Design
A Kenyan company is making sustainable clothes out of stinging nettles
The stinging nettle is a weedy, invasive species of plant that spreads like wildfire once it gets a foothold anywhere. The plant can be used for medicinal reasons, but in truth, there are more pesky nettles on the planet than anyone could possibly make use of. At least, so it seemed. Soon enough Read More...
Lessons from a German neighborhood that got rid of parking spaces 20 years ago
You don’t need a car to live your daily life. Don’t believe us? Just ask the residents of Vauban, a neighborhood in the German city of Freiburg. In Vauban, cars are allowed, but only if they crawl along at the pace of a pedestrian (the speed limit is three miles an hour), give priority to Read More...
IKEA develops state-of the-art curtains that purify the air in your home
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is one of the biggest environmental health risks on the planet, leading to millions of deaths annually. The problem is more alarming for those us living in cities, so much so that air-purifiers are expected to become a household Read More...
Singapore opens the doors to its first “net zero energy building”
Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, meaning that in order to meet the targets mandated by the Paris Agreement we need to come up with urgent sustainable development designs and high-performance buildings. Bearing that in mind, Singapore has recently Read More...
Solar street lights present cities with a path to strong, sustainable growth
On the surface, the rapid urbanization of cities can be seen as a good thing for the economy. For the cities themselves, however, it can cause money for basic public services to be stretched thin. Such is the case for the cities of Kampala and Jinja in Uganda where everything from road maintenance Read More...
This waterproof jacket doubles as a sleeping bag for the homeless
Five years ago, Dutch designer Bas Timmer heard tragic news: A friend’s father, who had become homeless, had died of hypothermia one night while sitting outside a shelter waiting for it to open. Timmer, a recent fashion school graduate, had been working on winter clothing for his new brand and Read More...
Why a busy street in London made their crosswalk into an optical illusion
On a busy street near a school in London, a newly painted crosswalk is designed to slow down drivers through an optical illusion: As someone approaches, each white stripe on the road looks like a three-dimensional block. The idea is that by catching the eye, the optical illusion will force drivers Read More...
This Japanese mending technique turns old clothes into art you can wear
These days, the way you dress can be a stark environment statement. In response to the ubiquity of fast fashion and a growing consciousness about the ‘true cost’ of the garment industry, people are beginning to come up with fashionable, innovative ways to rebel against today’s consumerist Read More...
These storm-resistant homes give Mozambique a blueprint to follow as it rebuilds
Last week, the African nation of Mozambique was hit by 100-mile-an-hour winds and more than seven inches of rain, causing a flood that destroyed thousands of homes and killed hundreds. Cyclones aren’t new on the coast of Mozambique, but climate change does intensify these storms and raise the Read More...
From Cairo to Beijing: these 8 cities are ridding their streets of cars
In downtown Cairo, it’s not uncommon to see streets clogged with cars. But in a proposed redesign for a central thoroughfare, they’re hard to spot. Instead, in the concept illustration for what looks like the Egyptian version of Amsterdam, a two-way bike lane, a sidewalk, and a plaza filled Read More...