On a frigid, gray morning this month, a half-dozen community advocates stood on a street corner in the South Bronx, struggling to be heard over the roar of heavy trucks. New York had recently begun charging vehicles to enter the citys central business district, becoming the first in the nation to try to reduce traffic with a congestion pricing program.Yet while the tolls are expected to speed commutes and help improve air quality in the region, they are also projected to worsen traffic and pollution in a handful of neighborhoods, including the South Bronx, one of the citys poorest.We are inundated with traffic, said Mychal Johnson, co-founder of South Bronx Unite, a community advocacy group that was part of the environmental justice advisory group for the congestion pricing program.Mychal Johnson (center), co-founder of South Bronx Unite, speaks about one of the air monitors his group has installed around the New York neighborhood to measure pollution. [Photo: Nicholas Kusnetz/Inside Climate News]One block south of where Johnson stood is a waste transfer facility, the destination of many of the trucks driving behind him. One block north is the six-lane Major Deegan Expressway, while Bruckner Boulevard, a heavily traveled route into Manhattan, lay in between. Nestled around these are a public housing project, several new residential high-rises and a charter high school built to serve 1,300 students.On Jan. 5, New Yorks Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) began charging vehicles that drive into Manhattan below 60th Street. The program should increase train and bus ridership and generate billions of dollars in revenue for public transportation. But it is also expected to divert some traffic around Manhattan, leading to more vehicles rumbling through parts of the Bronx, Staten Island and Northern New Jersey.In the neighborhood where Johnson spoke, 95% of residents are Hispanic or Black,according to datacompiled by New York Universitys Furman Center. One-third live in poverty. Across the Bronx,one in five people have asthmathe highest rate in the citys five boroughswhile the South Bronx has thehighest rates of respiratory hospitalizationsrelated to air pollution, according to city data.South Bronx Unite held the press conference to highlight the disproportionate impacts of congestion pricing on the neighborhood. A nurse from a hospital spoke about treating asthma patients. A parent detailed the psychological, educational and financial impacts when kids miss school due to chronic asthma attacks, forcing parents to miss work, too. A community gardener displayed his portable nebulizer, which he uses to treat symptoms of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Daniel Chervoni grew up in the South Bronx and now runs a community garden in the area. He carries a portable nebulizer to treat symptoms of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary fibrosis. [Photo: Nicholas Kusnetz/Inside Climate News]An associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University spoke about apartnership with South Bronx Uniteto monitor air quality with a network of sensors. Early data showed stark comparisons with a wealthy neighborhood in the Northern Bronx.Johnson lamented that his organization should feel the need to embark on such a monitoring project, and he stressed that the group was not opposed to the plan to charge drivers for entering the city center.We are for reducing congestion, Johnson said as more trucks drove behind him. We just cant be the shoulder-bearers of when they reduce it at other locations. Our community is suffering.Broadly speaking, many environmental advocates and planners praised New Yorks congestion charging as a major victory. City and state leaders had been trying to implement a program for nearly two decades, and finally reached agreement to do so in 2019. Last year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul suspended the plan shortly before it was to begin, only to revive a new version with lower rates after the election. President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker, has opposed congestion pricing and pledged to block it.New York has some of the nations worst traffic. And while air qualityhas improvedover the past decades, levels of some pollutants remain high, especially in central and lower Manhattan.TheMTAs environmental assessmentsaid congestion pricing would increase worker productivity, lower the cost of making deliveries and help emergency vehicles reach their destinations more quickly, by speeding traffic. The assessment projected that levels of some pollutants like fine particulate matter should drop by more than 10% in the area covered by tolls, and incrementally region-wide.Yet the environmental assessment acknowledged that not all areas would benefit, and that some of these burdens would fall on environmental justice communities, poor neighborhoods that already have bad air quality or pollution-related health problems.To counter these disproportionate impacts, the MTA isallocating $100 millionfor mitigation in affected neighborhoods to install air purifiers in schools, plant roadside vegetation and take other measures. In the Bronx, which will receive 72% of the funds, the agency will also create an asthma