.C. do - and now Streetline's parking app will allow motorists in San Mateo, pop. 97K and San Carlos, pop. 28K to find parking.

December 10, 2012 - The (San Mateo County) Daily Journal

The emerging methods of urban governance, planning, design, and management made possible by technological advances in data collection, analysis, and communication promise to make our cities better, and more efficient, places to live. The Urban Systems Collaborative, a unique gathering of voices from academia and industry, is fostering a discussion about improving our cities through technology.

December 7, 2012 - Peter Carter

With 11,000 payphones scattered across New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is asking techies to design a payphone that will meet modern communication needs.

December 6, 2012 - Crain's Business New York

An agreement between Forest City Ratner and NYC's labor unions has cleared the way for the construction of Atlantic Yards's next phase. The 32-story prefabricated apartment building will be the tallest of its kind in the world, reports Matt Chaban.

December 5, 2012 - The New York Observer

Induction charging, the same technology that allows you to juice up your cell phone without the need for cables, could be coming to a transit system near you. Could eliminating the need for catenary wires transform city streets?

December 4, 2012 - Wired

For those of you who've been anxiously waiting since Boyd Cohen published his list of Europe's smartest cities last month...wait no longer, North America's top 10 smartest cities have been revealed.

December 3, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Data visualizations show the daily ebb and flow of public transit traffic in world's major cities.

December 2, 2012 - Wired

The Pentagon is building a "CyberCity" that simulates real communications and operations, reports Robert O'Harrow Jr. Government hackers will train to attack and defend the nation's critical infrastructure in cyberspace.

November 29, 2012 - The New York Times

In the beginning there was hand drawing. Then came AutoCAD and MicroStation and architecture's "first computer-based upheaval." Now, the need for hyper-evaluation is driving the Architecture 3.0 revolution, explains Neil Chambers.

November 29, 2012 - Metropolis POV Blog

Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley tour the "otherwise nondescript brick building" on San Francisco's Mason Street that houses the machines running the "Endless Wire Ropeway" that hums beneath the city's streets and pulls its famous cable cars.

November 28, 2012 - The Atlantic

We've augmented our comprehensive list of Twitter's top sources for news and observations about urban planning, design and development by recognizing this year's Top Ten Feeds.

November 27, 2012 - Jonathan Nettler

Are you an environmentally aware, well educated, upper-middle class white man in your early 50s with a garage equipped with an electric outlet? If so, you meet the demographic to buy an electric vehicle. And that may be the EV's only potential group.

November 27, 2012 - USA Today

Hurricane Sandy caused power outages that also prevented the use of hundreds of solar panels in the greater New York area. Solar companies are now working on decentralizing the system to make solar energy a backup source, reports Diane Cardwell.

November 25, 2012 - The New York Times

Completed in 1791, the Mission Dolores is the oldest building in San Francisco. It has survived major earthquakes in the past, writes Alexis Coe, but preservationists are worried about its fate and have begun digitally preserving the landmark.

November 22, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Hurricane Sandy exposed the need for New York City to be able to house large numbers of residents following natural disasters. Matt Chaban examines the Bloomberg administration's "secret" plan to build modular apartments out of shipping containers.

November 22, 2012 - The New York Observer