The Dizzying Work of Hand-Painting Ads Across New York City Skyscrapers

Walk around New York City, and you’re bound to see the work of these "wall dogs"—the men and women who paint billboard-size ads by hand, high above the city streets. Their work is exacting, and the places they paint are terrifying. Don’t watch this if you’re afraid of heights.

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My Type of Neighborhood: Mapping the Type Foundries of New York City

My Type of Neighborhood: Mapping the Type Foundries of New York City

I love old type specimen books. Any foundry, any period, it doesn’t matter. They will have me hypnotized. But I don’t usually linger at the title pages. Who would, really? All the fun and exciting stuff comes after that: the impossibly small text faces, the spectacular display faces, all the sample uses variously dowdy and natty.

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How to Design a Smarter Olympics Bid

How to Design a Smarter Olympics Bid

The Olympic Games are often a bittersweet milestone for a city, filled with economic and political ups and downs . But it would appear that Oslo’s 2022 aspirations are set for success in the hands of Norwegian design firm Snøhetta, which has executed one of the most elegant Olympic bids in history.

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Why Do Chinese Investors Want to Build a Dubai-Style City In Kenya?

Why Do Chinese Investors Want to Build a Dubai-Style City In Kenya?

A coalition of 100 investors announced plans to build a "Chinese-controlled economic zone" populated by skyscrapers and luxury residences. Their new city will be in Kenya, but the goal is to "match the glamour of Dubai." What would motivate investors to go to the trouble of building a massive new city in a country other than their own? It’s pretty simple, actually.

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Here’s What Tetris on the Side of a 29-Story Skyscraper Looks Like

Last night, hundreds of people crowded around the 29-story Cira Centre building in downtown Philadelphia to fulfill every classic Game Boy lovers’ dream—playing Tetris on 100,000-square-foot screen for all the world to see.

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Quakes, Brands, 7-Story Buildings: What’s Ruining Our Cities This Week

Quakes, Brands, 7-Story Buildings: What's Ruining Our Cities This Week

This week! Why a huge earthquake didn’t actually cause all that much devastation in Chile. How a not-so-tall building could be the end of a New Orleans neighborhood. And where brands killed Manhattan. Let’s take a look at What’s Ruining Our Cities.

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Ditch Your Car And Grab A Bike For These 9 Open Streets Festivals

Ditch Your Car And Grab A Bike For These 9 Open Streets Festivals

Around the world, cities are transforming busy streets into public spaces, if only for a few blissful hours. These open streets festivals create safe, healthy recreation areas for residents and help cities carve out space for biking, walking, skating, rolling, strolling, stretching, and even dancing.

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150 Years Ago, People Watched Competitive Walking Instead of Baseball

150 Years Ago, People Watched Competitive Walking Instead of Baseball

If it was 1874, instead of hitting your local baseball diamond tonight, you’d be grabbing a few friends and heading to a competitive walking match. Yes, walking was a national pastime, according to author Matthew Algeo: "Watching people walk was America’s favorite spectator sport."

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Watch L.A., Paris and São Paulo Grow In These Pretty Visualizations

Watch L.A., Paris and São Paulo Grow In These Pretty Visualizations

Paris is a bloodshot eyeball, São Paulo spreads out like a watercolor, and L.A. is a glorious mess. You can see how three very different metropolises expand and sprawl in these gorgeous animations produced as part of NYU’s Stern Urbanization Project, examining the growth of cities.

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9 Ingenious Urban Hacks To Make the City Smarter

9 Ingenious Urban Hacks To Make the City Smarter

Did you know a bike rack can become a fold-down seat? Or that you can charge your phone at sign posts? Or that a barricade is easily repurposed as a bench? These are just some of the small but imaginative hacks that make the concrete jungle a slightly more delightful and welcoming place.

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