Archinect - News

Asphalt Art Initiative expands pedestrian safety program to these 25 North American Cities

2023-11-14T15:53:00-05:00

Another round of funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Asphalt Art Initiative has been announced in an effort to improve the pedestrian safety of 25 different cities in North America.

Grants of up to $25,000 were awarded also in Mexico and Canada for the first time in the program’s history. This fourth round will bring the total number of cities impacted by the program to 90. The initiative says they chose from a field of 200 applicants, and that each selected project will be installed by the end of 2024.

Mexico City, San Francisco, Calgary, and Portland are among the larger metros of the group, which also includes smaller American cities like Stamford, Connecticut, and Anderson, South Carolina.

A 2021 Asphalt Art Initiative installation in Pittsburgh, PA. Lead artists: Tim Englehardt and Randi Stewart. Image: Sean Carroll

The latest grantees, divided into three respective categories, are:

"Improve a challenging intersection using curb extensions and other tools"

United States: An...

SOM will deliver new $700 million climate center to NYC’s Governors Island

2023-04-24T15:18:00-04:00

A new 400,000-square-foot climate campus scheme for New York City’s Governors Island has been unveiled by SOM and Mayor Eric Adams at the close of a two-year competitive bids process for a project that is expected to support cutting-edge environmental research while creating green jobs and educational opportunities for future generations.

Image: SOM/Brick Visual, courtesy New York Mayor's Office.

Image: SOM/Miysis, courtesy New York Mayor's Office.

Stony Brook University is leading the New York City Exchange development, which will also add $1 billion in economic benefits to the city. The university will partner with a list of 15 schools and organizations, including IBM, Georgia Tech, and Oxford University, and offer space to 30 other entities from the non-profit sector, all with expertise that touches on the development’s core program areas of environmental justice, water rights, workforce development, education, and labor.

Image: SOM/Brick Visual, courtesy New York Mayor's Office.

I...

The Asphalt Art Initiative expands to more cities as new statistics point to improved pedestrian safety

2022-04-19T20:06:00-04:00

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a European expansion of its Asphalt Art Initiative on the heels of a new study from the organization and Sam Schwartz Consulting that revealed some eye-opening statistics about the improvement of blacktop spaces in urban areas. A total of 20 new cities will be given grants of $25,000 each as part of the program’s next round of funding, which has to date gone to fund 45 projects in 41 different locations across the United States.

The joint study of 22 different U.S. test cases revealed that arts-driven transportation projects produce, among other outcomes, a 50% drop in the rate of crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists, a 37% drop in the rate of crashes involving serious injury, another 25% drop in road rage incidents between pedestrian and motorist, and a 27% increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians who have the right-of-way, suggesting tremendous public health and safety benefits overall.

Asphalt Art Initiative, Amsterdam. Lead artist: ...

Barcelona wins Grand Prize in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge for Europe

2014-09-23T21:32:00-04:00

Michael Bloomberg's Bloomberg Philanthropies revealed the winners of its first European edition of the Mayors Challenge. More than 150 top cities from 28 European nations entered the competition, which asked participants to send their most innovative ideas that address Europe's timely pressing issues like unemployment, energy efficiency, obesity, aging, and improving government efficiency.

Barcelona took the Grand Prize for Innovation and €5 million to help implement their proposal, Collaborative Care Networks for Better Aging, a digital and community "trust network" for each of its at-risk elderly residents.

Innovation prizes of €1 million were also given to the following cities:

Athens, Greece: Synathina, a Public Platform for Engaged Citizens
Kirklees, in Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Kirklees Shares
Stockholm, Sweden: Biochar - for a Better City Ecosystem
Warsaw, Poland: Virtual Warsaw - Urban Information System for the Visually Impaired

In addition to prize money, each winning city will receive technical assistance, expert coaching, and a trophy specially designed by renowned artist Olafur Eliasson.

Michael Bloomberg congratulated Barcelona via a surprise phone call from Paris in the video below.

Learn more about the winning ideas on Bustler.

Behind the Scenes at Bloomberg’s Ideas Camp for Cities

2014-07-21T13:29:00-04:00

Serious money is in play in the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ “Mayors’ Challenge” for cities competing to show they have come up with promising innovations to cope with 21st-century challenges. “It was a big surprise to hear we’d share our ideas with competitors,” says Gomes. “But it works brilliantly. It’s exactly what you need—everyone sharing and trying to help each other. It’s crazy, but it works.”

Previously:

How the Bloomberg Mayors Challenge Is Being Received in Europe

2014-06-27T13:09:00-04:00

Can a U.S. organization really tell Europe how to run its cities better? [...] Following a successful inaugural challenge last year, the city innovation contest crossed the Atlantic in 2014, winnowing down European applicant cities to a shortlist of 21*, all of whom attended a two-day Ideas Camp staged in Berlin earlier this month. [...] A European organization could not realistically offer anything as substantial as €9 million in prize money.

Previously: Twenty-one finalists for the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge Competition in Europe

Twenty-one finalists for the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge Competition in Europe

2014-05-08T14:58:00-04:00

Twenty-one of what was deemed as the most bold and creative ideas were listed as finalists in the first European edition of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge Competition. European cities with populations of at least 100,000 residents were invited to submit ideas that address a variety of some of the most common and complex urban issues throughout the continent.

In the fall, one winner will get the grand prize of €5 million (approx. US$6.9 million) for the most original and transferable idea, and four more cities will receive €1 million (approx. US$1.4 million).

Below are the finalist cities and a glimpse into the type of issues their ideas address:

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Youth Unemployment
ATHENS, Greece – Civic Engagement
BARCELONA, Spain – Aging
BOLOGNA, Italy – Youth Unemployment
BRISTOL, United Kingdom – Health/Anti-obesity
BRNO, Czech Republic – Public Safety/Civic Engagement
CARDIFF, United Kingdom – Economic Development
FLORENCE, Italy – Economic Development
GDANSK, Poland – Civic Engagement
KIRKLEES, United Kingdom - Social Capital
RAKOW, Poland – Transportation
LISBON, Portugal – Energy
LONDON, United Kingdom – Public Health
MADRID, Spain – Energy
SCHAERBEEK, Belgium – Energy
SOFIA, Bulgaria – Civic Engagement
STARA ZAGORA, Bulgaria – Economic Development
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Environment
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Civic Engagement
WARSAW, Poland – Tran...