London-based graphic designer James Reynolds posts up on abandoned buildings and gets some love for it. It is nice to see such a simple and sincere concept for public art.
Look for Cincinnati’s version around town via Keep Cincinnati Beautiful’s Future Blooms.
An article in re:place, a Vancouver based public space magazine, considers the public rhetoric of streetposters.
To some, posters might be seen as little more than crass, obtrusive clutter. Yet for others they are essential to the lifeblood and culture of a place. Thus, it is important to understand the forces and attitudes that lie behind [...]
A short article and slide show from the NY Times looks at vanishing Newsstands in NY and suggest that they signify the pedestrian vitality and cultural character of the city. “Each reflects the personality and business acumen of its owner as well as the needs and tastes of its neighborhood.”
This form of street vending is [...]
Mine is probably only found on the shelves of the library but these theoretical meanderings are one of my muses. One of my favorites is the online journal Urban Reinventors. In the latest issue, Celebrations of Urbanity, the introduction by Alessandro Busà “deconstructs the rhetoric of urbanity”.
Busà suggest that “In a new, after-modern era wherein [...]
This is an interesting strategy being tested in Philly to slow drivers. The 2d painted surface appears to be 3d to oncoming drivers causing them to slow down.
Seems a bit dangerous, but oddly similar to some street artist work. I’ll bet the city gets some calls because of this.
Original article
I don’t mean to pick on Lavomatic, or the other merchants in the Gateway Quarter. Honestly, I think that these places are great and are a crucial part of what is needed for OTR to be a healthy neighborhood. But, as some know, this blog started with a post about the Gateway Quarter as an [...]
Check out this video of more DIY urban planning. This comes from streetblog’s Streetfilms and covers Depave.org’s efforts.
What struck me is the woman half way through who talks about why she moved to Portland. This is the power of a city promoting and building DIY planning opportunities.
Civitas, a roman term, described the status of citizenship in the Roman empire as well as a type of semi-autonomous settlement made up of cives. Doug Kelbaugh, in comparing different paradigms of urbanism (New Urbanism, Everyday Urbanism & Post Urbanism), focuses on this term in an article that relates the differnt types of urbanism to [...]
Today on Fountain Square there was a lot of random things happening. On one side there was a Guitar Hero (video game) booth where I witnessed an older woman and a young boy battling it out. There was also a large inflatable Oscar Meyar hot dog that couldn’t muster up the strength to fully inflate. [...]
|