treatment center and replace diesel refrigeration units with cleaner alternatives at a large food distribution center that is a source of heavy truck traffic.The MTA declined to make anyone available for an interview for this article. Instead, a spokesperson pointed to comments by the authoritys chief executive, Janno Lieber, at a recent press conference and during a local radio show, when he touted the spending in the Bronx.Were making the big investments that more than offset any hypothetical impact from truck traffic in the Bronx thats a result of congestion pricing, Lieber said onWNYCs Brian Lehrer Show.Hochuls office referred questions to the MTA.Johnson said his group was not satisfied with the MTAs response, and called the asthma center funding insulting.If they know that problem is already pre-existing, mitigation after the fact is not helpful, Johnson said.In an interview after the press conference, Johnson said he had spoken with the MTA as the agency was developing congestion pricing.We told them we dont want one more truck, Johnson said. I said, Is it fair to ask our children to have to ingest the fumes from another truck when they already are impacted so heavily? He added, They had no response. How do you respond?The group dispersed quickly after the press conference, seeking warmer and quieter spots. The trucks kept roaring by. Nicholas Kusnetz, Inside Climate NewsThis article originally appeared on Inside Climate News. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Construction technology company ICON has completed the first house in its Wimberley Springs development outside of Austin, the company's second fully 3D-printed neighbourhood.AlphaBeta Z is a 380-square-metre (4,115-square-foot) four-bedroom house located at the entrance of the Wimberley Springs neighbourhood in Wimberley, Texas.According to ICON, it took five months to complete the one-storey structure, which it claimed is 50 per cent less than standard building in the region.ICON has completed printing a model home in its second 3D-printed neighbourhood in TexasIt is the first of eight full-size properties to be printed in Wimberley Springs.The house features a "luxurious and spacious layout".Two wings branch off a central great room and hold bedrooms and public spaces, respectively.The model house contains a central family room with wings that branch off either sideThe walls are 3D-printed from ICON's proprietary, low-carbon cementitious material CarbonX, a material partially sourced from the South Texas environment and the "lowest carbon residential building system to be used at scale," according to the company.The external and internal walls end in rounded corners throughout the structure, creating small nooks internally and curves on its facade.Internal and external walls end with rounded cornersIt is topped with a standing seam roof, and floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors are distributed around the perimeter.Its design was pulled from ICON's recently announced Codex portal, a catalogue of ready-to-print 3D houses with designs created by ICON, BIG and a host of smaller studios.Read: Lloyd Wright chapel to be disassembled following ongoing California landslideSeven other houses are slated to be printed in the Wimberley Springs neighbourhood. According to its website, buyers can choose between options such as "smooth" or "textured" walls and a light grey or warmer, neutral interior palette.It also notes that due to "the resilient concrete wall system", the houses' wall slow heat transfer, lessening the need for heating and cooling systems and increasing overall energy efficiency.Seven other houses are slated to be constructed in the neighbourhoodWimberley Springs is the second fully 3D-printed development by ICON, joining Wolf Ranch in Georgetown, Texas, co-designed with BIG.The first model house at Wolf Ranch was completed in Summer 2023 and the neighborhood is nearing completion, according to Reuters.Last year at the design and technology fair SXSW, the company unveiled a machine that can 3D-print fully enclosed structures.The photography is courtesy of ICONThe post ICON completes 3D-printed house for its second Texas neighbourhood appeared first on Dezeen.

The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features the renovation of an early 20th-century apartment in Barcelona.Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.Local practice Sigla Studio renovated preserved the original mosaic floors and mouldings. Readers were impressed by the restoration, with one describing it as "delicate, sensitive and restrained", while another praised the "lovely blend of the best of the existing with some sympathetic modern additions".James Turrell reveals "monumental sequence of chambers" for AlUla desert installation Other stories in this week's newsletter that fired up the comments section included James Turrell's plans for an installation in Saudi Arabia's AlUla desert, a research centre in Basel by Herzog & de Meuronand Valerio Olgiati's plans for a trio of skyscrapers in Albania.Dezeen DebateDezeen Debate is sent every Tuesday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.The post Dezeen Debate features "delicate and restrained" restoration in Barcelona appeared first on Dezeen.

