Philadelphia Magic Gardens

Have you ever heard of other Philly Magic Gardens? Designed by Isaiah Zagar out of recycled and re-purposed materials, they seems light wonderful havens of imagination in an urban environment. Next time I'm up north, I'm really going to try to check them out!

All photos by Gabe Kirchheimer

Check out more photos here.

via Inhabitat

Transportation Tuesday: Tom Vanderbilt and Traffic

So while I was traveling to and from New York last week I finally had time to read a great book that I got for Christmas.... Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt. The book is really interesting -- it touches on traffic science, sociology, human behavior and culture. It was great, because anyone who has even driven a car can instantly relate to it.

It turns out the Tom Vanderbilt also maintains a companion blog to the book called How We Drive. You can check it out here.
 
Finally, test your knowledge about traffic with this cool interactive quiz from the New York Times and written by Tom Vanderbilt and read the NY Times review of Traffic here.

Blueprint Bow Tie

Just got back from a lovely mini-vacation to New York with my Mom and my sister. I got to see a lot of the cool new bike and pedestrian friendly initiatives that they are working on there, which was great. I'm still sorting through the pictures so I can share them with you later!

In the meantime, check out this sweet bow tie:

via Inhabitat

The beautiful Rainbow House is here to brighten your day!

Okay, this Rainbow House, designed by AB Rogers Designs is pretty cool. I guarantee you if I lived there,  I would slide down to breakfast every morning.

The Rainbow House, London from Ab Rogers Design on Vimeo.

The Truth about Project Negotiation

Here is an infographic that will ring true for anyone who has ever worked on a complicated project with several stakeholders (I'm looking at you, city planners/architects/landscape architects/real estate developers/economic developers/local government officials/activists/advocates/anyone involved in their community/neighborhood/planet)

Whew.... is that everyone?

 

Download Here

via We Love Datavis

Transportation Tuesday: The New York Metro set to Music

Okay, this is so awesome. This art project uses a map of the New York subway system to create music, as each of the subway lines act as a stringed instrument. See the project in action here and read a description of the project here.

via Subtraction

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day All! Although I'm currently a single gal, I'm going to try to take today to remember all of the wonderful friends and family that I have in my life that I love and adore.

PS- Love your town? Check these t-shirts out!

 

Image from Wikipedia

A Map to My Heart

Have a great weekend guys!

PS- In the spirit of Valentine's Day, here is a map to my heart

via Nerd Valentine

Map Trays

I'm in love with these map trays this morning.... I think it would be really cute to keep one by the front door to hold your keys, etc. What do you think? They're made by Etsy artist Carolina Cottage, who also has cute map trays and key holders to finish out your collection.

Map Pillows

Sweet Map Pillows from My Bearded Pigeon. I also really love this ampersand pillow, even though it isn't map related.

via Design Mom