Awesome Cities

Few areas in the world are as over-developed as Manhattan, so the Mannahatta Project’s computer recreation of the island in 400 years go in 1609 is utterly fascinating–yet alien.

So bad it’s good, this hastily made Cleveland tourism video might just do wonders for the local economy; as one commenter put it, it’s got Saturday Night Live written all over it.

GM and Segway’s Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project (PUMA) looks more like a one-man rickshaw; it uses a Lithium battery with a 35 mi range and tops out at 35mph.

Taking “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” literally, these New York City Garbage Sculptures are by trash experts Tom and Mike and are actually for sale. Thanks, Ekin!

A finalist in the World Expo 2010 Singapore Pavilion, “My Dream, Our Vision” should have plenty of natural light; it’s made out of 3,866 cubes with varying levels of transparency.

The Lost Tribes of New York City is a quirky, somewhat funny short; it takes common urban objects such as payphones and animates them to the voices of real New Yorkers.

The Boston Globe has a sweet collection of before and after Earth Hour 2009 photos from cities including Paris, Shanghai and Las Vegas; click the images to watch the lights go off.

Jumeirah Gardens is a futuristic “city within a city” in Dubai composed of three projects; the fluidly designed architecture will feature sky bridges and suspended garden canopies.

Despite an often maddening interface, City Creator gets addictive; create pixel cities from one of three tile sets, and save or send them as an e-card. Above: view our misguided creations.

London-based illustrator Rod Hunt’s artwork reminds us of Goon City, albeit better drawn and more detailed; this is especially critical when viewing a 50-foot tall bikini-clad woman.

We have to say this Shanghai map is even better than Onion Maps; it’s a heavily detailed map of the booming metropolis, with graphics that are on par with something you’d see in SimCity.

We’ve seen pixel cities before, but Ryan Allen’s Google-maps based Goon City is special because Something Awful forum members are helping out, ensuring plenty of wackiness.

Onion Maps initially reminds us of Google Earth, minus many features — but its simplicity and focus on isometric views works, especially for tourists who just want landmarks.