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California City: The Half-Built Desert Metropolis of the Golden State

01 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

It’s the third-largest city in California by land area but most people (including many in CA) have never even heard of this mostly-empty desert oasis, home to around 15,000 people. It’s not quite a city, but not quite a ghost town either.

Visiting the area is a bit surreal – roads running through its 200 square miles connect nothing to nothing in the hot Mojave, in some cases following straight lines and in others wrapping to form cul-de-sacs.

Some roads are paved, but most aren’t. In places, nature has started to reclaim the dirty gravel strips with hearty desert plants growing right up through streets.

Photographer Noritaka Minami recently took a trip in a helicopter to photograph the strange sprawling semi-ghost town, which are on display at On Freedom, an exhibition at Aperture for another month.

The place was a mid-century vision of a real estate developer named Nathan Mendelshon who purchased over 80,000 acres, imagining California City as a fresh metropolis for a growing state.

Some parcels were resold but never developed — others were bought and remain in use, mainly for people working at a nearby military base or prison.

The few houses that do exist seem almost stranger than the framework of roads around them, neatly fenced in a neighborhood of empty plots.

More from Minami: “This project focuses on California City, a master planned community in the Mojave Desert conceived by sociologist turned real estate developer Nathan K. Mendelsohn in 1958. California City was envisioned as the next major metropolis in California in response to the population and economic growths after World War II. This development was based on the belief that even in a harsh desert landscape, mankind had the freedom and power to produce a built environment that provided all of the essential needs for a prosperous modern life.”

In his series of black-and-white images, “aerial photography is used to document the scale of the vision Mendelsohn proposed in the desert and question whether this ‘wonderland’ could have even been sustainable in this environment. Despite having the foundation for a city in place, there are no indications that this city will ever be realized in the future.” In the end, half-built may be an overstatement — in reality, the place is more like a skeletal outline of a city, punctuated (like a normal rural landscape) by pockets of development and clusters of community.

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Radbahn Berlin: 6-Mile Sheltered Bike Path to Run Under City Train Line

23 Jun

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

A long unused strip of space weaving through Berlin is set to become a bicycling boulevard, sheltered by the tracks above and lined with bike service stations, recreation areas and food trucks. This latest rails-to-trails project has six miles of space to work with, connecting major roads and multiple neighborhoods. Completely disused aside except as illegal parking and intermittent strips of sidewalks and seating, the area below the U1 line is ripe for rehabilitation.

As in other cities with similar programs, the Radbahn aims to serve not only as a traffic corridor and green trail but also to activate adjacent spaces. Pocket parks and commercial vendors are expected to spring up along the route, and side extensions can bring bikers down to adjacent waterways and other natural features.

Meanwhile, riders can enjoy a rain-free experience (it rains over 100 days per year in Berlin). Cyclists looking to take the train can also park their ride in sheltered spaces below the rails near stations. The minimum width and consistent coverage of the tracks above provide for a sufficiently wide trail from start to finish, while studies have shown that train noise below tracks is reduced as compared to adjacent space.

Per the proposal, the goal is “revitalize the former space along the iconic U1 line to a pulsating urban artery. It thereby acts as a playground for modern mobility, innovation and leisure activities.” In typical German fashion, the project designers and engineers have already extensively documented and mapped opportunities throughout the route, which you can explore in greater depth by visiting their website.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Hyperloop Hotel: Zoom from City to City in a Luxury Lodging Pod

22 Jun

[ By SA Rogers in Drawing & Digital. ]

Hyperloop transit is about to make the world a whole lot smaller, and with it could come a system of luxurious private pods outfitted like high-end hotel rooms so you can zoom from one city to the next in unprecedented comfort. While it might seem like there’s little need for such cush train cars when your trip takes less time than ever, the Hyperloop Hotel aims to solve the problem of where you’re going to stay while traveling.

Developed by Radical Innovation Award winner Brendan Siebrecht, the Hyperloop Hotel consists of shipping containers that double as traveling guest suites, able to ‘dock’ themselves at any of 13 different hotel stations in cities like Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Austin and New York City. While the nightly fee hasn’t been set yet, Siebrecht reveals that for a fee of $ 1,200, guests can even visit multiple cities in a single day. That’s right, you could maintain a comfy home base while having breakfast on the East Coast, lunch in the South and dinner on the West Coast.

