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urban life

Occupy Wall Street’s Liberty Plaza Technically A "Bonus Plaza", Not Private Property

October 13, 2011

photo: Mat McDermott

In case your wondering how a private company, Brookfield, can claim authority to kick out Occupy Wall Street from Liberty Plaza (Zuccotti Park) so that it can be cleaned, it’s important to understand the legal status of the space…

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‘Fitness Deserts’ a Threat to Health in Many Cities

October 9, 2011

Jogging in Washington, DC. Photo: Daquella Manera / Creative Commons.

With its steep hills, narrow (if not nonexistent) sidewalks, scanty parks, air pollution, and aggressive, unpredictable drivers, Istanbul has admittedly been an unlikely place for …

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Artist Crochet-Bombs NYC’s Astor Place Cube Sculpture (Video)

October 6, 2011

Photo: via Animal New York

In big, gritty cities, ‘bombing’ things with soft yarns is all the rage. From crocheted bikes to knitted plant pockets, “yarn bombing” is a way for citydwellers and guerilla artists alike to make their mark with something el…

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Allison Arieff on Shifting the Suburban Paradigm

October 4, 2011

Allison Arieff just kills with her latest article in the New York Times on suburban housing. This is a different world than the modern prefabs she used to write about, or the solar decathlon houses that every blog is talking about; this is where mos…

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The Week in Pictures: Living Map of Central Park, a Bike with Metal Tires, and More (Slideshow)

September 30, 2011

Image: TreeHugger

We’ve featured a lot of vertical gardens on TreeHugger, many of them superb but none quite like this one, grown as a living map of New York’s Central Park.

We also have a bike with innovative metal wheels, avant-garde DIY fall har…

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9 Best New Electric Scooters on the Market (Slideshow)

September 29, 2011

Photo: BPG Motors

Electric vehicles have come a long way in the last few years, steadily gaining acceptance as a practical and sustainable form of transportation. This is especially true in cities, where most trips are short and space is at a premium…

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Nature Photos on Urban Billboards Show City-Dwellers What They’re Missing

September 28, 2011

All Photos Courtesy of Tim Simmons

If you want to check out artist Tim Simmons’ nature photos, avoid museums and art galleries. The work is on display, but not where you would expect: the photos can be found in giant form on billboards in Los Angeles…

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Shanghai Park’s Pavilions Are Wind-Powered Urban Leisure Spots

September 22, 2011

Photos: Taranta Creations

Wind-powered karaoke? Only in Shanghai would such a thing exist. These colourful pavilions were initially built as an art installation — one of many themed pavilions in a new waterfront park created for Shanghai’s 2010 World…

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Design Your Own ‘Hutopolis’ at Beijing Design Week

September 21, 2011

Image: Hutopolis.

Praised by Prince Charles for their sustainable features, Beijing’s traditional hutong alley neighborhoods are now the stars of a SimCity-like interactive game being showcased at Beijing Design Week. Its creators hope letting exhibi…

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Are NIMBYs Killing The Economy? A Second Look At Ryan Avent’s Gated City

September 20, 2011

Image credit Andreas Feininger

A few weeks ago I reviewed Ryan Avent’s new e-pamphlet, The Gated City, in which he made the argument that limits on density, whether by NIMBYs or historic preservationists or zoning rules, create limits on oppportunity…

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