Technology

With the portion of American's living in cities set to rise to 90 percent by 2050, a new set of accessibility issues will confront the nation's disabled and aging. Metropolis invited 7 teams of designers to develop solutions to meet this challenge.

October 24, 2012 - Metropolis

After months of development, a group of Code for America fellows has unveiled a new web application that seeks to assist communities in identifying and cleaning up New Orleans's blighted properties, reports Emily Badger.

October 22, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Electric-car-battery manufacturer A123 Systems received $249 million in federal grants. It filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 16, prompting Bloomberg reporter Angela Greiling Keane to look at the progress of President Obama's goal of 1 million EVs by 2015

October 19, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

A movement to shed light on the worldwide loss of dark skies aims to minimize light pollution in order to increase public opportunities for stargazing, while also serving as a money-saving measure for cities, reports Kate Galbraith.

October 18, 2012 - The New York Times

Is the idea of "farming up" really taking off? Vertical farming could yield long-term environmental benefits, but still faces many obstacles.

October 18, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

A joint project by technology company Esri and the city of San Francisco shows the promising confluence of open data and innovative visualization techniques.

October 16, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

In Philadelphia, resourceful City Councilman Bobby Henon has introduced a free app named CityHall, which has quickly become a weapon of choice for getting landlords and tenants who blight their blocks to clean up their acts, reports Dan Geringer.

October 12, 2012 - Philadelphia Daily News

A free digital toolkit allowing communities to collect, analyze, and share their own data will be launched nationally at the end of the year.

October 11, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Design

For planners searching for hard to find historic census data in a GIS-ready format, the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) may be the one-stop shop you've been looking for.

October 11, 2012 - APA

Ever wonder how the greenhouse gas emissions of your home compare to your neighbor's, or the supermarket down the street, or the office tower you work in? New software helps visualize such information in three dimensions across an entire city.

October 10, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Lissette Valdez looks at two new applications that are helping to blur the lines between digital and hand drawn designs.

October 10, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

With three-quarters of smartphone owners accessing real-time location-based information, the biggest names in technology - from Apple to Google - are working to mine the value of location-based data. Can local governments do the same?

October 9, 2012 - Governing

The Wall Street Journal reports on the growing numbers of technology entrepreneurs who are buying luxury homes in beachfront areas around Los Angeles, earning the stretch from Santa Monica to Playa Vista the name "Silicon Beach".

October 8, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

At one time in the 1900s, a third of cars in major cities were powered by electric motors. Today, only about 1% of cars are fully electric. Why did we end up with gasoline-powered cars?

October 8, 2012 - The New York Times

Writer David Lepeska offers a great summary of innovative civic technologies and mobile apps being used across the country, and speculates about which city will be the first to use Twitter as a very public suggestion box.

October 6, 2012 - Next American City

In a ceremony that featured local politicians and environmentalists, Caltrain accepts $39.8 million to install Positive Train Control, a funding milestone in the commuter rail's modernization.

October 6, 2012 - The (San Mateo County) Daily Journal

A new suite of tools to help you design, plan, and manage your plot is looking for investors on Kickstarter.

October 5, 2012 - Inhabitat

Conflicting opinions have arisen over the use of red-light cameras. But, new evidence may finally put an end to arguments over whether they actually improve safety, or are only effective in increasing revenues.

October 4, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Miami is as much an industry town as Detroit or Washington D.C. Rather than cars or government, what drives culture (and innovation) in Miami is the city's nightlife scene, explains Emily Badger.

October 3, 2012 - Fast Company

Launched in August 2011, Wyst is a social media app that allows users to tag locations in New York City with an emoticon. After a year of collecting data, Wyst has compiled enough info to publish its first Mood Map of NYC.

October 3, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper