 |
|
|
|
|
At some point in the future, we might look back and wonder how we ever accepted that the vast majority of public spaces in our cities were no-go zones; how we could give up so much space to giant metal beasts on wheels that make us cling to our children as if they’re walking on the edge of the abyss.
We may one day laugh about how much money we spent on acquiring such a beast for ourselves, only to then not use it 95% of the time. And even that time of nonuse cost us a fortune, individually and collectively.
We may wonder how our communities functioned at all, given the expansive grid of concrete that cut up, disconnected and segregated local communities and economies, turning the most basic errands into anxiety-ridden journeys of man vs machine.
And then there was the noise and air pollution. Gosh, did we all just ignore the countless studies and statistics screaming at us, ‘This is an absurdly unhealthy way to live!’
~
This is what’s going through my head as I ride down a new ‘pop-up' bike lane in my neighbourhood. The bicycle boom must be one of the few silver linings of COVID. Making cities more accessible to humans instead of cars and turning concrete runways into green spaces is a welcome trend that will undoubtedly get more attention as climate change turns our encrusted cities into smoggy heat islands.
I’m excited about a greener, less car-centric urban future not just because I’m a cyclist. What I love so much about this trend is that it’s not a future envisioned by some corporate ‘smart city’ think tank. It’s a movement energised by local residents eager to reclaim the public spaces of their neighbourhood and restore a sense of shared ownership. Sign me up for that future!
– Kai
|
|
|
Become a Friend of DD →
With a modest yearly contribution you’re not only helping keep Dense Discovery going, you also receive special discounts and get access to the DD Index, a searchable catalogue of past issues.
You receive this email because you subscribed to Dense Discovery, a weekly newsletter at the intersection of technology, design and sustainability. Writing to you from Melbourne is Kai Brach. Do you have a product or service to promote in DD? Sponsor an issue or book a classified.
|
|
Invest in the Unusual SPONSOR
|
|
|
|
Apps & Sites
|
Async messaging for teams
|
|
To me, Twist always seemed like a less stress-inducing alternative to chat tools like Slack. Their newest release gives it a fresh look and even more calming features. If you’re tired of keeping up with endless streams of chat messages, Twist offers a slower, more forum-like communication option for teams.
|
|
Community of climate-active designers
|
|
“A global hub for designers and creative professionals from all industries, committed to using [their] creative skills for climate action”. It’s a growing community of creatives helping each other skill up in the climate science, find impactful work opportunities and exchange best practice ideas. Great idea!
|
|
One-time links and messages
|
|
Send a text or link or a Mission Impossible-style, selfdestructing message to anyone with these one-time links that stop working after they’ve been opened.
|
|
|
Flip through video footage (like commercials, news, sports, talkshows and much more) from the ’90s in this wonderfully retro TV experience. (Or change the decade through the TV sets on the right and dip into the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s or 2000s.)
|
|
|
Worthy Five: Dama Sathianathan
|
A concept worth understanding:
The Japanese art of kintsugi. Sometimes we’re too quick to throw away the pieces and give up. But with kintsugi, what was once broken is made beautiful again.
A book worth reading:
Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin. It’s so well written and invigorates you to reflect on your actions and challenge the status quo.
A newsletter worth subscribing to:
Rest of World – delivering amazing stories about tech outside the Western bubble every week!
A podcast worth listening to:
Throughline by NPR with Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei who take you on a journey to the past to make sense of the present.
A piece of advice worth passing on:
Put yourself in the path of discovery. The world is filled with wonders, so try a new thing, explore a new topic and discover something new everyday.
|
|
|
Books & Accessories
|
Designing for more than human-centered worlds
Another promising title that calls for a new planet-centric design approach: “Over the past forty years, designers have privileged human values such that human-centered design is seen as progressive. Yet because all that is not human has been depleted, made extinct, or put to human use, today's design contributes to the existential threat of climate change and the ongoing extinctions of other species. In Things We Could Design, Ron Wakkary argues that human-centered design is not the answer to our problems but is itself part of the problem.”
|
|
The 101 of emotional intelligence
Imagine if school taught us not just algebra and grammar, but also how to understand and process our everyday emotions. The School of Life tries to fill that gap. Their latest book offers a concise summary of essential lessons on emotional intelligence. “This book is a collection of our most essential lessons, delivered with directness and humanity, covering topics from love to career, childhood trauma to loneliness.”
