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Tech NewsWhat Is Concrete?
The most popular artificial material on Earth isn’t steel, plastic, or aluminum — it’s concrete. Thousands of years ago, we used it to build civilizations, but then our knowledge of how to make it was lost. Here’s how we discovered concrete, forgot it, and then finally cracked the mystery of what makes it so strong. … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Tech NewsFind Out How Loud Your New Neighborhood Will Be Before You Move In
When Brendan Farrell was shopping for a house in Los Angeles, he noticed how real estate sites readily listed a property’s walkability and nearby schools. But the presence of noise—one of the most important quality-of-life factors—remained elusive, and invisible. Farrell realized he could use his skills as an applied mathematician to build a map that … Continued
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Tech News
Elon Musk Is Working on Some Kind of Self-Driving Bus
Sure, an affordable electric car can go a long way towards helping the US achieve energy independence and wresting its citizens away from fossil fuels. But if Elon Musk really wanted to solve our transportation problems, he’d be designing an electric bus. If his comments at a conference today are true, Musk is doing exactly … Continued
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Tech News
Brooklyn Is Actually Going to Build This Awesome Megascraper
Can we pause for just a minute to commend the fine people of Brooklyn for approving such a good-looking building as the new tallest structure in their fair borough? Truth be told, I did not think this day would come. I even said as much when plans for this skyscraper were first announced. I didn’t … Continued
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Tech News
Can You Guess How Much NYC Paid the Architect of the Most Expensive Train Station on Earth?
The World Trade Center Transit Hub—aka The (other) Oculus—has already gone down in history as the most expensive train station, ever. The grand total was $4 billion, about twice what it was supposed to cost, and more than the skyscraper adjacent to it. But there might be another record-breaking figure associated with this project. I … Continued
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Tech News
YIMBY Groups Are Organizing Across the US to Make Cities Build More Housing
We know that the housing crises facing big American cities right now can be solved by building more housing. And we also know that for years, the construction of this new housing has been prevented by NIMBY groups—you know, those who say “Not In My Backyard.” Now YIMBY groups—yep, “Yes In My Backyard”—are organizing to … Continued
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Tech News
Report: Google’s Parent Company Has 100 People Working on Its City of the Future
After dropping hints at a recent event that the Google parent company Alphabet might be building its own urban-scale laboratory, Sidewalk Labs reportedly has about 100 urban experts who are working on the plan, which is named “Project Sidewalk.” CEO Dan Doctoroff will be presenting the idea for the city to Alphabet CEO Larry Page … Continued
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Tech News
Harrowing Photographs Depict East Africa’s Dystopian Future
Africa is one of the last great holdouts for charismatic megafauna. But as the human population continues to grow and industrialize, lions, zebras, and elephants are being edged out of existence. A harrowing new series by photographer Nick Brandt makes this transformation visceral. In Inherit the Dust, Brandt juxtaposes the factories and urban wastelands spreading … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Tech News
London Just Reopened the Entrance to This Underwater Tunnel for the First Time in 147 Years
The first underwater tunnel ever built opened in London in 1843, paving a path for cities everywhere to expand beneath rivers and oceans. Today, the tunnel’s grand entrance hall reopens to the public for the first time in 147 years. The underground event space is part of an engineering museum that celebrates the famous family … Continued
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Tech NewsI Can’t Believe All the Features Mashed Into This Micro-Apartment
The phrase “micro-unit” conjures up all sorts of lifestyle tradeoffs, like Murphy beds, mini-fridges, and toilets in the shower. This tasteful space has a bed that stays put, a full-sized kitchen, and room for a bathtub (!), all in an area that’s a little over 300 square feet. LAAB Architects designed the “Small Home Smart … Continued
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Tech News
Why We Need An Autonomous-Only Highway From Canada to Mexico
Autonomous cars are hot and flashy and new. Roads, by and large, are expensive and shockingly boring. But unfortunately, autonomous cars will only work if some radical changes are made to our infrastructure, and this proposed highway is a good place to start. The Autonomous Friendly Corridor (AFC) is a simple idea: turn US Highway … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
This Is the Totally Wrong Way to Think About Self-Driving Cars
I’m no fan of cars, as you might have guessed from some of my previous stories. But I do believe that better technology—namely the kind that will prevent humans from driving them—can make cars, and our world, better. That’s why I generally agree with the “ban cars”-esque argument in this essay by Rebecca Solnit, a … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
A New Florida Pier Is Designed to Face the Reality of Rising Seas
There’s no polite way to put this: Florida is screwed. And we’re starting to see the state’s infrastructure adapt to the reality of climate change. A new pier for St. Petersburg just been approved by the city that takes changing ocean conditions into consideration. This includes a lightweight structure that can float on rising seas … Continued
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Tech News
Paris Is Giving 50 Percent of Its Legendary Roundabouts Back to People
When you think of Paris, you probably think of narrow, tree-lined streets. But consider some of its most famous monuments: They’re ringed by several lanes of busy vehicular traffic. Now the city is promising at least half of that space will go to pedestrians instead of cars. Seven sites in total are getting people-friendly makeovers, … Continued
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Tech News
One of the World’s Top Architects Is Giving Away His Most Famous Designs for Free
Earlier this year the Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena was named the winner of the Pritzker Prize, the top honor in the field, in recognition of his revolutionary affordable housing projects. This week, Aravena made the designs for four of those structures open-source, in a move that could help cities everywhere with their housing troubles. Aravena’s … Continued
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Tech News
Bernie and Hillary Are Trying to Out-Subway Each Other So You Know How Normal They Are
The only way to truly gain street cred with New Yorkers is to show them that you understand the source of their deepest daily misery. So if presidential candidates want to win New York City, they gotta go underground. It all started last week when Bernie Sanders—a Brooklyn native (Flatbush, specifically) who later moved to … Continued
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Tech News
Rio’s Slums Might Be Left in Even Worse Shape After the Olympics
Rio’s Summer Olympics are just a few months away, and it’s not looking good for the city. The water is still polluted, stadium budgets have been slashed, and a scary virus is frightening athletes and spectators. Now, there’s also growing concern that the Games will be a financial disaster—and the poorest areas of Rio will … Continued
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Tech News
Mexico City’s Doubling Down on its Car Ban to Clear Smoggy Skies
A plan to restrict private vehicles from Mexico City’s downtown hasn’t done enough to reduce air pollution, so the city is now asking twice as many cars to stay off the roads. As a sprawling city at a soaring altitude, Mexico City is prone to intense smog because it’s surrounded by mountains, which trap particulate … Continued
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Tech News
Toronto Tells Pedestrians to Fix Their Clothes Instead of Fixing Its Streets
Pedestrian shaming has long been a way for cities to prioritize cars over people, from the invention of jaywalking to blaming walkers for their smartphone use. In Toronto, an ad campaign telling pedestrians that their clothes make them more likely to get hit by cars is getting serious backlash—and rightly so. The “Stay Focused, Stay … Continued
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Tech News
Airbnb Says It’s Cracking Down on ‘Unwelcome Commercial Operators’ in SF
Airbnb has always claimed it’s a benevolent part of the sharing economy, simply helping homeowners get a little extra vacation cash, rather than a parasite driving up long-term rental costs. To prove that it’s serious, the company has announced a crackdown in San Fransisco. In a long statement posted on Saturday, Airbnb revealed the breakdown … Continued
By Chris Mills