Wolcott

Check this out: a guy decides to take 2 years to walk every...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:39:36 -0500

Check this out: a guy decides to take 2 years to walk every single street in New York City.

What a cool video of my hometown! It reminds me of one of my...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:58:25 -0600

What a cool video of my hometown! It reminds me of one of my favorite videos of all time…

The only thing that I think the video is missing is more shots of the neighborhoods. Places like Old North, Soulard, Shaw, or Tower Grove South would have provided some nice highlights of city living. St. Louis’ tourist attractions are incredible, but it’s also a pleasant place to live.

“King of Diamonds” by Motopony Not only is this a...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:32:06 -0600

“King of Diamonds” by Motopony

Not only is this a catchy and mellow song, but the music video fits perfectly. I also think it’s great portrayal of the absurd dichotomy that runs through Las Vegas. On the one hand there is the glitz and the illusory sense of achievement, while on the other there is despair and listlessness. I visited the “city” for the first time this summer, and I was struck by the fact that the casinos try their best to emulate other cities. Caricatures of Paris, New York, and Venice all appear along the strip, replete with slot machines, phony monuments, and a sky that is painted on the ceilings of the casinos. It’s as if the World’s Fairs of Chicago or St. Louis — with their plaster staff facades that came down shortly after the fairs ended — left their sleazier siblings out to dry in the desert.

I’ve long held the belief that turn-by-turn GPS devices...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:49:04 -0600

I’ve long held the belief that turn-by-turn GPS devices inhibit one’s ability to actually navigate a city. A recent New York Times article seems to confirm my suspicions. Sure, I use Google Maps on my phone, but I use it to provide a “suggested” route, not one that includes an annoying voice telling me that it is “recalculating” every time I deviate from the predetermined (and often, in light of traffic patterns, slower) route.

When we rely too much on a GPS to get us from point A to point B, we miss out on all the spontaneous turns that allow us to discover new streets and neighborhoods. We also miss out on the ability to find our way even if we deviate from our planned route. If I miss a turn, it’s ok because there are a myriad number of other ways to get to my destination. (Chicago — a city with a grid pattern — certainly makes such spontaneous driving easier.) If all I knew was my GPS, I’d be lost if I missed a turn or if construction or a traffic jam blocked the machine’s preferred path.

I’m a firm believer in “conditional driving.” When I’m heading south on a road and my destination is to the southwest, I wait until I hit a red light and make the right turn there. As I’m heading west, I wait to turn left (to continue heading south) until I hit a light that offers a green left turn arrow. It’s pretty simple, but it usually means that I keep moving and that I’m open to exploring some new parts of the city each time I drive.

Transportation reporter Tracy Swartz travels all 139 CTA bus routes

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:05:51 -0600

Transportation reporter Tracy Swartz travels all 139 CTA bus routes:

Impressive. I’d like to try to do it continuously, though it may take 2 straight weeks…

write-to-me: Beautiful idea from two students: ‘Google...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:13:14 -0600

write-to-me:

Beautiful idea from two students:

‘Google Envelopes’ - mapping the course of mail as if it was a story

So You’re Priced Out. Now What?

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:32:05 -0600

So You’re Priced Out. Now What?:

Five pairs of neighborhoods that look and feel alike, without costing the same amount.

I came across this story in the Real Estate section of the New York Times today, and it got me thinking about comparable neighborhoods in Chicago. What are some of the places that match up well in terms of neighborhood feel but not in terms of price?

transitmaps: Fantasy Map: Chicago El Overlaid On New York...

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:32:06 -0600

transitmaps:

Fantasy Map: Chicago El Overlaid On New York City

A bit of whimsy for you today from Reddit, brought to my attention by Twitter user @GordonWerner. The El has been flipped both horizontally and vertically, then rotated to fit Manhattan’s street grid, but the scaling is totally accurate. It looks like The Loop is placed in the area directly below Central Park. A few things from this: it’s actually kind of scary how well this fits; and it’s astounding just how dense the New York subway’s lines really are (shown here in white).

(Source: Reddit)

For a hodgepodge of transit map reviews and imaginative new...

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:30:00 -0600

For a hodgepodge of transit map reviews and imaginative new designs, check out Cameron Booth’s web site. I think that my favorite component of the site is — by far — his mapping of the U.S. Interstate highway system in the style of a subway map (shown above). Though it’s a schematic design that would be difficult to use while driving, it certainly makes it easier to remember which Interstate you would need to take in order to get from City A to City B. A friend of mine has the whole system memorized and can tell you exactly which routes you could take to get between any two cities in the U.S. I’ve wanted to be able to do this for a long time, and Mr. Booth’s map may make it quite a bit easier.

Mr. Booth also has a tumblr called transitmaps.tumblr.com. Check it out. I think it’s the first tumblr I’ve decided to follow.

The Grid at 200: Lines That Shaped Manhattan

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:44:00 -0600

The Grid at 200: Lines That Shaped Manhattan:

“It’s true that Manhattan lacks the elegant squares, axial boulevards and civic monuments around which other cities designed their public spaces. But it has evolved a public realm of streets and sidewalks that creates urban theater on the grandest level. No two blocks are ever precisely the same because the grid indulges variety, building to building, street to street.”

I wonder if the same can be said for Chicago’s grid.

Landscape Absurdism: Las Vegas

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:11:00 -0600

Landscape Absurdism: Las Vegas:

A fantastic display of the inanity of this desert city.

Here’s a preview:

Next American City: Best of 2011 - January - What Do Planners Learn?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:56:14 -0600

Next American City: Best of 2011 - January - What Do Planners Learn?