It might sound too futuristic to be real, but Hyperloop One is already being tested in Las Vegas and could be carrying passengers by the year 2020, so it’s actually not that far away, assuming the technology stays on track (pun intended.) But the hotels definitely wouldn’t come cheap – it would cost about $ 10 million to build each one. The pods themselves feature a bedroom, office, bathroom and living room, with a glazed wall that can be covered while you’re in motion.

“I believe the Hyperloop One is the next big innovation in transportation in the United States and possibly the world,” Siebrecht told Business Insider. “I wanted to explore ways in which this technology could transform the overall travel experience and hospitality.”

[ By SA Rogers in Drawing & Digital. ]

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Cyberpunk City: World’s First Self-Driving Grocery Store Hits Streets of Shanghai

16 Jun

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

It’s a tale as old as time, or at least: science fiction films — an autonomous grocery store on wheels (staffed by a holographic assistant) that can deliver late-night snacks as well as everyday essentials.

The Wheelys “Moby Mart” looks the part as well, sporting a trapezoidal shape, illuminated display in front, vintage neon sign on top, and mysteriously uniform boxes on the shelves inside.

But that retrofuturistic look is just part of the package: fueled by solar panels on the roof, this driverless shopping center operates staff-free 24/7.

When it runs low on stock it returns itself to a warehouse automatically for reloading — eventually, its makers hope to task a fleet of rooftop drones to do those pickups (maybe they could be extended to make deliveries, too).

Like other new grocery store prototypes, there will be no need to check out — items taken are automatically tallied and added to a shopper’s bill. If you need any help, the aptly named Hol (a holographic store assistant) is on hand to assist.

To top it all off, the Moby Mart has the potential to be carbon-negative, at least in terms of its urban travels — soaking up the sun for fuel, it also captures and cleans smog on its grocery runs.

A project of Himalayafy, Hefei University and Wheelys the first prototype is currently being tested out in Shanghai, a sweet spot for cyberpunk fans but a bit far for some of us to travel. But don’t worry: if all goes well your city may get one soon, too.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

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Kowloon Walled City: Drone Photos Reveal a Re-Growth of Urban Density

15 Jun

[ By SA Rogers in Drawing & Digital. ]

Once notorious both for its lawlessness and a maze of urban density so intense that sunlight couldn’t penetrate to its lowest levels, Kowloon Walled City was demolished in the 1990s, but a new version of it is rising from the ashes. Standing in stark contrast to the modern towers of Hong Kong just beyond its borders, Kowloon was an autonomous ‘city of anarchy’ built up from the ground like lasagna. 500 buildings were packed into less than seven acres, and there were no municipal services like trash collection or running water.

Outsiders called it the City of Darkness, and it certainly had a squalid appearance, but former residents remember it with fondness as a friendly and tight-knit community where everyone worked together to uphold their own poor but inventive society. But Hong Kong (and later, Britain – check out our previous coverage for the history) wasn’t too fond of the fact that it was run by the mob and packed with gambling dens and brothels, not to mention concerns about its structural soundness. So in 1993, all 50,000 inhabitants were cleared out and the whole thing was razed to the ground.

In its place came a 330,000-square-foot park full of paths and pavilions named after the city’s former streets and buildings. Ponds, gardens and floral walkways took the place of layer after layer of haphazard architecture. That park is still there – but it seems that the wild profusion of growth associated with Kowloon’s spirit couldn’t be contained. It may be modernized, with orderly rows of skyscrapers instead of a labyrinthine network of mismatched towers, but it’s growing more packed every year, and this level of density is creeping into the rest of Hong Kong, too.

Photographer Andy Yeung proves as much with his new drone photography series, Walled City. “The Kowloon Walled City was once the densest place on Earth. Hundreds of houses stacked on top of each other enclosed in the center of the structure. This notorious city was demolished in 1990s. However, if you look hard enough you will notice that the city is not dead.”

“Part of it still exists in many of current high density housing apartments where the only view out of the window is neighbor’s window. I hope this series can get people to think about claustrophobic living in Hong Kong from a new perspective.”

See the whole series at Andy Yeung’s website or on 500px.

[ By SA Rogers in Drawing & Digital. ]

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Urban Blinds: Skyline Curtains Turn Bright Days into Dark City Nights

28 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

Casting pixelated patterns into day-lit rooms, these shades swap boring views (or overly bright days) for iconic scenes of metropolises at night.

This particular set by HoleRole features famous structures from cities like Manhattan (the Chrysler) and London (the “Gherken”).

