Awesome Cities

Cityframes makes incredibly detailed 3-dimensional maps of cities from around the world. They’re available as small collectible blocks they call Cubes or expansive maps called Frames that cover larger areas. Their bundles let you mix and match different sizes to fill an entire wall. Each map is 3D printed from biodegradable plastic set into a wooden frame.

This CG video from InfoGeek illustrates the history of NYC from 1524 through 2023. The story unfolds through the evolution of its man-made structures, accompanied by the year and approximate population count. It was sad to see the Twin Towers vanish in 2001, and it failed to mention the indigenous population prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Chicago’s Drinking Modern pays tribute to Chicago’s “L” train, along with public transportation systems in London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, D.C., Boston, Philly, and Los Angeles. Each coaster set assembles to form a map of its urban subway or rail system. They’re made from white birch with a non-slip cork backing.

Artist and designer Dom Riccobene painstakingly replicated the full single-player map of Los Santos from Grand Theft Auto V as a 3D model. Because of the size of his 3D printer, he broke the map down into 24 quadrants, then assembled each piece onto a 20″ x 30″ base. We enjoyed watching the map legend being carved too.

MetaBallStudios is known for its numerous comparison videos. In their latest clip, they take a look at the relative sizes of various urban areas around the globe, along with their area and population numbers. It would have been interesting if they had included population density, but you’ll have to do your own math for that.

Decades ago, Utrecht, The Netherlands, was like many others, clamoring for more roads for motor vehicles. Now, the city has started to reverse course, transforming streets into bike paths and walkways, and restoring the city’s moat, which had been used as a motorway. BicycleDutch takes us on a virtual visit to the unusual project.

Artist Hongtao Zhou uses 3D printing to produce these wildly innovative works of art. Each one offers up a tactile and dimensional sculpture of a city, sculpted from letters of varying heights, and forming words which describe the locale. Some of his works are even printed on a flexible background so they bend like paper.

LEGO builder Luke Taylor shows off his labor of love for the last decade – a sprawling, futuristic city made from countless bricks. Like the real deal, it’s an ever-changing, ever-growing urban landscape. Another great video from Beyond the Brick’s Joshua Hanlon.

Ukraine-based designers HoleRoll make these perforated blackout blinds which transform a sunny day into an evening cityscape, or a shimmering night sky, filled with stars. Available in New York, London, or starlight patterns, each cut to your specifications.

Italian artist Franco Recchia takes discarded old bits of electronic junk and turns them into intricate (and pricey) cityscape sculptures. We have say the Fifth Avenue one is our fave.

Liz Hickok creates scale models of urban sites (like San Francisco here) entirely in Jell-O. Luminously glowing, the fragile medium bears odd similarities to the city’s uncertain geological landscape.

It’s loading a bit slowly at the moment, but Brett Camper’s 8-Bit NYC turns New York into a 1980s RPG-style map (think Zelda); it’s created using OpenStreetMap with 256×256 tiles.

A crosswalk sign goes on a walk of its own in Tokyo/Glow: the rotoscoped/composited short film features a suit with high voltage LED rope lights and a translucent nylon outer shell.

The past and future of Charlotte, North Carolina literally unfolds in Metropolis; made by artist Rob Carter, the stop motion video is made entirely of images of buildings printed on paper.

YouTube user cat2525jp’s Tokyo Sky Drive truly trips the light fantastic; it’s actually a ride on Tokyo’s elevated Yurikamome line filmed on a Sony XR500V that’s vertically flipped.

Riding your bike on a tightrope looks precarious, but Kolelinia is actually a well thought-out and safe half pipe and cable system that lets riders avoid dangerous auto traffic.

If Tinseltown had its way, it’d be a smoking, flooded crater packed with aliens and Stay Puft Marshmallow Men: Hollywood vs. New York is an epic disaster homage to the Big Apple.

The Big Apple becomes New Yew Tree Village with the Atlas of True Names, a set of maps which translate the names of cities into English; our favorite? Stink Onion (Chicago).

If you were as simultaneously awe-struck and creeped out as we were by LA Without Traffic, Matt Logue’s Empty Los Angeles is an entire 78-page photo book of a City of (no) Angels.

The Big Apple goes small in a big way with this 4-D Cityscape’s NYC Puzzle; the fourth dimension is time, as it includes 125 buildings from City Hall in 1812 to the Freedom Tower in 2013.

New York and Tokyo go the way of Venice in Aqualta, a series of images that depicts the cities after sea levels rise; life goes on, albeit with blimps, ski lifts, catwalks, and gondolas.

The US Interstate system gets reinterpreted in the style of the London Underground thanks to Cameron Booth; consistent line rules and color coding result in an amazingly readable map.

Now available: Cities XL gets a proper intro with this stunning Launch Trailer; for the uninitiated, it’s a city builder with both single player and pay-to-play MMO components.