the revealing habits of human beings, and other tips for urban navigation – mammoth // building nothing out of something

the revealing habits of human beings, and other tips for urban navigation

In an “Op-Art” at the New York Times, author Tristan Gooley and illustrator Ross MacDonald share with us fascinating tips for “navigating the urban jungle” (tips which would fit neatly into Free Association Design‘s call for a study of embodiment and urbanism, like a manual for enhanced urban sensory awareness).  The prevailing winds can be located by looking for erosion patterns on buildings — particularly “stonework above the first floor” — or studying patterns in street trees; in the northern hemisphere, television satellite dishes point more-or-less south, towards geostationary satellites; when the sun is hidden behind buildings, one can still track it’s location using clouds, whose “bright rimmed edges… act like curved mirrors”.

One Response to “the revealing habits of human beings, and other tips for urban navigation”

  1. Nice information on satellite navigation. Never knew.