In each piece, minimal geometric windows and pinpoint stars on black prompt observing eyes to complete each picture, but theirs is not the only (or first) approach to urban curtain design.

Aaalto+Aalto designed a similar series (Better View) some time ago but with a few key differences. For one thing: by varying the sizes of the perforations, their built landscapes take on more dimension. Implied curves as the windows recede, for instance, allow the flat surface to appear warped (as illustrated above).

Also, the larger holes let some details shine through from the background. While visible window elements and natural scenery can be identified with inspection, they also serve to animate the scenes — instead of a black-and-white image, additional details make it seem like there are objects or activities filling in the windows. The net effect adds a bit of character and fun unpredictability.

Of course, none of these are true “blackout” curtains in the traditional sense, but for mood lighting during the day they are certainly a bit more interesting when total darkness is not required.

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

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City Hack: Cyclists Create DIY Bike Lane with 120 Glued-On Plungers

18 May

[ By SA Rogers in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

When the government fails to meet the needs of its citizens, the citizens will go around them and produce their own solutions, whether they’re legal or not. That might mean occupying an alleyway with temporary housing, using cheap materials to create new public seating and other street furniture, or turning a disused city square into a park. In the Omaha neighborhood of Aksarben this week, it meant cyclists rounding up 120 toilet plungers and transforming them into a DIY bike lane barricade on one of the city’s more dangerous streets.

Group glues 120 toilet plungers onto Omaha street to show what a protected bike lane could do https://t.co/5XHamPfqwC pic.twitter.com/sxr5d31HIU

— Omaha World-Herald (@OWHnews) May 17, 2017

The group, calling itself PSA, or Plungers for Safer Aksarben, wrapped the plungers’ handles with reflective tape and glued them to the street without asking permission from the city. They knew their installation wouldn’t stay up forever, but hoped it would remain in place for at least 36 hours to call attention to a growing problem, since this bike lane has been the site of multiple accidents. City workers came by to take them down after just three hours.

Todd Pfitzer, the deputy director for transportation for the city of Omaha, told KETV “You just can’t decide one day to go out and do something on a public street, which is owned by taxpayers, that could create a dangerous situation without at least working with Public Works and getting a permit for it.” But he also said the city wouldn’t have approved a permit anyway.

Well, actually, Todd, you can do that, if the city fails to take necessary action. Just ask your fellow Midwestern city of Wichita, Kansas. Members of a tactical urbanism group calling themselves the Yellowbrick Street Team installed their own makeshift bike lane safety barricade using plungers, reflective tape and masonry adhesive back in March with the same goal, and city officials ultimately agreed that a more permanent solution was needed. Since then, they put up real barriers in the plungers’ place.

Images via the Omaha World-Herald, Todd Ramsay and Jaime Green of The Wichita Eagle

[ By SA Rogers in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

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Geotagger World Atlas: Most Scenic City Routes Mapped Using Photo Data

16 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

tokyo

Tapping into geo-tagging data and the collective wisdom of photographers, you can use this interactive tool to follow in the footsteps of those who have mapped out the most beautiful routes through cities. Click to pan and zoom through London below:

Eric Fisher of Mapbox has spent years compiling data from Flickr users, turning their sequential geo-located uploads into paths through urban environments including San Francisco, Beijing, Istanbul and Tokyo.

san francisco

The result is the Geotaggers’ World Atlas, a data-driven compendium of paths to take through cities. It is more than just a connection of dots — Fisher’s interactive guides specifically highlight trajectories from one image to the next.

beijing

“It signifies that people went there in the first place,” he says, and “saw something worth taking a picture of, and put the extra effort into posting it online for others to appreciate. And a sequence of photos along a route is even more significant, because it indicates that someone sustained their interest over distance and time rather than taking one picture and turning back.”

istanbul

The results are predictable in some cases, tracing lines between major landmarks, but often show side routes off of beaten tourist paths where keen photographers have found fascinating architecture and landscapes worth documenting along their way.

[ By WebUrbanist in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

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Urban Off-Grid: 12 Creative Solutions For Self-Sustainability in the City

16 Mar

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

off grid urban main

Off-grid housing is almost always relegated to remote areas due to strict urban building codes and access to affordable land, but sometimes self-contained structures pop up in parks, on rooftops and in canals anyway – or the owners of more conventional city dwellings simply cut the cord. There are already a lot of different ways to go off-grid in the city, most explored by necessity due to poverty, others seeking a more sustainable way of life without giving up community and convenience. From rooftop structures and mobile housing to entirely new self-powered city blocks, these solutions work within cities that already exist rather than envisioning expensive futuristic eco-cities from the ground up.

