Vector Places

fencehopping:

Living inside a stadium - Osaka Japan

marksbirch:

nycdigital:

NYC Open Data makes the wealth of public data generated by various New York City agencies and other City organizations available for public use. As part of an initiative to improve the accessibility, transparency, and accountability of City government, this catalog offers access to a repository of government-produced, machine-readable data sets. 

The age of open sourcing government is upon us and it starts with open access to data.  The government is the single largest owner of data, covering every single sector of the economy and every single citizen.  Open data is a right that is as important as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and has much more potency than the right to bear arms.  With open data as a basic right of citizens, we ensure a government that is both accountable and transparent.

Making Room

“New York City has a remarkably diverse population and, in many respects, a remarkably heterogeneous housing stock to provide it shelter…But even with the great resources of its varied housing stock and its strong tradition of housing advocacy and reform, New York has a hard time producing enough housing to meet demand. And in moments of economic and social transition, housing supply and housing need can get seriously out of whack.”

“Over the last several years, the Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC) has been researching and analyzing how and where New York’s residents live and the housing that is available to them. Their findings have revealed many discrepancies between the kinds of houses and apartments people need and those they can find. CHPC has identified New York City’s accreted mass of housing regulations and standards — all created with progressive and worthy goals in mind — as one of the factors that contributes to this mismatch. For example, regulations have tilted what the housing market produces towards larger units, for households assumed to be “families,” even though only 17% of New York’s dwelling units are occupied by traditional nuclear families. A huge underground or improvised housing market has developed over the last two decades as people try, often in desperation, to find places to live that are affordable and can accommodate their particular needs.”

via Urban Omnibus

“Cities could soon be looking after their citizens all by themselves thanks to an operating system designed for the metropolis. The Urban OS works just like a PC operating system but keeps buildings, traffic and services running smoothly. The software takes in data from sensors dotted around the city to keep an eye on what is happening. In the event of a fire the Urban OS might manage traffic lights so fire engines can reach the blaze swiftly.

The idea is for the Urban OS to gather data from sensors buried in buildings and many other places to keep an eye on what is happening in an urban area.”

via BBC News

stoweboyd:

climateadaptation:

Urban Renewal

These 10 global infrastructure and tech companies are among the early leaders in smart-city programs.

“Like Siemens and ABB, most of the beneficiaries of urbanization will be infrastructure and technology outfits that provide or utilize smartphones, sensors and software and services to track the use of a city’s assets and commit resources when and where they’re needed. Cloud technology, which can cut costs while boosting computing capacity, will play a big role. Even social media will participate, as cities multiply the ways a citizen can spot a problem–anything from a water-main break to a traffic snarl–and then alert others to avoid it or do something about it.

Technology researchers at IDC estimate the size of the smart-city information-technology market is now $34 billion annually and will gain 18%-plus a year to $57 billion by 2014. That’s not a huge amount to global giants, but certainly enough to help drive growth. (The companies don’t break out earnings related to these projects.) The market has broadened to include items like broadband connectivity, green belts, renewable energy, green buildings and other intelligent-city systems. “You are talking about smart water, smart transportation, better public safety,” says Jennifer Bélissent, a consultant at Forrester.”

Source: Barron’s “Dawn of the Smart City”

Related articles

• “The bias lurking behind every large-scale smart city is a belief that bottom-up complexity can be…” (underpaidgenius.com)
• Those Pesky Humans: Urban Planning and its Discontents (blogcritics.org)
• Why The U.S. Government Should Embrace Smart Cities (fastcompany.com)

(via soupsoup)

new-aesthetic:

“Data is the new oil,” said Andreas Weigend, social data guru and former chief scientist at Amazon.com. “Oil needs to be refined before it can be useful. Big data startups are the new refineries.” (via In the Pipeline: A Tidal Wave of Data » Data Center Knowledge)

new-aesthetic:

“This is where the magic happens: the entire East African Internet (well, except for satellite links) squeezes through this little cable.” (Via Rezendi)

(via dbreunig)

architizer:

Czech architect Petr Janda’s proposal to transform the walls of a waterfront promenade in Prague into gallery spaces.

(via landscapearchitecture)

Rob Holmes & Stephen Becker examine the strange case of cities, miles from any national boundary, that are nonetheless border towns, for logistical convenience.

border box – mammoth // building nothing out of something

(via dividedcities)

(via dividedcities)

npr:

sunfoundation:

Interactive map of the internet’s underwater paths

Ever wondered how your email can cross the vastness of the ocean and be delivered almost instantly, anywhere in the world? It’s all down to a network of fibre-optic cables that link up the continents and transmit terabits of data every second.

Yes, yes I always did wonder about this. —Wright

(via newsweek)