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Tech NewsAn Inside Tour of San Francisco’s Sewage Treatment Plant
If you have ever been to San Francisco, then some part of you—or some former part of you—has almost certainly passed through the city’s Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant. But, considering how utterly vital it is to the city, the wastewater plant is also very much invisible, tucked away in a neighborhood no tourist would have … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech NewsDesign
I Didn’t Know Garage Doors Could Be This Cool
San Francisco, as everyone who lives there knows, is a city desperate for more space. But making due with a small lot can sometimes lead to amazing things—like this 1,900-square-foot home designed by Craig Steely. The one-year-old house is built atop a 24 foot by 24 foot concrete garage, perched above San Francisco’s Dolores Park. … Continued
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Tech News
The Purpose Behind San Francisco’s Weirdest Looking Tower
At 977 feet tall and situated atop the peak of San Francisco’s biggest hill, the three-legged Sutro Tower dominates the city’s skyline. But this isn’t some grand scale art installation like Cupid’s Span; this massive structure acts as a vital part of San Francisco’s communications infrastructure, bouncing radio waves over Twin Peaks and all the … Continued
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Tech News
San Francisco’s Iconic Sourdough Is Made from 160-Year-Old Yeast
Boudin’s sourdough bread’s unique tangy taste and chewy center has been a hit with San Francisco residents since the bakery first opened in 1849. A big part of brand’s success has been due to its unyielding consistency—a feat only accomplished because the company is still using the same yeast culture that Isidore Boudin collected 160 … Continued
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Tech NewsA 100-Year-Old Emergency Water Supply Put Out A Fire In SF This Week
The five-alarm fire that destroyed a San Francisco apartment building this week put the city’s municipal water supply to the test: When water pressure began to dwindle, firefighters tapped an emergency system that was built below the city—all the way back in 1913. The six-story building under construction in the city’s Mission Bay neighborhood caught … Continued
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Tech News
Scenes of San Francisco’s Urban Life Told Through Illustrated Stories
Despite the whimsical nature of her drawings, make no mistake: San Francisco artist Wendy MacNaughton is a gifted urban anthropologist. Her newest book, Meanwhile in San Francisco: The City In Its Own Words, is an insightful, illustrated compendium of contemporary city life. MacNaughton spent hours in San Francisco’s urban institutions, from libraries to farmers markets … Continued
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Tech News
Mapping San Francisco’s Microclimates With Wine Grown in the City
When you think of wine, you probably don’t think of an urban farm wedged between public housing projects. But a pair of devoted viticulturists have upped the game in local winemaking, planting San Francisco’s first vineyard since the 1906 earthquake. What will the terroir of a city built on sand and landfill be like? We … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech News
A new movie about Chicago; an unbelievable road diet in Buenos Aires creates 100 blocks of pedestrian space; and a tour of the vibrant city of Accra. Plus, another idea for solving San Francisco’s housing crisis, and everyone’s favorite cokehead mayor hits the late night talk show circuit, all in this week’s Urban Reads. A … Continued
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Tech News
Google Glass, Mines, and Hipsters: What’s Ruining Our Cities This Week
Is Google Glass really “killing cities” or just the douchebags who wear them? Are mines bringing cities down—literally? Is the Bowery doomed? Is Berlin really over? We examine these questions and more, in this week’s edition of What’s Ruining Our Cities. Google Glass is ruining all cities It’s always fun to blame technology companies for … Continued
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Tech News
San Francisco Plans on Banning Plastic Water Bottles
San Francisco wants to cut its landfill waste down to absolute zero by 2020. While a city-wide plastic bag ban has been in effect for a few years, new legislation approved by the Board of Supervisors this week sets its sights on the bane of tap-water enthusiasts and thirsty environmentalists alike: Bay Area, say goodbye … Continued
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Tech News
In this week’s landscape reads, we rediscover the future of steampunk energy, we walk the radioactive shores of a manmade island in San Francisco, we climb to the top of California’s surreal palm tree economy, and we look back with both amusement and horror at pest control in communist China. The Radioactive Legacy of San … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech NewsApple
Sorry, It’s Not Tech Money Ruining San Francisco
They’re being targeted as harbingers of evil as their buses chug through otherwise inaccessible, gentrified neighborhoods. Now San Francisco’s tech workers are fighting back with a networking event called theTech Workers Against Displacement Happy Hour, that, in addition to sounding like a whole lot of fun, hopes to gather attendees who are “sick of being … Continued
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io9
San Francisco skeleton find sheds light on ancient Bay Area villages
Last week, construction workers on San Francisco’s new Transit Terminal unearthed a skeleton 60 feet underground. The life of the person whose bones they found reveals a lot about how rising water levels have changed life in the Bay Area over the past few thousand years. The skeleton found last week hasn’t been dated yet, … Continued
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Tech News
The San Francisco Mint Burned Its Carpets to Find $3,200 Worth of Gold
Even after the gold fever died down, gold itself was in the air in San Francisco—as long as you knew where to look. That place would be in the San Francisco Mint. In a majestic granite and sandstone building downtown, bullion was turned into gold coins—as well as lots and lots of gold dust. A … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech NewsTour the Nine Steepest Residential Streets in America
As a big urban walker, I like to head for the hills. So when I stumbled upon this list of the steepest streets in the U.S., I just had to see what they looked like, and I started planning a trip to hit all of the most insanely steep stretches of our American streets. The … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
What the Secret Symbols in Victorian Architecture Really Mean
San Francisco’s iconic Victorian style homes, such as the Painted Ladies of Full House fame, weren’t built merely as protection against the elements. Like 19th century Klout Scores, these houses were just as much status symbols as they were domiciles. But what do their ornate facades actually mean? 7×7’s Mary Jo Bowling explains. Early San … Continued
Mary Jo Bowling - 7x7 -
Tech News
Changes in Red Hook, violence in Kiev, and new ideas for Paris from mayoral candidates. Plus Bogotá bans cars for a week, California might divide into six states, and the surprising history of Hollywood. These are all the Urban Reads you need. “The trolleys were a reminder of a different era in Red Hook, a … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Dancing Robot That Took Over San Francisco
This is the story of how Robot Dance Party came to be—how it was born, how it went through “robot puberty,” and how it became the unwitting sex symbol of Dolores Park. Six years ago at Burning Man, Chris Hirst had a transcendental experience. Through two small holes in a cardboard-covered milk crate, he peered … Continued
Zachary Crockett - Priceonomics -
Tech News
The Highest Rents In The United States Are In Williston, North Dakota
You think rents are high in San Francisco? Try Williston, North Dakota. No wait, don’t—there’s nowhere to live. According to a new study by Apartment Guide, the most expensive rents in the country can be found in this relatively tiny North Dakota town. The study looks at the price for “entry level apartments,” defined as … Continued
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Tech News
Get A Load Of This Waterfall That Was Almost Built In San Francisco
San Francisco’s skyline has a handful of famous landmarks dotted around the city—the Transamerica Tower, the Painted Ladies, the Golden Gate Bridge—but the most visible might be Sutro Tower, standing 977-feet-tall on Twin Peaks since 1973. As icons go, it’s definitely got the minimal, industrial-chic vibe going on—essentially the complete opposite of this ambitious 1933 … Continued