#bettercities

When seeing the colorful buildings commonly found in coastal communities, people say things like “the street looks cheerful.”

Psychologically, having positive associations to colors makes sense. A forest full of color means it is flourishing and full of resources for us humans.

Burano, Venice, Italy. Calle di Ghiando

In comparison, a modern building might get descriptions like “it looks sleek” or “it looks futuristic,” but nothing to do with possitive associations. The buildings are almost completely restricted to greys, blacks, and whites, and tend to be boxy with a lot of sharp edges.

Calgary, Alberta(Canada)

They are the buildings that are common where I live, and in the winter when the sky is cloudy and snow covers the ground, the only color you might see are on advertisements. It’s a bleak grey nightmare, which is not ideal considering grey has a direct relationship with depression.

It is not just our building exteriors, either. It’s also clothes, interiors, and everyday objects that are losing color.

Graph 1 showing colors trends for objects, Graph 2 showing color trends for clothes

These 3D printed sculptures by Urban Reefs are made using natural materials.

"They can absorb water and provide a range of microclimates and nutrients, giving more organisms the opportunity to thrive in the city. " Urban Reefs

Essentially, they use materials that are porous, so that it will both capture water, and also create ideal growing conditions for organisms. This could help one often ignored part of nature: microorganisms.

All the images are from this article, which also talks more in-depth on this subject:

The High Line is a elevated garden that is build upon a former railroad spur in New York City(USA).

Designed by James Corner and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, it leads pedestrians among skyscrapers while also enjoying wild grasses and other plant life.

Today, it is not only a tourist attraction, but also an example of how pedestrians can have more enjoyable journeys. If you can make a route attractive, more people will take it; and in this case they most certainly do. 2018 alone saw eight million visitors.

“The crown jewel in a recent revitalization project of a London industrial area is a “rolling bridge” made of squares powered by a hand crank.”

Putting it simply, a hand crank flips the bridge upside down onto the arches, giving more room for passing boats. It requires no electricity.