The Mobiators

mobiators

mobiators 2

Somewhere between a DIY cabin, a tent and a mobile home, this strange structure by The Mobiation Project travels through Amsterdam, setting up in locations all over the city as a statement about the increasingly broken global economy and damage to the environment. Built by an artist/architect and a carpenter/designer, The Mobi-01 acts as an interactive, inhabitable, ‘open-house’ example of an off-grid structure that can set up virtually anywhere.

Off-Grid Rooftop Penthouse in Canada

off grid rooftop penthouse canada

off grid rooftop penthouse canada 2

Reclaiming the rooftop space atop urban structures isn’t a new idea, but it’s rare to see them disconnected from the power grid, like this former mechanical room on a 19-floor office building in Edmonton, Canada. Architect Vivian Manasc saw potential in the structure when doing a technical evaluation of the building, and ultimately transformed it into a home for herself. The home horseshoes around an existing elevator core, which warms the space passively, and gets its power from solar panels.

Free Off Grid Camping on a NYC Rooftop

bivuoac urban camping

bivuoac urban camping 2

bivouac off grid new york cit

Bivouac is a pop-up campsite rotating to different rooftop spots around New York City, consisting of little more than six waterproof canvas tents with wooden frames and wool floor mats, a kitchen area with a table, and a small library. There’s no internet, electricity or showers, and you can’t have a campfire, but at least there’s access to a toilet within the building. It’s entirely free, and an interesting concept, though one wonders what this project says about accessing urban spaces when you’re well-off just for fun versus the tent cities created by homeless people who have nowhere else to go.

Off-Grid Urban Block for Dallas, Texas

forwarding dallas

forwarding dallas 2

What if entire city blocks could be designed to power themselves, built in areas that were previously disused, like former industrial properties or rail yards? Winner of the Re:Vision Dallas competition, ‘Forwarding Dallas’ envisions a complex of living spaces inspired by rolling hills, with vegetation-covered roofs, solar panels, wind turbines, and passive solar louvers covering the building’s glass facades to regulate heat. The block also has its own rooftop water catchment system, a greenhouse, a swimming pool and other communal spaces. The 40,000-square-meter complex could sustainably house 854 people within the space of a typical city block.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Urban Off Grid 12 Creative Solutions For Self Sustainability In The City

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Urban Planet: How the Whole World Would Fit into a Single City or Structure

08 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

life in one city

Cities often feel like dense and crowded places, and it is hard to imagine everyone on Earth living in urban environments let alone a single city or even (yes, it’s possible) one gigantic megastructure. In a series of videos, filmmaker Joseph Pisenti asks: what if everyone lived in one city? Then he takes it further with: what if everyone lived in just one building?

It sounds like an absurd proposition, but our planet’s population of billions could, in fact, but contained in a relatively small amount of space if needed (perhaps in case of a worldwide evacuation to space?). Images of single cities in the videos show places that already have populations in a single frame larger than countries like, say, Australia have spread across an entire continent.

A few billion cubic meters in a structure set on, say, Manhattan, could uncomfortably house the human race. It would be twice the height on the world’s largest building, but we would fit if we had to.

As the video series unfolds, its creator gets increasingly realistic with respect to actual needs for people beyond simply space to exist, imagining a world where we all could actually live on a small part of South America. Hopefully, of course, it will never come to this, but as sea levels rise it’s good to know we have options (and fun to engage in these thought experiments, regardless). By the time you finish watching this series, however, you may find you would rather simply escape it all:

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Posts Tagged ‘City’

California City: The Half-Built Desert Metropolis of the Golden State

Radbahn Berlin: 6-Mile Sheltered Bike Path to Run Under City Train Line

Hyperloop Hotel: Zoom from City to City in a Luxury Lodging Pod

Cyberpunk City: World’s First Self-Driving Grocery Store Hits Streets of Shanghai

Kowloon Walled City: Drone Photos Reveal a Re-Growth of Urban Density

Urban Blinds: Skyline Curtains Turn Bright Days into Dark City Nights

City Hack: Cyclists Create DIY Bike Lane with 120 Glued-On Plungers

Geotagger World Atlas: Most Scenic City Routes Mapped Using Photo Data