World Wide Wednesday: Markets, USBs, airbags for cyclists, water infrastructure

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.

• Last week, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania celebrated the re-opening of Market Square – a pedestrianized market place which will play host to vendors and seating areas in the summer. As Project for Public Spaces reports, it is hoped that Market Square will spur downtown revitalization.

• Open source data reaches new heights with Dead Drop – an anonymous, offline, peer-to-peer file sharing network which uses built infrastructure as the medium for file sharing. Curbs, buildings and walls are injected with USB drives for any curious laptop user to plug into.

• Trust the Swedes to find a way to make cycling safe and stylish. The Incidental Cyclist presents the Hövding – an airbag helmet for cyclist. This USB charged airbag deploys on impact, surrounding the victim’s head. Check out the crash test dummy video to see for yourself

• The Infrastructurist takes a sobering look at America’s crumbling water infrastructure. With many drinking water systems well beyond their expected lifespan, federal, state and local governments are being forced to make tough choices about how to proceed. Said choices are made particularly difficult by a public unwilling to pay more for water, a largely invisible investment opportunity and a slew of unsuccessful privatization schemes.

• That being said, WorldChanging thinks New York may be blazing the trail forward on this score. The city’s Green Infrastructure Plan aims to reduce combined sewer overflows (storm and sanitary) by 40 percent, while reducing energy consumption and the city’s carbon footprint through investments in “green infrastructure”. Focusing on green roofs, public space planting, and the use of more porous surfaces for side walks and car parks will reduce the volume of water entering the sewer system in the first place. The plan’s incremental approach means that we can expect to see gradual improvements over the long term, rather than waiting for wholesale change of a massive and complex system.
Photo from The Incidental Cyclist

Do you have a World Wide Wednesday worthy article you’d like to share? Send the link to www@spacing.ca