Syntilay has set its sights on reshaping footwear design with a product that blends artificial intelligence, cutting-edge 3D printing, and a radical aesthetic. At a glance, these slides break every convention of traditional footwear. The sculptural design, intricate texturing, and futuristic form factor signal a comfortable slip-on that represents a shift in how shoes are conceived, produced, and worn.Designer: SyntilayA Design That Defies ConventionThe Syntilay slides are a unique entry into the foam clog category. Unlike the minimalistic silhouettes of Crocs or Yeezy Foam Runners, these shoes break the mold with their biomechanical-inspired aesthetic. Their sculptural structure is layered with intricate patterns and textures, creating a fluid, dynamic visual effect. Deep, organic grooves add a sense of movement, almost as if the material was shaped by natural forces rather than manufactured. The design blends aesthetics and functionality into a seamless form, drawing inspiration from topographical mapping and even the exoskeleton of a creature.The open-toe structure is both functional and aesthetic, allowing for ventilation while reinforcing the shoes distinct identity. The exaggerated cutouts on the sides go beyond standard aeration, giving the silhouette a futuristic, almost biomechanical presence. They create visual contrast, breaking up the form and adding a sense of lightness despite the shoes otherwise bold stance.Material flexibility is another key aspect. When manipulated by hand, the shoe demonstrates its softness and pliability, highlighting its comfort and ability to adapt to the foots natural movement. The off-white, almost bone-like color enhances its organic aesthetic, while a subtle glow hints at a possible luminescent effect or reflective properties.The sole itself carries the same attention to detail, featuring intricate engraving and raised textures that enhance grip while reinforcing the overall aesthetic. The branding is subtly integrated into the sole, allowing the shoes shape and texture to take center stage. Unlike typical slides that rely on simple, smooth bottoms, this approach makes the footwear feel more integrated and purposeful.Overall, the design speaks to a blend of futurism and nature-inspired aesthetics, merging technical functionality with artistic expression. The form is designed for aesthetics and function, delivering comfort, grip, and seamless movement, unlike conventional slides.The Technology Behind the DesignBeyond aesthetics, these shoes are built on a solid technological foundation. The design process begins with AI-generated concepts, using MidJourney to craft the initial ideas. From there, human designer Kedar Benjamin refines these forms into standardized sketches, which are then translated into 3D models through Vizcom AI. The result is a design language that wouldnt be possible using traditional CAD tools alone.Once finalized, the slides are 3D-printed on demand through Syntilays partnership with Zellerfeld, a company specializing in additive footwear manufacturing. This method eliminates traditional assembly steps, reducing waste and ensuring that each pair is printed as a single cohesive unit. The use of TPU gives the slides their flexibility and durability, balancing comfort with structural integrity.Customization plays a central role in this process. Instead of relying on standard sizing, Syntilay uses smartphone foot scanning technology, allowing each pair to be tailor-made for the wearer. This approach helps solve fit inconsistencies, especially for those with slight differences between their left and right feet.The Challenge of Scaling a Futuristic VisionDespite its technical innovation, the Syntilay slide faces hurdles in proving its practicality beyond aesthetics. The $149.99 price tag places it well above typical foam-based slides, requiring a strong justification for durability, comfort, and long-term usability. While the AI-assisted design process significantly accelerates product development, the company claims its approach speeds up development and can produce a product within days. Additionally, Syntilay states that the entire idea-to-market process could be accelerated by a factor of 9.However, scaling production efficiently remains a significant challenge. Currently, production is limited to a few thousand pairs, indicating that mass production is not yet feasible. Each pair takes approximately three weeks to produce, as orders are fulfilled on-demand, further constraining production capacity. This could lead to limited accessibility if demand surges, though this is a logical inference rather than a confirmed issue.Its also important to note that part of this challenge stems from the products customized nature. Unlike mass-produced footwear, each pair is 3D printed on demand to fit the customers specific foot measurements. While this ensures a precise fit, it also inherently restricts large-scale manufacturing capabilities.Additionally, while 3D printing is often positioned as a sustainable alternative to traditional manufacturing, concerns remain about the long-term durability of TPU in daily wear. Syntilay will need to demonstrate that its material choices can match or exceed the lifespan of conventional footwear to justify the premium price and ensure long-term consumer confidence.Is This the Future of Footwear?Syntilays approach is redefining shoe design. AI is now an integral part of the creative process, moving beyond simple assistance to actively shaping and refining forms that challenge conventional aesthetics. Combined with 3D printing, this fusion enables highly personalized, waste-reducing production methods that have the potential to transform the footwear industry.But the real question is: Would you wear these? The design is bold, aggressive, and almost alien in its execution. For those who appreciate footwear as an artistic statement, this might be the perfect fusion of technology and style. For others, the unconventional form may feel too radical for everyday wear.Regardless of personal preference, Syntilays AI-driven, 3D-printed slides mark an important milestone in footwear evolution. As brands continue to explore AIs role in design, the future of shoes might not just be about what looks goodbut about what technology enables us to create.The post Syntilays AI-Designed, 3D-Printed Slides: A Glimpse into the Future of Footwear first appeared on Yanko Design.

