24.8.07

Bits about maps, urban art, European cities and civic sites

Place bloggers can now personalise Google maps and incorporate them in their blog. Annotations, images or videos can be added to highlight places (video). Endless widgets can be added such as 'topographic elevation contours' etc.
The possibilities to mark significant places exist for environmental bloggers (note destruction, damaged trees etc). For renters, flats could be marked with price, and dis/advantages to provide counter market information to gain insights into livable habitats.


Barcelona Street Art presents urban art: graffiti,stencils and stickers of that city.

The Academy of Urbanism has added Barcelona together with Amsterdam and Berlin on their shortlist for The European City of the Year in 2008.

In Linz, Ars Electronica arranges an aerial photography on, September 8, 2007. Participants of the event and the city will be the installation for the shots from above.


Developers from My Society build open source websites “which give people simple, tangible benefits in the civic and community aspects of their lives “. One of the projects is Fix My Street where you enter the civic problem and it is then redirected to the council/s to be fixed. Wish it would say on the front page for what regions the site operates. Great idea, every place should get one.


The Center for Neighborhood Technology has many sustainability resources to guide urban communities.


There is also a meet up site by cities and countries
Image: Mural, Berlin

8.8.07

Waves Down Under

As ocean levels are rising, the Opera House and many indigenous artefacts will go under. Australia, belonging to “the world's biggest per capita Greenhouse emitters” of the “polluters club” defies attempts to act on climate change. Instead, the population (of mainly 4x4s) is urged to have their 'Go Bags' ready for the (diy) disaster. They should take the essentials: maps, running shoes, sunscreen and toilet paper and of course their cats. Maybe they will return on some ark and float to a New Found Land. Pity they take their cats with them – a bad new start.

6.8.07

Photos of Essen

Michael Wolf is featuring interesting historical photos of Essen portraying living conditions in this German coal mining town.
Architecture of density depicts how populations can aggregate. There are many vivid images of Hong Kong to be seen as well.
Haiko Hebig provides a visul documentation of heavy industries in Germany (and Europe), shifting to China.

Dusseldorf blogging and visualisations

Dusseldorf is soon hosting its 2nd blogger meet up. A nice livable medium size city. Fond memories are rekindled here in this video by dot Atelier