Pocket Gardens Sprout on Paris's Anti-Parking Posts

by Jennifer Hattam

from http://www.treehugger.com/

A 'Potogreen' in Paris. Photo: Anne Mazauric via Paule Kingleur.

Necessary as they are to keep cars from blocking the sidewalk, anti-parking posts, or bollards, can be an ugly sight in a city. Parisian artist Paule Kingleur has commandeered some of the 335,000 posts in the French capital as sites for hanging micro-gardens -- what she calls a neighborhood "vegetable insurrection."

"Tomatoes, arugula, radishes, and flowers of all kinds" grow in these micro-gardens, according to the website Le Parisien. Kingleur worked with 600 children from Paris schools to plant the seeds and help keep them growing, she told Treehugger in an email this week about her "Potogreen" project.

Sewn Out Of Recycled Tents
"Children are adopting gardens. They are responsible for their care and are committed to leaving them in public spaces," Kingleur told Le Parisien.

The planters themselves are about as eco-friendly as you can get, made of discarded milk cartons collected from local businesses and wrapped in fabric pockets sewn out of recycled tents by Emmaus Maisons-Alfort, a rehabilitation association that works with homeless people.

Though each pocket garden can't grow much, the splashes of green are brightening up Paris neighborhoods. As one resident told Le Parisien: "When I left my house and I saw all these stakes with umbrellas of green, it was a piece of poetry in the street."

10 best biking cities in Europe

By Tyler Falk

From http://www.smartplanet.com/

While biking is becoming more popular in U.S. cities — L.A. is adding 1,600 bike lanes, Chicago has a new bike plan, and Portland has 17,000 daily commuters — Europe has some amazing biking cities of their own.
The Ecologist has come up with the 10 best biking cities in Europe (in no particular order):

-Lyon, France

• “With its charming twisty lanes and dedicated bike routes, Lyon is a cyclists’ paradise.”
• The city’s bike sharing program, Velo’v has over 300 stations throughout the city.

-Rome, Italy

• “Cycling is by far the best bet for seeing the sights close to the Tiber, where a picturesque route runs from the Ponte Sublicio to the Ponte della Magliana.”

-Basel, Switzerland

• “Featuring street lanes geared to cyclists and dedicated left hand turns to make crossing the road safer, Basel tops the list of cities to cycle in Switzerland.”

-Berlin, Germany

• “Thanks to the combined efforts of Allied air raids and the Communist predilection for destroying picturesque old buildings and replacing them with big, brash new ones, Berlin’s streets are wonderfully wide, which makes it easy to get around by bike.”

-Trondheim, Norway

• “With its picturesque setting on the shores of the cerulean Trondheimsfjord, Norway’s fourth largest city has built a reputation for bicycling brilliance thanks to innovations such as the Trampe bicycle lift which takes the effort out of pedaling uphill.”

-Paris, France

• “While the many hazards of the Place de la Concorde aren’t the greatest advertisement for cycling in Paris, once you’re a safe distance from the city’s infamously crazy drivers – on the pavement in other words – then cycling in Paris can be a real pleasure.”

-Barcelona, Spain

• “Surprisingly, given Spain’s reputation for endangering the lives and limbs of cyclists thanks to its motorists’ penchant for going everywhere at top speed, Barcelona has 50,000 regular cyclists and that figure is increasing daily.”

-Copenhagen, Denmark

• 37 percent of all Copenhageners bike a total of 1.2 million kilometers each day.
• “The Danish capital has been quietly turning itself into one of the best biking cities in the world; a fact revealed when the International Cycling Union gave it the first ‘Bike City’ award last year.”

-London, England

• The city is working to build 12 biking “superhighways” — there are already two — and increase biking by 400 percent from 2000.
• “Cycling in London used to be pretty dreadful thanks to an unfortunate combination of rain and aggressive drivers but since the first two Barclays Cycle Superhighways launched last summer, things have become a little easier.”

-Amsterdam, Netherlands

• There are 600,000 bikes in a city of 750,000.
• “Thanks in part to the narrow streets in the medieval city center, cycling is by far the most efficient way to get around.”

Watch this inspiring video of Amsterdam’s biking community:

Hero Dad Catches Toddler After Tumble From Paris Apartment Building Window

by Amy Hatch

from: http://www.parentdish.com/

Filed under: In The News, Weird But True

Nice catch, Dad. Credit: Getty Images

Zut alors!

It was the catch of a lifetime for a French good Samaritan, who saved a Parisian toddler from certain death this week.

An 18-month-old baby tumbled out of an apartment building in Paris Nov. 1, only to be saved by the open arms of a father who was passing by on the street below. The little girl, who fell seven stories, bounced off a cafe awning and was caught by the unnamed man, the New York Post reports.

The rescuer, who also happened to be a doctor, was alerted to the situation by his own young son. The boy got a glimpse of the child, who was allegedly playing with her sisters, just before she fell out of the window. French authorities are praising the man's quick reflexes and credit him with saving the baby's life.