|
|
|
Overheard on Twitter
|
|
Best voting advice: Voting isn’t marriage. It’s public transport. You’re not waiting for ‘the one’. You’re getting on the bus. And if there isn’t one going exactly to your destination, you don’t stay home and sulk. You take the one that’s going closest to where you want to be.
|
|
Food for Thought
|
|
A piece that could have been shorter, but still a great, insightful read on the complexity of global supply chains. What a colossal, energy-hungry journey even the simplest of products undergo before they land at our doorstep! You may never again look at cheap soft toys the same way. “It’s a little depressing to think of all the energy that was expended to get those toys across the sea, through the ports, on the railways, and in a truck, to my doorstep. If prices for all those cheap Chinese toys go up, I can’t really be upset. A journey that is that much of a headache should cost something, after all.”
|
|
|
I really enjoy Haley Nahman’s writing. In this post, she talks about her experience of being offered real money to promote products as an ‘influencer’ and how she decided to let her values guide her, not the big bills waved at her. “Greed has received a dazzling PR treatment in recent years. The Kardashians aren’t greedy, they’re enterprising. Silicon Valley isn’t selling our data, it’s improving our lives. Serial entrepreneurs aren’t trying to strike it rich, they’re dreamers. They’re rising and grinding, they’re 30-under-30. This kind of vocabulary enjoys a sheen of social progress while blatantly side-stepping the economic implications of such a value system, like say, 1% of the US population holding almost a third of its wealth.”
|
|
|
More on emotional intelligence: this is a great list to help you practice ‘emotional generosity’ – “the ability to see past behaviours that we don’t understand and proactively look for compassionate ways to explain them. It’s easy to do this for young children. If they start crying or throwing a tantrum, we wonder whether they are hungry, or tired, or hurt. Sadly, it’s harder to do this for adults – and especially our co-workers. And yet a more generous interpretation of their difficult behaviour often ends up being right.”
|
|
|
Aesthetically Pleasing
|
|
Catherine Arsaut is an Australian Linoprint artist. Inspired by Tasmania’s nature, she meticulously carves each plate by hand, before running it through a hand-powered portable press with beautifully crafted paper on top and a thin layer of ink in between. The results are stunning! (I bought the Banksia Marginata print and love it.) Friends of DD enjoy a 5% discount.
Become a Friend to access specials like this.
|
|
|
Peaceful Cuisine is a visually and acoustically immersive cooking YouTube channel. Ryoya Takashima cooks up various meals and – without any background music or talk – lets you take part in his creations in a calming, soothing environment. What a feast for the senses!
|
|
|
|
|
Digging the round and friendly shapes of Radial, an “emotionally charged geometric-turned-humanist sans serif of five weights and infinite variable sub-instances”.
|
|
|
Classifieds
|
|
Billi is home to your whole financial world. See all your accounts, track bills, keep tabs on subscriptions & securely manage your spending all in one beautifully designed place.
Tired of your hard work looking like zombie barf on the web? Learn HTML & CSS in this fun, zombified, and unique course especially for writers, editors, and beginners.
Get a no-nonsense weekly roundup of the most impactful and interesting environmental stories, studies, and resources. Know what’s going on, what to act on, and what to smile about.
Delayed Gratification magazine revisits the last 3 months of news to offer in-depth, independent journalism in an increasingly frantic world. Sign up today and save £5 with code DD.
|
|
Classifieds are paid ads that support DD and are seen by our 34,000 subscribers each week.
Book yours →
|
|
|
The Week in a GIF
|
|
Reply or tweet at DD with your favourite GIF and it might get featured here in a future issue.
|
|
|
Did You Know?
|
|
There are many theories for the origins of the word ‘okay’.
|
|
A popular etymological theory relates back to the American publishing world of the 19th century where OL (oll wright) turned into OK (oll korrect) as an approval for print. There are many other theories, though, including references to the Native American language of Choctaw (okeh, ‘it is’); the initials of German industrialist Otto Kaiser for certifying his products; or the initials of Ὅλα Καλά (ola kala, ‘everything is well’), an abbreviation used by Greek immigrants to the US when sending short telegrams to their relatives in Greece to keep the cost low.
|
|
|
|
