This article will find its way to thisbigcity.net in the coming days. Until then, it’s an exclusive for our Tumblr followers. - Joe
Last year I wrote an article sharing ten of my favourite urbanism blogs on Tumblr. One year on, it seemed like a good time for a follow up article - thanks to those of you who helped me out with my research for this list!
So, apart from Tumblr’s recent billion dollar acquisition, what’s changed in the last year? Which urbanism tumblogs have launched or hit their stride and become invaluable sources? Here are ten we recommend:
Written by This Big City contributor Jillian Glover, This City Life aims to remind people that ”a city is only as awesome as the people who live there,” with content largely focusing on public spaces and arts and culture. Unlike many tumblogs, This City Life leans more towards the longer-form (for Tumblr, that is) and is published from Vancouver.
With a focus on the East African country of Kenya, Dream Cities Forum is an initiative which aims to inspire individuals in Kenya to transform their cities. The tumblog shares inspiring projects from across the region, mixing photography with detailed plans and analysis.
Who doesn’t love transit maps? This one’s a pretty self-explanatory tumblog, sharing transit maps from all over the world. Though the main focus is transit maps of past and present, future developments are also shared, along with some more curious variations upon the theme.
With a strapline of “music, food, cities and the places where people come together to experience them,” it’s almost like this tumblog was built to cater to my tastes exactly. A fantastic source for high quality photosets from cities all over the world.
The New Urbanist is pretty new to Tumblr, but the early signs are promising. The tumblog features an extensive series of photosets, predominantly focusing on sustainable building projects “designed to a human scale.” Posts often feature a mixture of photos and site plans.
Another relatively new tumblog, Landscape Urbanism Library is presented in a bookshelf format displaying “books and publications on theory, design, science and nature to understand the interdisciplinary field of Landscape Urbanism.”
Public Art Fund is a New York City project that puts on free public art exhibitions across the city. Their tumblog isn’t entirely New York City-focused, sharing photos (and the occasional video) of public art projects from their home city and further afield.
Another one where the clue’s in the name. This is a classic single-subject tumblog sharing - you guessed it - photos of ugly houses in Belgium. Even if your knowledge of suburban Belgian architecture is limited (and chances are, it is), this tumblog is worth a follow.
Studio630 is a research blog from This Big City contributor Kyle Rogler, sharing articles related to “architecture, urban design, technology, culture, and programming.” Photos and videos feature, though almost always with some kind of analysis attached. Great if you want your dashboard to contain words as well as pictures!
Our last spot on the list goes to Emile Hooge’s Urban Bricolage - a tumblog that shares “examples of people tinkering with urban space.” Expect photos and the occasional video of citizen-led urban transformation projects from across the globe.
