Each week we will be focusing on blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.
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• Copenhagen has taken another bold step in its attempt to become a carbon neutral city by 2025: mandatory green roofs for all new buildings. As TreeHugger explains, the new policy requires that any new development with a roof of a slope less than 30 degrees must use it to host environmentally friendly vegetation.
• CitID, is an ongoing project that aims to create a “global visual anthology of city identities” by encouraging artists from around the world to create a typeface, logo, or visual interpretation for “the city closet to their hearts”. As stated on the CitID site , the project is an attempt to bring a “global consciousness” to the world’s varied urban areas “big or small, rich or poor, famous or infamous, well-known or unheard-of”. The project has received 150 submissions to date, stemming from every continent in the world. Check out the site for varied and ingenious contributions.
• The world’s first “flying car” is now officially in production. As reported by the Telegraph, the Terrafugia Transition, “a light aircraft that doubles as a road-legal automobile”, was recently approved for use by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The Infranstructurist hosts a video of the car-plane in action.
• The first route of the new Bangkok bus system (the BRT) opened to the public at the beginning of June. While the system still has a long way to go (there are only 12 stops and drivers are having difficulty navigating the narrow bus-only lanes) the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is already planning upgrades. In the meantime however, the system has been made free to all users.
photo from boonkumnoun
5 comments
The traffic jam photo of the Bangkok “BRT” is quite sad. If you can’t keep cars out of the BRT lane, it’s not BRT.
I await a Toronto submission using the TTC subway font….water-discoloured tiles optional.
Of course, that’s for the “CitID” project thing, where there are as yet no entries for anywhere in Canada.
Leo Petr: what traffic jam photo of the BRT? (Perhaps Spacing chose another photo.)
As for CitID, I doubt there will be one about Toronto. Our artists seem to revel in ignoring the city. It’s so rare to find a film, theatrical production, song, or painting that references the city. They simply don’t use the city around them as a hook to capture people’s attention; it’s unsurprising that they’re so reliant on government funding.
“I need confirmation on my information for my transportation to Spadina station.”
Spadina Bus by the Shuffle Demons is, for me, the best Toronto song ever. Still holds up well, and the video is hilarious.