Dot-matrix graffiti bike, don’t buy–rent, NYC buildings, and homeless in suburbia
There are four articles I found today.
1. You may remember the dot-matrix graffiti bike from its popularity before the 2004 Republican convention in NYC. Or not. Either way, it’s awesome. Joshua Kinberg created the bike that he was going to use to spray messages, in chalk, on streets and sidewalks near the convention. Users could go to Josh’s website and type in a message that would be sent to Josh’s cellphone that told the spray cans what to type out. It’s genius. However, the police arrested Josh before he could start peddeling around NYC during the convention. Read the full story on Wired.
2. The New York Times printed an article called “A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent” today about how renting during the current housing slump may be better than buying. “Prices may not yet have fallen far enough for buying to look better than renting today, except for people who plan to stay in a home for many years.”
3. Buildings, not cars, are responsible for the majority of New York’s carbon dioxide emissions. Here’s the full article: Buildings Called Key Source of City’s Greenhouse Gases.
4. Alternet posted an article today called “Suburbia: America’s Unseen Poverty.” The article explains that “from Las Vegas to Boise to Houston, suburban poverty has been growing over the past seven years, in some places slowly, in others by as much as 33 percent.” It’s well worth reading.
Dangerous cars and leased roads
Here are two articles for today.
1. Automakers are pissed about air quality regulations being passed by states. They even go so far as to say, “Fuel efficient cars could be dangerous, because they will be cheaper to drive and lead people to drive more and potentially have more accidents.” See “Challenge to Emissions Rule Is Set to Start” in the New York Times.
2. An article in the Seattle Times called “Paving The Way For Smarter Roads” discusses, “The ‘hot’ new idea [of] ‘monetizing’ toll roads and bridges–leasing them to a private operator in return for a big upfront payment or guaranteed year-by-year payback.” While it seems like leasing toll roads to a private company is a good idea, we’ll have to look into the drawbacks. Such as increased safety problems with unaccountable–and far away–corporations, and governments taking a lump sum of cash that’s less than what they could take in over the length of the lease.
Planning 2.0, attacks on the homeless, and the healthcare crisis
Today I found three important articles.
1. Sadly, attacks on the homeless are on the rise. According to a USA Today article, “A 2006 report by the National Coalition for the Homeless found 142 attacks last year against homeless people, 20 of which resulted in death — a 65% increase from 2005, when 86 were violently assaulted, including 13 homicides.”
2. Robert Goodspeed wrote a great piece on the Planetizen blog called “How Can Planners Use the Web?”. Goodspeed sees three potential applications: seeking input for projects and plans; providing information regarding specific projects; and engaging and informing the public.
3. CommonDreams.org highlights an article called “Health Care Crisis: Number of US Uninsured Soars, Along with Big Pharma Profits.” According to the article, “The nation is entering a health care crisis, many leaders and experts say. An estimated 46 million people do not have health insurance because they cannot afford it, and the U.S. has one of the poorest health profiles of the developed world.” It’s past due time for universal health care.