This is a promotional video for Chromaroma, a game that is a...

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:22:00 -0600

This is a promotional video for Chromaroma, a game that is a combination of FourSquare and the London transit system. I’d love for this “game” to be introduced in Chicago…

For an interesting map of Chicago’s L from 1897, check out...

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:22:00 -0500

For an interesting map of Chicago’s L from 1897, check out this site:

http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/elevated-trains-in-chicago/

It’s really interesting to see where the L used to run, in part because it’s so similar to where it runs today. The part that I find most intriguing is the Paulina connector and the spur that ran west to the Humboldt Park area. Wouldn’t it be great if a cross-town L was still around today? Instead of going into the Loop and back out, we could have a more direct route between Pilsen and Wicker Park. At least there’s still the Damen bus…

Creating the "camera obscura"

Thu, 26 May 2011 17:42:00 -0500

Creating the "camera obscura":

What a beautiful way to capture images. Very DIY-friendly.

Check out this month’s National Geographic for more…

"Thou canst not prove the Nameless, O my son, Nor canst thou prove the world thou movest in, Thou..."

Sun, 22 May 2011 21:29:32 -0500

“Thou canst not prove the Nameless, O my son,
Nor canst thou prove the world thou movest in,
Thou canst not prove that thou art body alone,
Nor canst thou prove that thou art both in one.
Thou canst not prove thou art immortal, no,
Nor yet that thou art mortal — nay, my son,
Thou canst not prove that I, who speak with thee,
Am not thyself in converse with thyself,
For nothing worthy proving can be proven,
Nor yet disproven. Wherefore thou be wise,
Cleave ever to the sunnier side of doubt,
And cling to Faith beyond the forms of Faith!”

- “The Ancient Sage” by Alfred Tennyson

Though I live in Chicago now, I realize that it may be a...

Mon, 16 May 2011 19:56:57 -0500

Though I live in Chicago now, I realize that it may be a temporary residence. In a few years I may be in New York, Portland, San Francisco, Minneapolis, or who knows where. My heart, however, loves the city of St. Louis (and let’s not forget the whole region…including my beloved University City). It’s full of beautiful brick architecture. It contains some amazing neighborhoods, cultural institutions, breweries, sports teams, universities, etc. And it’s the place that I call home.

Eventually I’d like to move back to the Gateway to the West. There’s just something about STL that is so invigorating. Sure, it doesn’t have the size of Chicago or the cosmopolitan feel of New York, but it’s a sturdy town. In its time it was the 4th largest city in the country. It can claim many “firsts” or “oldest _____”, but it’s really the bricks and the people that make it such a fine city that I would love to move back to.

I just discovered a web site called stayinginstl.com. It’s a place where people can post photos that describe why they’re staying in St. Louis. I’d like to be one of those people. There are many instances in which I feel as though I’ve betrayed the city. Some could say I’ve moved to Chicago — the big, boisterous neighbor to the north — and turned my back on my hometown. Yet I’d like to think that I’m soaking up all that I can while I’m here, in the hopes that I can bring back my experiences to St. Louis and do my part to enliven my city and reveal the beauty that already exists in the town that sprung up at the confluence of our nation’s two greatest rivers.

The photo posted above is one of the (many) reasons why I’m returning to St. Louis someday. Simply beautiful.

The above image is from a map that Bill Rankin created at...

Sun, 15 May 2011 10:07:42 -0500

The above image is from a map that Bill Rankin created at Radical Cartography. I was going to try to analyze it myself and provide some insightful commentary, but he just did that a few days ago. Here’s a link to his explanation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pRcdMVkA3k.

Basically, the map really highlights the segregation in Chicago, but since it’s made with dots that represent 25 people from a particular race, it can also show gradual shifts in demographics. That being said, it’s all the more striking to find some of the sharp lines of demographic division since this mapping strategy would be able to show gradual shifts. It’s also interesting to see how these racial landscapes are used in the political realm. The map below is of my Congressional District (Illinois’ 4th), currently represented by Luis Gutierrez. Notice how closely it follows the Hispanic population in its horseshoe-shaped ring around the city:

As evidenced by a few posts already, I love maps. I especially...

Sun, 08 May 2011 21:06:17 -0500

As evidenced by a few posts already, I love maps. I especially love interactive maps. In the future I’d like to become a bit more proficient with GIS software, but it’s quite complex and cumbersome.

This is why I get really excited when I stumble upon a great interactive web app for mapping various pieces of data. Information is a powerful tool — even more so when it’s accessible and easy to visualize.

Today’s post is a screenshot from a tool produced by the New York Times and socialexplorer.com. It illustrates some of the highlights from the 2010 census, all the way down to the tract level. I included this image from St. Louis that shows the percent population change between 2000 and 2010 (with beige/brown meaning a population decline and blue meaning a population increase.) I find it fascinating that the downtown area (and Old North St. Louis!) really seems to be booming in the city. Places on the north and south sides aren’t faring too well, but it’s really encouraging to see investment in the core of our region.

One option in this interactive map also allows you to show the racial breakdown of an area with 1 dot representing 25 people. The people over at Radical Cartography have already done this with numbers from the 2000 census, and I was so impressed that I printed one of their high-resolution images of Chicago today. It really illustrates the segregation of the city, as you’ll see in my next post…

One of my favorite videos. Somebody needs to make one for...

Wed, 04 May 2011 06:36:37 -0500

One of my favorite videos. Somebody needs to make one for Chicago.