Author: Syed S. Ahmed

  • Volunteer Opportunity: The Honeycomb Project

    WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER In light of the recent Buell Hypothesis post, this group might be of interest… The Honeycomb Project It is a non-profit group (created by two lovely moms) that arranges family volunteer events where parents can participate with their children. Unfortunately for New Yorkers, it is based in Chicago, but for parents…

  • The Sandpit

    The Sandpit is a cool depiction of a day in the life of New York City urban landscape. Sam O’Hare’s short film recorded in 35,000 stills on Vimeo has won the 2012 Webby Awards for Best Viral, and the 2010 Prix ARS Electronica Award of Distinction. Sam O’Hare has a degree in architecture from UK and…

  • Beyond Zuccotti Park

    WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER New York City has these strange beasts called Privately Owned Public Spaces (or POPS) which were put to some significant tests for the first time in recent history during the Occupy Wall Street protests. Many planners were watching the protests to see if privately owned spaces, like Zuccotti Park, could truly…

  • Harvard Graduates Mapping Public Toilets in Mumbai Slums.

    In a recent NY Times, article, Mapping Toilets in a Mumbai Slums Yields Unexpected Results (India Talk – July22, 2012), Samuel Lowenberg reported about a class of Harvard graduates in public health, mapping public toilets in a Mumbai slum called Cheetah camp. I suspect this isn’t exactly what our young overachievers had in mind when they selected…

  • Shootings Mapped

    WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER Due to the recent shooting in Colorado, it seemed appropriate to look at an older post from the Atlantic on the Geography of Gun Deaths by Richard Florida. These emotional moments are often points when people rally for policy changes, and I thought it might be interesting to look at the…

  • Santiago Calatrava: a better bridge designer than an architect

    I recently visited Calatrava’s City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.  This huge complex was built in the bed of the river Turia, which was diverted after a devastating flood in 1957.  Shortly after, the riverbed was converted into a park to showcase the work of the Valencia native, Santiago Calatrava.  The park has one…