“There is poop going into the East River,” the teacher says, sprinkling black specks onto a cutaway model consisting of buildings, streets, and sewer pipes. It is week three of design class at P.S. 15, the Roberto Clemente School, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and a group of third graders is participating in the New York City Playgrounds Program, which, led by the Trust for Public Land (TPL), transforms asphalt inner-city schoolyards into community parks.Continue reading DIY, Kiddo→
Some argue the funding for the Hudson River Park could be put to better use elsewhere in the city.
Barry Diller is a billionaire who has committed to underwriting the lion’s share of a $130 million plan for the construction of Pier 55, a 2.7-acre island of undulating parkland and performance venues that would rest atop mushroom-shaped pilings in New York City’s Hudson River Park.Continue reading One Mans is an Island→
Director Caroline Bâcle on a singular way to trace the evolution of cities.
Beneath many older cities across the globe are mysterious worlds hidden from sight since the Industrial Revolution. Rivers, once lifelines to wealth, were exiled underground as they became breeding grounds for disease. Burying rivers solved the sanitation issues of the times, but the aging infrastructure today falls short of modern needs and cuts off humans from nature. Caroline Bâcle, the writer and director of the new film Lost Rivers, which follows the stories of these forgotten waterways, spins an intriguing narrative of the rivers themselves but also of how people might connect with them. I spoke with Bâcle, who is based in London, about her experiences during the project and what Lost Rivers could mean to cities today. Continue reading A Filmmaker Who Follows Buried Rivers→
Home page of the Soil Science Society of America’s new blog, Soils Matter, Get the Scoop!
For more than 75 years, the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) has informed members and professionals on all matters relating to soil, according to the soils.org website. Continue reading Getting the Dirt on Dirt→
Design’s role in mitigating the impact of natural disasters takes center stage at the National Building Museum.
The exhibit features a tabletop version of the Wall of Wind at Florida International University, which can simulate a Category 5 hurricane.
Earth, air, fire, and water—the National Building Museum’s Design for Disaster exhibit, which opened on May 12, separates out the forces of destruction. Continue reading The Elements of Disaster→
