I am a transportation nerd. I love maps and infographics. I love sustainable urban design. And, I want to explore the cities of the world.
This map is pretty much the coolest thing ever.
Copyright Stonebrown Design
If I cannot physically explore the cities of the world (at least not yet), why not explore them through a blog? I want this blog to be a place where I can explore the unique and wonderful aspects of cities, their residents, and the lifestyles they espouse. I want it to be a place where I can explore the failing and falling aspects of cities. And, I want it to be a place where I can explore the sustainability and livability of cities and suggestions for their futures.
For the design of my blog, I would like to have a clean, urban-looking design that is colorful and attractive to the eye. I want to have posts display with a title, summary, and picture, rather than displaying the whole article.
With regards to voice, I want to include a biography so that readers know I am a student who is exploring these issues, not an expert giving opinion. From what I have seen of the city blogosphere, the student voice is underrepresented. I would love for this blog to be a community of people learning about cities from both each others experiences and experts opinions.
Two blogs that I have looked to for content and design:
Cities for People is a blog by Gehl Architects, an Urban Quality Consulting firm that focuses on the human dimension of cities. I love reading their ideas about livability and how community spaces can affect how people move within cities. Their use of infographics to explain their ideas is impeccable. I also love that each blogger has a biography describing his or her role in the company because it gives readers an idea of who is writing each post and with what mindset they might be approaching the issue. (Cities For People. gehlcitiesforpeople.dk. 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2013)
This Big City is an online publication that shares ideas for sustainable cities. Though this is not a blog, I love their clean and attractive design. I think the fact that their homepage shows a title, preview, and photo makes the website clean and easy to navigate. I also love reading their ideas about sustainability issues because their staff have some excellent insights into ideas and projects for sustainable cities. (This Big City. thisbigcity.net. 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2013)
I really enjoyed how you want to include that you’re a student and that your blog won’t be coming from an expert’s opinion. It’s something different and can almost be more personal that way. The idea you have for a blog is also very creative because if you create a post of someplace that you would like to travel to one day, that can spark an idea for someone reading your blog to start looking more into that location. It sounds like it can be a great and easy way for traveling ideas, good job.
Thanks for the feedback!
The blog will not actually be a travel blog, though looking back I’m seeing how it seems that way. The blog’s focus will be more on sustainability and livability issues within cities. I would really love to include posts about travel, especially if I study abroad or travel more, but they will be more from a sustainability/livability view point.
I liked your idea of having posts displayed with a header, picture, and summary, instead of the article itself. When I am searching a blog site these are the criteria that make posts jump out. Your topic is incredibly interesting and it will be very helpful to read a student’s perspectives on cities of the world. For your posts will you use firsthand experiences of the cities, or will you research the places you talk about and wish to go to? I can’t wait to read your blog!
Thanks, Max!
To answer your question, I will be researching different cities’ specific sustainability and livability issues and solutions and researching some issues and ideas that span across many cities. My blog will not actually be a travel blog, though looking back at what I wrote it comes across like that. I am really interested in travel and that will probably be an element of the blog, especially if I do end up studying abroad and traveling, but the main purpose is to look at the sustainability and livability issues within cities and how they can be improved.
I really like your blog proposal, especially because your interests mean that it will focus on multiple types of media. It sounds to me that your blog will be in some ways similar to Entrapped Spaces, a Tumblr-based blog that shares any relative information about cities and urban areas. I also like your emphasis on providing an autobiography of sorts to indicate that you are not an expert. That is helpful on many levels, especially for people seeking a more informal and exploratory blog. http://entrappedspaces.tumblr.com/
Thanks, Frank! Entrapped Spaces looks really interesting from just a quick glance over it. I’ll definitely look into it more in depth!
Your blog idea is really interesting, like you I’m also really big on traveling. My family travels a lot, and like you I have loved every city that I have even been to both domestic and foreign. One of my suggestions for you would be to include the audience into sharing their experiences. Not only could you live vicariously through there experiences, but it can also provide the readers with a sense of getting their own experiences heard. Also another suggestion I would recommend would be to ask the readers to share any pictures they have taken on their trips to other cities. Given how many students here have gone abroad, a lot of the readers could share their own personal experiences.
Thanks for the feedback! This blog will not actually be a travel blog, though looking back I can see how it seems that way. The focus will be more on sustainability and livability issues within cities, but that naturally lends itself to some travel posts! I really like your suggestion about asking readers and students here about their experiences and pictures. That will definitely help me give a more rounded and complete view on different cities around the world!