Folded Roads: Google Earth images become surrealist artworks in Clement Valla's series Postcards from Google Earth, which depicts bridges and roads that appear warped when you zoom in just the right way. T-Shirt Upholstery: Swedish eco designer (and mega babe) Maria Westerberg won first prize at the 2011 Green Furniture Awards for the T-shirt Chair, made of recycled textiles and bent wire fence.......read more
There is something special about the morning commute to work on public transit, coffee in hand, mellow tunes on the headphones, with the low sun warming you out of your sleepy haze. With "Morning Commute," St. Paul, Minnesota native Adam Celt offers up an abstract video that captures that feeling well. "Most mornings I put on headphones, close my eyes and look at the sun as I ride the......read more
With renewed interest in transit-focused urbanism, an age-old form of public transportation is being revived in cities across the US. By 2015, no less than 30 American cities will have streetcar networks, more than doubling the number in existence just fifteen years prior. Washington, DC and Salt Lake City launched trams last week. Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Cincinatti have......read more
On his new political blog at The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn looks into the policy implications of the Gulf oil spill, arguing that public pressure for clean energy legislation has been fairly muted in the aftermath of a massive environmental disaster. In the post, Cohn presents a persuasive argument that the lack of public action may limit the chances of pushing comprehensive legislation through......read more
In Luxembourg, Austrian architecture firm AllesWirdGut has re-envisioned the site of an obsolete steel mill as an elegantly designed urban park. Leaving the skeletal elements of the the old factory in place, the architects let the site's hidden qualities shine through the new design. From their description: Seating areas and new trees are concentrated into islands, which leave empty......read more
Brazilian photographer Rogerio Reis offers a tongue-in-cheek look into image ownership with these photos shot on Rio de Janeiro's public beaches. In the series, called Nobody's Nobodies, Reis uses John Baldessari-esque dots to obscure the identities of his human subjects. "The use of colored dots over faces addresses the legal challenge of making candid shots of the bathers on Rio's beaches,"......read more
When not producing hard-hitting journalism from the front lines of COP15 (yaawwwn), or suing the pants off the other WWF (pardon me, WWE), the World Wildlife Fund occasionally drops a great little animated video, like this one here. ...read more
Running on empty: Jean-Francois Theriault's eerie photos of deserted parks at night. Causing major waves on the film fest circuit, WASTE LAND reveals the dignity and despair of recyclable material pickers in the world's largest garbage dump. Perhaps guided by the ancient Chinese proverb, "Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown," the world's most......read more
Italian lighting manafacturer ewo develops and produces advanced lighting systems for public spaces. The T-System, the firm's latest output, is an modular LED street light that consumes only as much energy as the space requires. In Bergamo, Italy, where the first T-System lights were recently installed, officials expect the LED solution to provide 40% energy savings. Oh, also, they look......read more
If you're in the market for a new summer ride, you can't beat the looks or affordability of Public's C1 City Bike. The Dutch-style commuter comes complete with a Hi-Tensile steel frame with mounts for front and rear racks, 700x35c tires, and an efficient single-speed drivetrain, all while being Public's most affordable offering. “Our bikes are designed to put a smile on your face and make......read more