There can be many sources of stress in our lives, and one of the more unavoidable ones sometimes comes from our neighbors. Those living in apartment complexes have had the unfortunate experience of having to bear with rowdy children, rumbling washing machines, and other sources of noise coming from units above them without any recourse. Unfortunately, we cant always cover our ears either, as that brings up a whole different set of problems of their own.Were often treated to futuristic or magical solutions that can seemingly mute undesirable sounds at will, but we actually do have some of that technology available today. With a little imagination and forward-thinking design, the active noise cancellation technologies used in headphones and microphones could potentially be employed to also cancel out the noise in our homes, as this bat-shaped device concept tries to demonstrate.Designer: blender KIMBats are quite known for their use of sound and echo to navigate their way through a dark world, which seems to be a fitting motif for a speaker whose function is to actually echo sound rather than simply produce it. In its inactive state, the batty speaker looks like a bat hanging from the ceiling of a cave, its wings wrapped around its body and its digital eyes closed like slits. With a warm, muted color scheme, theyre supposed to blend well with most interior motifs and look a little less distracting.Whether or not youll find it disturbing to have these cylindrical objects hanging from your ceiling is a different question entirely, but they do make for a curious sight. Thats especially true when its lower body tilts down, making it look like a bat in mid-flight.Of course, a visually striking speaker wont simply make the noise go away, and the batty concept design proposes the use of a special kind of ANC or active noise cancellation to pull off that feat. In essence, it would detect and analyze impact sound and airborne sound transmitted from the unit above through the slab of your ceiling and emit opposing phase waves in the direction of the noise, effectively canceling out the sound.This is practically the same principle used in ANC in general, so it definitely has some scientific basis. The slight difference is that it also listens for the sounds produced by impacts such as heavy footsteps and machine vibrations, the most common sources of annoyance in these situations. In cases where batty speakers are too far apart, an auxiliary sensor can be installed in between them, acting like a cave stalagmite that assists bats in echolocation. Whether such a concept will actually be effective is something that only experimentation can truly tell.The post Bat-shaped speaker concept reduces noise to keep you from going batty first appeared on Yanko Design.

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MacworldSure, AirTags are great and all, but their shape makes them tricky to fit in something other than a pocket or bag. This Eufy SmartTrack Card solves that issue with a design that actually fits into your wallet, allowing you always to keep track of its location. Even better, thanks to a 44 percent discount at Amazon, you can get one for just $16.88.So not only are these SmartTrack cards a better fit for your wallet, but theyre also more affordable. These slim trackers will pair well with your iPhone, and youll be able to track their location via the Find My network.As you would with an AirTag, you can make this Eufy model ring a super loud alarm so you can easily locate the wallet when its fallen between the couch cushions. Thats going to also come in handy in the mornings when you want to leave sooner rather than later and you cant locate all your belongings. Just note, this Eufy SmartTrack Card only works with iOS devices, so youll need an iPhone to connect it.The card has its own battery that will last you for up to three years, but you wont be able to replace it once its out of juice. However, given its price, that wont be a tragedy. So go ahead and order your very own Eufy SmartTrack card for $16.88 at Amazon and slip it into your wallet.Slim enough for your walletBuy now at Amazon