MetaFilter posts tagged with SanFrancisco and london

Privately Owned Public Spaces

larrybob — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:31:04 -0800

When is a private space a public space? When it's a Privately Owned Public Space (POPS). In accordance with the planning codes of some cities, owners or builders of buildings are mandated to provide members of the general public access to spaces which include rooftop gardens, courtyards, and plazas. But how can you find these hidden gems? Here are some treasure maps: New York City's Privately Owned Public Space guide. There is also a collaborative project which rated NYC's POPs. Probably the best-known POPS in New York City is Zuccotti Park. Each week, OccupyPOPS visits different POPS in NYC. whOWNSpace, anyway? Pittsburgh is another city where the Occupy movement has occupied a POPS. The Guardian's list of privatised public spaces in Britain invites additional submissions. Space Hijackers is a British group which speaks out about the use of space and free speech rights. San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) points out some Secrets of San Francisco: Where to find our city's POPOS (privately owned public open spaces). The Planning Commission of the City and County of San Francisco has recently mandated an improvement in signage for POPOS, which are often obscurely indicated (an example is the rooftop of the Westfield Mall, which is accessible from only one elevator of a bank of four which is found through an door distinct from the entrance of the mall itself.) In 2006/07 a project called Commonspace by Rebar Art & Design Studio examined what uses of POPOS would be tolerated; their activities included practicing Balinese monkey chant; police refused to comply with security guards' attempts to eject them. Using public spaces freely: Ownership and management of public spaces is a research paper which discusses the history of New York's POPS and San Francisco's POPOS policies, which began in the 60s, and were subsequently modified, as well as examining the use of public space in Atlanta. Japan is another place that has had POPS since the 1960s. Los Angeles is lacking in green spaces, whether private or public. However here's a list of 10 public spaces along the CicLAvia Route. Seattle has also had Privately Owned Public Open Spaces policies since 1966 and the Seattle City Council offers a maps of POPOs in Seattle. Is Discovery Green in Houston a public or private park? However, Anil Dash notes that only 16% of POPS can be considered successful at what they purport to be. And the privatization of public space carries free speech ramifications.

Streetcar-Mounted Film Cameras (and more)

Miko — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:27:28 -0800

San Francisco 1906, Barcelona 1908, London 1927. More detail; via 60 Minutes.

You're gonna go up the street 12 pixels, hang a left, then straight 44 pixels to 77th street...

BeerFilter — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:30:33 -0800

8bit Cities: Amsterdam - Austin - Berlin - Detroit - London - New York - Paris - San Francisco - Seattle - Washington, D.C.

The Viewer As Voyeur

zarq — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:14:36 -0800

Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera is an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London which examines voyeurism through the medium of photography. In addition to works from professionals such as Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lee Miller, Shizuka Yokomizo, Guy Bourdin, Nan Goldin and Robert Mapplethorpe, it includes amateur and CCTV "stolen" images taken both with and without the knowledge of their subjects -- all intended to "explore the uneasy relationship between making and viewing images that deliberately cross lines of privacy and propriety." There are 250 photographs in the exhibition, a representative sample from the last 150 years. The exhibition is currently on display at the Tate Modern in London, (until October 3rd,) and will then travel to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, opening October 30th. From the Museum’s exhibition guide:

"The exhibition is divided into five thematic sections: The Unseen Photographer, Celebrity and the Public Gaze, Voyeurism and Desire, Witnessing Violence, and Surveillance. In each case, the nature and character of invasive looking is evident not only in the images themselves, but also in the ways in which the viewer is implicated in acts of voyeurism."

* Review by the British Journal of Photography. * The Daily Beast: Article / Gallery (Mild Nudity, NSFW) * Review from the Telegraph / Gallery * The Guardian: Gallery. Accompanying article / review: One of the most difficult rooms contains journalistic images of death and violence and some people will undoubtedly whistle through the room, upset by awful images of suicide, execution and lynching. It includes images such as Tom Howard's electrocution of Ruth Snyder, from 1928, and Eddie Adams' haunting photograph of a Viet Cong officer being executed in 1968.

So you ditched your car - here's help with public transit

desjardins — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:58:07 -0800

NextBus uses GPS to tell you the predicted time of the next bus. Google maps show buses in real time, and you can get updates on your phone/PDA. The coverage is limited to certain agencies within the US, so these other sites might be useful: Hopstop covers subways and buses in NYC, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, DC, and more. (mobile version) Google Transit has many US metro areas in addition to Canada, Europe, and Japan. (previously) Many more locations inside. Other trip planners (mostly mobile):

MTA (New York City)
MTA (Los Angeles)
Amtrak
New Jersey Transit
MBTA (Boston)
Washington DC Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Chicago Regional Transit Authority (CTA, Metra)
A Train (Atlanta)
Valley Metro (Phoenix)
San Francisco Bay Area 511 (BART, Muni Metro, VTA Light Rail, Cable cars, Commuter Rail, buses, ferries)
Portland (interactive map; roll your own app)
King County Metro Online (Seattle)
Toronto (TTC Buses and subways)
Vancouver (BC) Translink
Paris (RER, TGV, Metro, bus, more - in French)
London Underground and DLR
Norikae-Annei (Tokyo)

Flavorpill adds Art & World Events mailing lists...

dobbs — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:21:59 -0800

2 years ago I FPP'd FlavorPill, a company that sends out permission-based emails for books (Boldtype), music (Earplug), and fashion (the JC Report). They've since added ArtKrush (it's art, stupid! - nsfw) and Activate (world events) to their aresenal. In addition to the topic-specific mailing lists, they offer city-specific lists for London, New York, SF, LA, and Chicago. Sample issues are archived on the site.