Cityphile

Bikelordz: Stunts and Styles from Accra, Ghana

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 06:04:13 +0000

A few years ago, my friend Mikey Hart was living in Accra, Ghana, working on a music archiving grant. He became interested in some of the unique bicycle culture developing there and began filming. The result is Bikelordz, a short documentary about the acrobatic, dance-heavy, BMX stylings found on the streets of Accra. He’s created a Kickstarter campaign to help complete the final production and support a return trip to benefit local riders. The campaign ends in two weeks, so check out the site soon if you’d like to pledge your support for this film. Trailer below:

Bikelordz : Stunts and Styles from Accra, Ghana from Bikelordz on Vimeo.

NYCDOT Iron Shop

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:25:26 +0000

The Brooklyn Bridge restoration tour concluded with a visit to the NYCDOT Iron Shop, tucked below the Manhattan Bridge in Dumbo. Here are some sights and sounds from the shop, which fabricates and repairs metal parts for the city’s bridges and roads.

TRB Online Workshop on the Practical Use of Social Media

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:00:31 +0000

The Transportation Research Board is offering their first web-based workshop on social media, specifically designed for transportation agencies, on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 (10:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time).

AR | AD Takeover Turns Ads into Art

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:20:10 +0000

Public Ad Campaign and The Heavy Projects recently debuted an augmented reality app that replaces outdoor ads with art. You may have caught a glimpse, but here’s a proper demonstration of the app at work around Times Square, as well as instructions to participate. [Public Ad Campaign]

Brooklyn Bridge Restoration

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:01:39 +0000

Photo by Will Sherman

More than 125 years of constant use have left the Brooklyn Bridge in rough shape, leading NYCDOT to restoration of the iconic East River crossing in 2010. Last week, Young Professionals in Transportation organized a tour of this work, scheduled for completion in 2014: approach ramp repairs, traffic lane restriping to reduce bottlenecks and a complete repainting of the entire structure in negative-pressure containment units to capture dust. To complicate matters further, traffic impacts must be limited, necessitating most work be completed at night. Speaking on the importance of keeping infrastructure from falling into disrepair, one engineer leading the tour reported that simply restriping the bridge today costs more than its complete construction in the 19th century.

Photo by Will Sherman

Augmented Reality App Replaces Ads With Art

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:14:13 +0000

Artwork by Ron English. Photo by Will Sherman

Public Ad Campaign and The Heavy Projects are developing an augmented reality app that replaces outdoor ads with works of art. Times Square provided ample opportunties to help beta-test the app over the weekend, where movie billboards and phone booth ads were virtually swapped for work by street artists Ron English, John Fekner, PosterBoy, Doctor D and Ox. With so many possiblities for reimagining the potential of public space, it will be interesting to see this app develop. Here’s a quick clip of the app in action. Make sure to check out Public Ad Campaign for more details and a forthcoming video as the project develops.

Artwork by Doctor D. Photo by Will Sherman

Artwork by PosterBoy. Photo by Will Sherman

Photo by Will Sherman