We’ve all been there. Our coffee maker, printer, or blender brakes, and it costs way less to buy a new one then to go through all the trouble of fixing it. Responding to this incredibly wasteful phenomenon and the volume of raw materials and energy needed to produce and transport new goods, Martine Postma, an environmental activist in the Netherlands created the world’s first Repair Cafe.
Read more →
Spring is late in Amsterdam this year, but we can finally see some greenery around the city. Let’s go outside for some urban foraging! Plants growing on the sidewalks that are either an urban wildlife or belong to someone (be it public or individual) may come out to be a great source for your daily nutrients. Fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts or even snails are only some of the products that one can harvest and enjoy for free.
Read more →
Everyone can turn their home into a little private restaurant with EatWith, a new web-based service that enables people to rent our their kitchen table to strangers. EatWith gives travelers the opportunity to eat with a local in their homes and experience local culinary traditions. As the founders explain, “being a guest in someone’s home is a great way to get an authentic local perspective in a different city or country”. And that’s what every modern traveler wants, right?
Read more →
We’ve always been passionate about modular and flexible furniture concepts that allow for multiple functions. Here we’ve got another great example that combines two apparently incompatible functions. Industrial designer Darryl Agawin came up with ‘No, Sweat!’, a piece of office furniture that completely converts into a gym set-up. The three-element workspace furniture set that can be easily changed when one’s in desperate need of a work-out.
Read more →
To celebrate our fifth birthday we’re hosting The Pop-Up City Live, an experimental and colorful night for urban innovators at De Brakke Grond in Amsterdam on Tuesday May 21st in which we will bring The Pop-Up City to life on stage. We’re happy to give away three pairs of tickets to our readers!
Read more →
Last January we highlighted the emerging phenomenon of alternative and DIY currencies in cities across the globe. These currencies have been developed by people who wish to see their economy and society through a different scope — more humanitarian, more social. The financial crisis has boosted further development of new peer-to-peer-oriented economic systems in different parts of the world.
Read more →
A forest in the midst of a turbulent, roaring city; it sounds like something from an amazing dream, but in Seattle it soon will be quite real. With the self-sustaining Food Forest, Seattle is bringing urban agriculture to a higher level, by creating a place where anyone and everyone can go to harvest fruits and vegetables for free.
Read more →
Creative studio eks why zed designed the interior of this temporary bun shop in London. The lay-out of the 10 square meters shop is inspired by the Japanese ‘izakaya’ format, and shows that low-cost can make a big impact.
Read more →
City blogging is a great tool to share ideas around the world toward better urban futures, but it’s also a potent tool for hyper-local community development. In the Netherlands, many community blogs have popped up and we’re excited to be inviting the founders of three Amsterdam community blogs, Ilovenoord, BoloBoost, and Nice Nieuw West, on stage at The Pop-Up City Live to discuss the importance and potential of local blogging efforts.
Read more →
Tokyo is one of those cities with a very outspoken and recognizable style. This becomes even more clear when you take a look at remarkable lights on the roof of its taxis. The Japanese capital is filled with these colorful expressions that give identity to each of the cabs. Lifestyle and travel blog Been Seen refers to the Takushi signs as a “passing parade of neon art”.
Read more →