The petite enfant, who also was not named, was taken to the hospital. Miraculously, she suffered nary a scratch during her frightening fall. According to the Post, the children were unsupervised at the time of the incident and les gendarmes are questioning the child's parents as to why the kids were left in the apartment alone.

The Eiffel Tower Made Its Own Lightning?!? Yes, Yes It Did!

Click To Enlarge

spaceweather.com — Photographed by Hakim Atek on 25 May 2009 in France. "The upward branching in this photo shows that the Eiffel Tower actually initiated the discharge," says lightning researcher Richard Blakeslee..."In other words, instead of starting in the cloud and coming to ground, this flash started when the tower 'launched' a leader that propagated upward..."

Here's the complete description from http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1& ... ("Spaceweather.com Time Machine", 28 May 2009, www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=28&month=05&year=2009):

"The upward branching in this photo shows that the Eiffel Tower actually initiated the discharge," says lightning researcher Richard Blakeslee of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "In other words, instead of starting in the cloud and coming to ground, this flash started when the tower 'launched' a leader that propagated upward toward the cloud (which still served as the source of the electric field needed to get the process going). As the leader ascended, it branched out. Eventually one of the branches reached a region of sufficient charge to 'short out the cloud' and produce the return stroke pictured above." 

Daniel Buren’s Beach Art: The Illusion of a Forest On The Beach

Daniel Buren is French conceptual artist born in 1938 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
He is well known artist and he already did numerous significant artworks. He is famous by his 3.000 m² sculpture “Les Deux Plateaux” in the great courtyard of the Palais Royal, in Paris. The latest artwork that is made by Daniel Buren is his ‘beach art’ that was performed in Den Haan, Belgium. His beach artwork is pretty different and unique in it’s own way because it’s made out of hundreds of flagpoles and windsocks.

You can see here his artistic construction that contains 100 flagpoles up with 100 windsocks, similar to those that can be found on bridges and airports which are used to show the direction of the wind. The tubes are candy-striped and they stand in horizontal position because of the wind.
Buren says that he wants to inspire the illusion of a forest on the beach with his artworks.



More about the artist:
Daniel Buren is born in 1938 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
In 1986 Daniel Buren created a 3,000 m² sculpture in the great courtyard of the Palais Royal, in Paris: “Les Deux Plateaux”, more commonly referred to as the “Colonnes de Buren”. This provoked an intense debate over the integration of contemporary art and historic buildings.
Sometimes classified as an abstract minimalist he is known best for using regular, contrasting maxi stripes to integrate the visual surface and architectural space, notably historical, landmark architecture.
Credits: [DanielBuren.com | Flickr ]

Paris at Night -

Click to Enlarge...double click to zoom..

upload.wikimedia.org — The image may take a while to download, definitely worth the wait.

Amazing Pic!!

What Not To Do In Paris: The Top Five Tourist Mistakes

From: http://www.jaunted.com/
by JetSetCD

Ahh Paris, City of Lights, city of stinky cheese, and city of a million tourists. As much as we love you, we know to be cautious around certain things while visiting. We have been to Paris many times, but for this feature on what not to do, we consulted with a friend who not only lived in Paris, but also studied art and photography there for years. Yes, someone who truly learned what it was to spend an evening in Montmartre and walk by Notre Dame daily.

So without further ado, here is the Jaunted guide of What Not To Do In Paris: The Top 5 Tourist Mistakes.

Check them out, after the jump.

5. DON'T try to see the Louvre in 3 hours or under
You've come all this way and we know you might have other places on your itinerary, but dashing through the Louvre Museum is just robbing yourself. It really deserves an entire day, especially considering how much you spend on the entrance tickets (14 Euro per person, for the whole place) and how long it'll take you first find the Mona Lisa and then wait for the crowd to part enough so that you can get a picture with it in the background.

4. DON'T don a beret, striped shirt, red neck kerchief, grow out a thin mustache, or do any combination of those things.
This is what is called "perpetuating a stereotype." You don't drive to Texas and throw spurs on your boots and the biggest 10-gallon hat on your head, do you? A trip to Paris is not Halloween. Regardless, there will be those who violate this rule, and we have no doubt that they will also try to wear kimonos in Japan.

3. DON'T forget to purchase an RER ticket for the train to the airport
Many tourists are tripped up on this since they believe that the initial entry ticket to the Metro will get them out to Charles de Gaulle airport. Alas, no. There are RER police that come aboard to check ticket, making sure you have a full fare ticket for the airport. If you're caught lacking, then the fine is at least 20 Euros—it'd be a shame to lose your airport coffee and baguette money before even reaching CDG.

2. DON'T go to Paris with the belief that luxury goods will be cheaper
Because they won't. Brands, especially French luxury brands, have their images to uphold. Just because they are headquartered in Paris or their goods are made in France doesn't mean that they'll give you a proximity discount. Fine things take so much to manufacture, and because so many tourists come to Paris with the dream of purchasing a Chanel jacket or a Louis Vuitton bag or an Hermes boot here, that's all the more reason to keep price high (or higher!).

