cities
lborkowski | December 10, 2010It's been an interesting week of discussing urban issues, and I want to thank Sharon Astyk of Casaubon's Book and all of our commenters for making it so fun. I learned some interesting things from the comments - especially that vertical agriculture probably doesn't make sense, even if it sounds like a great idea to a non-expert urban reader (and page after page of Google results have nothing but praise for it).
I started off my first post explaining how I decided I wanted to live in the city, and several of the comments make points about why urban living might or might not be such a good…
sastyk | December 6, 2010Ok, as part of Urbanization Week, I'm really excited to hear more about what people who have committed to their own cities are doing to make them work. So here's your chance to tell me about your place, small city or large, and how you are improving your place, and making it ready for the coming changes! Please feel free to post links to cool stuff you are doing as well - I'd love to see it!
Cheers,
Sharon
sastyk | December 6, 2010Liz Borkowski of The Pump Handle and I are doing a series this week on the future of urbanization. Given that just about half the world's population now lives in cities, and that almost all projected demographic growth (we will come back to whether the UN's projections on this subject are realistic in a post later this week) will occur in cities, the realities - and future - of urban life are important discussions.
Like Liz, I love cities. That may seem strange to people who know that I live out in a rural area, since many rural-dwellers don't enjoy the bustle and noise of urban life, but…
sastyk | August 11, 2010I'm pleased to see Grist exploring Urban Agriculture in the US in their "Feeding the City Series". America needs a focus on urban ag particularly because we have so deeply abandoned the ordinary and routine participations that city dwellers have always made to their foodshed. If you look at either our past or the present in most of the Global South and in many Global North Nations as well, we see that there's nothing very unusual in the urban dweller participating in food production. Indeed, most nations on the Global South produce at least 20% of their meat and produce within city limits…
ddobbs | June 29, 2010Reading isn't just a monkish pursuit: Matthew Battles on "The Shallows" » Nieman Journalism Lab More on Carr's ideas from "The Shallows"
BoraZ interviews Eric Roston and gets some good ideas about journalism and reporting, past, present and future.
The Cure for Creative Blocks? Leave Your Desk. Or why my move to London is a good work idea.
Razib says what can't be said too often:Â Your genes are just the odds
Also worth many reminders:Â Healthcare: U.S. spends more, but gets less, from the Well
Not again with the sekrit Renaissance brain anatomy! But yes: again. 
I want to see this…
sastyk | June 24, 2010At my house today it was 82 and humid. It is hot, but there's a breeze, and shade from the trees. The air is heavy and moist, but rich and green and earthy as well, and my house stays cool downstairs. In New York City today, the temperature was above 90, and I can still smell, from my childhood in other cities, that shimmering hot urban mix of garbage, asphalt and pollution. Don't get me wrong - I love cities. But hot town, summer in the city is not always when urban life's virtues shine.
I was an urban kid for part of my childhood, which is why I remember so strongly and passionately…
grrlscientist | May 27, 2010tags: travel, culture, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, cities, photography
Helsinki Mereltä Nähtynä.
Photographed from the ferry as it returned to Helsinki from Suomenlinna in Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 20 May 2010 [larger view]
Canon SX100 IS.
grrlscientist | May 13, 2010tags: Orangefarben Dahlie, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Lachsfarbene Rosen.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 12, 2010tags: Sonnenaufgang Ranunkel Blume, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Rosa Ranunkel.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 11, 2010tags: Sonnenaufgang Ranunkel Blume, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Sonnenaufgang Ranunkel Blume.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 10, 2010tags: Sonnenaufgang Ranunkel Blume, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Sonnenaufgang Ranunkel Blume.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 9, 2010tags: Orangefarben Dahlie, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Orangefarben Dahlie.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 8, 2010tags: Lachsfarbene Rosen, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Lachsfarbene Rosen.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
I am so surprised to see that I managed to actually capture the delicate pinkish-orange color of these beautiful roses.
grrlscientist | May 7, 2010tags: Gold, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Gold.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
The brilliant colors and the different petal structures make this a very interesting and aesthetically appealing photograph.
grrlscientist | May 6, 2010tags: Orange Rose, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Orange Rose.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 5, 2010tags: Sonnenuntergang, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, sunset, photography
Sunset Over Frankfurt am Main.
In the distance are the bright yellow fields of blossoming Rapeseed, Brassica napus, that contrast with the green of other crops.
Nordwestzentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 5, 2010tags: Pink Ranunculus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Pink Ranunculus.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
I dragged my ailing body out of bed to venture out to the open air market in search of a few photographs to share with you. I am especially proud of this stunning photograph, which looks even more amazing than I expected it would!
grrlscientist | May 4, 2010tags: Strassenmusiker, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, busker, image of the day, photography
Strassenmusiker.
Hauptwache, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 14 April 2010 [larger view]
This is a busker whom I photographed at Hauptwache train station in downtown Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Despite his age, he was putting on quite a performance. (For those of you who care, he was also a reasonably good musician).
grrlscientist | May 2, 2010tags: Helsingin tuomiokirkko, Suurkirkko, Helsinki Cathedral, Helsinki, Finland, travel, cities, architecture, photography
Helsingin tuomiokirkko or Suurkirkko (Helsinki Cathedral), Helsinki, Finland.
This is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral located in the center of Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 23 July 2009 [larger view]
My spouse has made arrangements for us to return to gorgeous Helsinki, Finland. We will attend his student's defense, and hang out in the city. I already have plans to photograph Suomenlinna, the Luonnontieteellinen Museo (our hotel is across the street from…
grrlscientist | April 29, 2010tags: Orange Blüte, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, nature, cities, image of the day, photography
Image: GrrlScientist, 14 April 2010 [larger view]