The “Smart City” is not so much a concrete plan as it is a nebulous ideal, one that encompasses both environmental sustainability and human happiness in the most efficient way possible. And while it’s a matter of opinion whether a given city is designed well enough to be called “smart” there’s no question the world … Continue reading
Big houses, big lots, big SUVs – you know the drill. Suburbs create pollution, make people drive everywhere, and use up way more space than they need. Can they ever be truly sustainable? Well, I don’t know, but there’s a trend that’s moving in the right direction, and its popularity is growing. Over at the … Continue reading
Imagine you’re on a long train ride. Bored, you turn to the landscape rolling past the windows, and decide to dress it up a bit. You conjure up some flocks of exotic birds to hang in the sky, and a few horses that appear to be running alongside. Before you know it, you’ve arrived at … Continue reading
When’s the last time you made a call by dropping a coin into a public phone? I know I haven’t done it since I was a teenager. And with the cell-phone era in full swing, there’s probably an entire generation of people now who don’t even know what a payphone is. But the phone booth … Continue reading
It’s not exactly breaking news that freight trains produce enormous vibrations. But until now, it’s never occurred to me that it might be possible to capture that vibrational energy and convert it to electricity. From NBC News’ FutureTech, engineering professor Lei Zuo has invented a device to do just that. It attaches to the tracks … Continue reading
So we already know that bicycles are the future, and we have a few guesses at what a future bike might look like. Now startup company Sparse is taking a running leap into that future by creating bicycles that are smartly integrated with the urban environment. For now, they’re focused on turning out … Continue reading
Last week, we looked at some reasons why even the most rational individual might feel a touch of dread at the thought of a car that drives itself. This week, let’s zoom out a bit, and imagine a future society where driverless cars are the norm. I think this is a very plausible scenario, but … Continue reading
California just became the third state to legalize autonomous cars. They’re not available to consumers yet, but test vehicles can now operate in public there, just as they can in Nevada and Florida. I reacted to this news with delight, while others had a more sober appraisal: I’ve written about the implications of driverless cars … Continue reading
Last week I looked at why bicycles should have a privileged place in future planning. Today I take the other angle: What’s the future of bicycles themselves? Curious, I dug around a bit looking for current trends in bicycle design, as well as new innovations that might take off. I found quite a few, and … Continue reading
Cosmic Revolutions 