How ‘Landscape Urbanism’ Is Making Gentrification Look Like Fun
The High Line and its imitators are examples of “landscape urbanism,” a growing design movement that places green space in collision with old infrastructure. Rehabilitation projects follow a familiar playbook, aestheticizing the labor of the past even as they support a gentrified future.
What It’s Like To Live Next To America’s Largest Coal Plant
By the late 1960s, Georgia Power had started planning to build the Robert W. Scherer Power Plant. Over a decade later, in 1982, its first unit opened in Juliette. Now, residents worry it’s contaminating their water.
Building Africa’s City In The Sea
Nigeria is reclaiming 10 square kilometres of land from the ocean to create “Eko Atlantic” – a vast new city that is set to become the financial heart of Africa. 10 new city districts will then be constructed on this reclaimed land, providing commercial, residential and recreational amenities and homes to more than 250,000 residents.
Former Secret Service Agent Explains How to Detect Counterfeit Money
Former Secret Service Agent Jonathan Wackrow explains how the Service keeps counterfeit currency out of circulation. The Secret Service was installed to combat counterfeit money during the Civil War, and the Service still to this day works tirelessly to suppress counterfeits.
Is The Second Farm Crisis Upon Us?
Farmers across the country are in a state of emergency with dairy and grain producers, new farmers, and farmers of color being hit the hardest. The term farm crisis is synonymous with the 1980s, when the bottom dropped out of the agricultural economy, sending thousands of farms into foreclosure and shuttering businesses.
When Digital Nomads Come To Town
Cities from Canggu to Medellín are welcoming tech workers, but locals complain they’re being priced out. Nomads cluster in safe and prosperous neighborhoods. The income differential between the nomads and the local professional class is immense. The result is runaway price inflation.
The End Of Economics?
Economists have fallen in love with the supposed rigor that derives from the assumption that markets function perfectly. But the world has turned out to be more complex and unpredictable than the equations. Human beings are rarely rational—so it’s time we all stopped pretending they are.
The Shifting City: Shadows Of New York
You might not always notice it, but under Manhattan’s bright sunshine, among the canyons of skyscrapers, stretches a secondary city. It unfurls throughout the day, and is gone by night: the city of shadows. They’re a photographer’s dream and a renter’s nightmare.
Mapping America’s Stark Wage Inequality
One of the most important economic stories of the past couple of decades is the rise of economic inequality in the United States and around the world. Since 1980, economists say, wage growth for the highest-paid workers has been roughly triple that for the lowest paid. In some cities, the disparity is wider.
Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio Proposes Cantilevering Glass Pool Over Norwegian Fjord
Istanbul practice Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio proposed building the hotel on a site 600-metres-high on Preikestolen – a steep cliff and popular tourist spot in the west of Norway that overhangs the Lysefjorden fjord. It is intended to recreate the thrill of embarking on hiking trails around the cliff.
Los Angeles Roads May Soon Be Paved With Recycled Plastic
The City of Los Angeles has partnered with landscape product company Technisoil on a plan to pave roads with a new material called “plastic asphalt.” It’s a surfacing material that uses oil made from shredded plastic waste as its binder.
Why Airplane Boarding Got So Ridiculous
Airlines were focused on finding the fastest possible boarding method, so planes can spend less time at gates and more time in the air, making money. They might have stuck with that aim if it weren’t for the other change, which has to do with the fight for overhead bin space.
They Were Promised Broadband And High-Tech Jobs. They’re Still Waiting.
Kentucky’s plan to bring broadband to remote parts of the state has sputtered and its future looks increasingly bleak. State leaders told rural residents it would create better business opportunities. But instead, they keep getting left behind.
Striking Street Photography In Japan By James Takumi Shyegun
Stunning street scenes by James Takumi Shyegun, a talented photographer, videographer, and model from Tokyo, Japan. Takumi focuses mainly on urban, architecture, and street photography.
Wild Juxtapositions Of Saudi Arabia Modern And Ancient
Few countries in history have experienced as sudden a transformation as Saudi Arabia. The discovery and exploitation of oil brought an unprecedented influx of wealth. Photographer Peter Bogaczewicz captures the past and present of the oil-rich kingdom as it undergoes dramatic transformation.
The McMansion As Harbinger Of The American Apocalypse
Increasing interest rates, inflation, and supply chain disruptions notwithstanding, the McMansion is alive and well. Far from being a boomtime fad, it has become a durable emblem of our American way of life.
Amazon Is Trying To Control The Underlying Infrastructure Of Our Economy
Jeff Bezos’s big bet is that he can make buying from Amazon so effortless that we won’t notice the company’s creeping grip on commerce and its underlying infrastructure, and that we won’t notice what that dominance costs us. Amazon has unprecedented power to steer our choices.
How A Small Texas City Rewrote The Rules Of Development
Last month, Bastrop, Texas, adopted a new building code, known as Bastrop Building Block, which radically alters how the city will approach development. The new flexible system was designed to address three interrelated issues hitting municipalities across the county: population growth, aging infrastructure, and outdated development patterns.
The Great American Labor Paradox: Plentiful Jobs, Most Of Them Bad
The numbers tell one story. Unemployment in the US is the lowest it’s been in 50 years. More Americans have jobs than ever before. Wage growth keeps climbing. People tell a different story. Long job hunts. Trouble finding work with decent pay. A lack of predictable hours.
People Are Confused About The Usefulness Of Buying Fancy Things
Why luxury goods don’t impress, but repel. One story that’s true: Acquiring something luxurious can temporarily increase one’s self-esteem. One story that’s not: Acquiring something luxurious can impress potential friends.
Tokyo In The 1970s, A Pre-Blade Runner City, Amazing Unseen Photos By Greg Girard
To mark the release of his latest book, ‘Tokyo-Yokosuka 1976-1983’, Greg Girard has shared a collection of largely unseen images offering a nostalgic glimpse of the Japanese capital before it exploded into the hyper-modern metropolis we know today.