Technology

As new research data on cities pours in daily, interesting patterns emerge regarding income, green space and urban growth. Like people in their genetic make-up, are cities fundamentally all the same?

June 28, 2012 - The Economist

Tyler Falk reports on new data released by Facebook, mapping the top 5 "social landmarks" in 25 cities from Seoul to São Paulo.

June 25, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Douglas Coupland, most famous for authoring the book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, is pitching a combined street lamp / wifi / cell phone tower to bring connectivity to Vancouver's streets.

June 25, 2012 - National Post

Julie V. Iovine laments that while walkability is the watchword of the day, architects have to design what they're hired to design -- and that often means designing iconic buildings that turn a blind eye to pedestrians.

June 24, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

The federal government gives more research and development subsidies to fossil fuels than clean energy technologies. But, why?

June 24, 2012 - Grist

Google Transit has changed the way people plan their public transportation trips. Now there's an app, OnTheBus, for people with visual, hearing, physical and cognitive impairments. Zak Stone describes the tool.

June 23, 2012 - Good

Ever wonder how maps were made in the decades before vector-based graphics software like Adobe Illustrator were invented? The Atlantic has posted a film from the 1940's that documents the process of "Modern Map Making."

June 22, 2012 - The Atlantic

Nations like Denmark are leading the world in producing renewable energy. But the transition to renewables doesn’t just amount to the number of solar panels or wind turbines that can be built, it takes a smart grid to maximize their potential.

June 21, 2012 - THE DIRT

Thanks to new technology embedded in the asphalt, the days of left-over meter minutes are gone in this southern CA beach city. Depending on whom you ask, parking is now managed more efficiently or the city is just making more money.

June 20, 2012 - The New York Times - U.S.

Boyd Cohen reports on iPavement, an invention out of Spain that may be ominous or promising, depending on whether you see a benefit in every surface of a city becoming "intelligent."

June 20, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Policy Matters looks at a recent article in The Washington Post about Terry Lynch, the city's notorious "pest" who complains about all matters of urban blight, and argues why cities would be better off with more Terrys.

June 19, 2012 - Policy Matters

Fast Company looks at America's lesser know tech hubs, "where some of the most innovative businesses and ideas are springing up in the least likely places."

June 18, 2012 - Fast Company

Although cities are looking to technology to help them better connect to their residents, get them involved in decision making, and share data, Silicon Valley has been slow to catch on. Emily Badger looks at one company trying to change this.

June 14, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

If natural gas has a future, the key is to regulate hydraulic fracking in a report by the International Energy Agency. The New York Times recommends that all concerned about the environment read it - and no better place to apply it than New York.

June 14, 2012 - The New York Times - Opinion

The internet has been ablaze this week over whether Apple's newly announced operating system will eliminate walking and public transit directions by replacing Google Maps with its own mapping system.

June 14, 2012 - Grist

Conor Myhrvold writes about the application of remote sensing technology to the search for ancient South American cities reclaimed by time and nature.

June 13, 2012 - Technology Review

Sarah Laskow reveals what may be the greatest job in the world at the moment - those lucky Google employees who are helping to map areas of the world only accessible on foot.

June 13, 2012 - Grist

Benjamin Brownell finds that innovative technology and farming work well together at a FarmHack event in Vermont.

June 12, 2012 - Shareable

Collecting real-time information will be as essential to building the city 2.0 as coordinating the top-down integration of infrastructure systems. A new city in Portugal will use more than 100 million sensors to build its feedback loop.

June 11, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Jacob Aron reports on the promising new software developed by an international group of researchers that can recognize "what makes Paris look like Paris."

June 10, 2012 - New Scientist