Reference Page: December 2010

Austin: Which Way? Austin is the first city in the United States to test the German Car2go car- sharing system. Inspired by the Paris bike program, Car2go allows users to rent a Smart two-seater and drop it off anywhere in the city. On Yelp, enthusiastic reviewers already say they’re thinking about selling their old cars. […]

Austin: Which Way?
Austin is the first city in the United States to test the German Car2go car-
sharing system. Inspired by the Paris bike program, Car2go allows users to rent a Smart two-seater and drop it off anywhere in the city. On Yelp, enthusiastic reviewers already say they’re thinking about selling their old cars. Daimler is also working on Car2gether, a high-tech hitchhiking alternative now being tested in Germany. Members post online profiles and pick passengers according to destination, music tastes, hobbies, and (probably) cute pictures: www.wired.com/autopia/2010/09/daimler-car2gether.

The Next Big Thing
For those who plan to visit the capital of Kazakhstan before Bjarke Ingels’s spectacular library is completed, Astana abounds in dictator-kitsch architectural curiosities (www.wok.kz/en/guide/astana/tat). The city’s symbol is the Baiterek tower, a slim, lollipop-shaped structure with an aquarium, a restaurant, and an observation deck featuring a golden imprint of the Kazakh president’s hand. If you put your own hand in the imprint, the national anthem will start playing. Magic!

The Next Wave
This month, Metropolis talked to CEOs from Italy’s top design firms; unsurprisingly, they were all proud of “Brand Italy.” But though the country seems glamorous from abroad, young Italians are fleeing in droves. Last year a university president published an open letter advising graduates to leave. “Choose to go where they still value loyalty, respect and the recognition of merit and results,” he wrote in
La Repubblica. For those who have stayed, times are tough. A recent survey found that 30 percent of Italians aged 30 to 34 still live with their parents. A young project manager living in China told Time she could never have gotten a similar job in Italy “unless I was 45 and somebody’s daughter or cousin or mistress”: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2024136,00.html#ixzz14iZEYbLY.

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