1. DON'T order a la carte at dinner
Going out to a mid-price or fancy restaurant is a dream, when you're in France and looking for the best wine and unpronounceable cheeses. Instead of racking up an astronomical bill by picking and choosing, better to go with a prix fixe menu, a more economical way to enjoy a variety of courses. Most restaurants have prix fixe menus that change daily, but beware of any outright labeled as "tourist menus," since those will often skimp on the portions or offer up blander choices.

Odd tricyle mapping Paris streets for Google

August 7th, 2009 By HELENE GOUPIL , Associated Press Writer

Enlarge

Google employee Arthur Poirier, on a camera-equiped tricycle, records images for Google's Street View Maps in front of the Grande Arche de la Defense, outside Paris, Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. The U.S. company has hired two young cyclists to ride through gardens, historical sites and other pedestrian-only areas on the three-wheeler to take thousands of digital photos. (AP Photos/Jacques Brinon)

(AP) -- Parisians and tourists, relax. That goofy looking tricycle equipped with loads of high-tech equipment roaming the streets is NOT some mad scientist's invention on the rampage.

The three-wheeler is a sight with its long pole holding nine cameras, a GPS, a computer and a generator. But the contraption tooling around the French capital needs all that gear to do its job - adding three-dimensional images to Google's Street View Maps.

The U.S. company has hired two young cyclists to ride through gardens, historical sites and other pedestrian-only areas on the device to take thousands of digital photos.

"The idea is to be able to offer 360-degree images of places that were inaccessible before," Google spokesperson Anne-Gabrielle Dauba-Pantanacce said in an interview.

The riders, wearing Google tee-shirts and white helmets, are visiting well-known sites such as the Chateau de Versailles, west of Paris, the Jardin du Luxembourg on the city's Left Bank or Les Halles, in the busy center of the French capital.

Google is to map Paris until Aug. 20, then head to the north of the country. In the fall, the tricycle goes south, said Dauba-Pantanacce.

The company plans to add new photos to their Street View option in all French cities with touristic areas that may be of interest to visitors.

Similar tricycles have already combed the streets of Britain and Italy in June and July, said Dauba-Pantanacce. Google plans to make 3-D maps of streets in other European countries, but the schedule has not yet been set, she said.

Spotted Friday at La Defense, the tricycle looked decidedly out of place at the modern high-rise business center on Paris' western edge.

A clunky white pole in the back holds an octagonal platform with eight cameras on the sides and one on top. Each minute, the cameras take bursts of high-definition photos to allow online users to get a virtual tour of the area.

"I rode two hours this morning," said 25-year-old Gregory Landais, who was taking a break after cruising through La Defense, France's touch of Manhattan. "For a site like this, it can take up to five hours."

To respect people's privacy, Google has installed software that recognizes license plates and people's faces and automatically blurs them, Dauba-Pantanacce said. Google will then choose the best photos among the thousands taken.

The blurring comes to meet privacy concerns.

Google recently acceded to German demands to erase the raw footage of faces, house numbers, license plates and individuals who have told authorities they do not want their information used in the service.

Greek officials rejected a bid to photograph the nation's streets until more privacy safeguards are provided. Residents of one English village formed a human chain to stop a camera van, and in Japan the company agreed to reshoot views taken by a camera high enough to peer over fences.

The photos of Paris and other major French cities to follow were expected to be available online by the end of the year.

One curious sightseer was 46-year-old Jose Mountinho of Portugal.

"I've already seen Google Maps but I had no idea how they did it," Mountinho said.

---

http://www.google.com/intl/fr/press/streetview/index.html )

http://maps.google.fr/

©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Norman Foster Unveils Twin Faceted Skyscrapers for Paris

Inhabitat

by Mike Chino

Norman Foster + Partners recently revealed the masterplan for a new sustainable community just outside of Paris complete with twin faceted skyscrapers that will be the tallest mixed-use towers in Western Europe. Dubbed Hermitage Plaza, the high-density development will create a a thriving community east of La Défense that is targeting a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating - one of the world’s most widely used environmental assessment methods for architecture.

Running alongside the Seine, Hermitage Plaza “will create a 24-hour community that will regenerate the riverfront and inject new life into a predominantly commercial part of the city.” The development will feature a hotel, spa, apartments, offices, and retail space in addition to a public piazza that runs all the way to the river’s edge. The twin triangle-faceted towers face each other at the ground level and twist as they rise to give stunning views of the city of light. Each tower features a high-performance glazed façade split into faceted panels that promote shading, and exterior vents can be opened for natural ventilation.

Paris has a history of vigorously fighting to preserve its skyline, so it will be interesting to see how the public receives this project. Hermitage Plaza is slated to break ground in 2010 and complete by the end of 2014.

+ Foster + Partners

Via Dezeen