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Tags: Five-Bad-Rap-Cities / Bad Rap Cities / Oakland Travel / Urban Travel / → All Tags

Five Cities With a Bad Rap: Oakland, 2 Legit 2 Quit

Some locales can’t seem to shake their less-than-sparkling reputations despite efforts to lock away the skeletons of yesterday. We’ve decided to highlight five of these Bad Rap Cities that are making moves to shed their grimy and gritty images in hopes of becoming more tourist-friendly. Maybe, just maybe, after reading this series you'll be willing to take a chance on them. Enjoy.

Bad Rap City: OaklandWhy Go?
Despite what you may have heard, Oakland isn’t a head-to-toe gang-riddled Dodge City. In fact, the word out now is that many parts are super chill and exemplify the real California state-of-mind, more so than high-energy San Francisco, less than 30 minutes away across the bay. True there’s evidence of poverty and homelessness on major streets like Broadway, but you’ll find that element in any Big City, U.S.A.

Here, blue and white-collar professionals live side-by-side, with more blending of races than ever before. There have been plenty of renovations in the city, especially in tourist-friendly Jack London Square (JLS) and the Oakland CVB’s website is a wealth of info on all that’s new in the city.

Another plus? It’s often cheaper to fly into Oakland than SFO thanks to Southwest and JetBlue (psst..there are rumblings of Ryan Air joining the low-cost carrier mix). Besides, how can you not visit the city that brought us MC Hammer? C'mon, you know you liked him, too.

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Tags: Five-Bad-Rap-Cities / Bad Rap Cities / Naples Travel / Urban Travel / → All Tags

Five Cities With a Bad Rap: Naples, Cosa Nostra

Some locales can’t seem to shake their less-than-sparkling reputations despite efforts to lock away the skeletons of yesterday. We’ve decided to highlight five of these Bad Rap Cities that are making moves to shed their grimy and gritty images in hopes of becoming more tourist-friendly. Maybe, just maybe, after reading this series you'll be willing to take a chance on them. Enjoy.

Bad Rap City: Naples

Why Go?
The revitalization projects have seen a vast improvement in the overall vibe, with middle-class neighborhoods like the Vomero cropping up all over the city, but locals insist the media ignores it, preferring instead to continue casting Napoli in a bad light. But there are lots of efforts to clean up Naples' act, literally, from the mayor’s tax incentive to pretty up buildings' grim exteriors to the current construction boom designed to expand and improve the underground metro system.

A multimillion-euro project is also underway to revamp the Port of Naples into a sleek cruise ship terminal and shop-filled walkway designed greet and impress the one-million passengers passing through each year. So,if it’s been a while since you visited Naples, chances are you wouldn’t recognize it now.

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Tags: Five-Bad-Rap-Cities / Bad Rap Cities / Madrid Travel / Urban Travel / → All Tags

Five Cities With a Bad Rap: Madrid Is 'Muy Bien, Gracias'

Some locales can’t seem to shake their less-than-sparkling reputations despite efforts to lock away the skeletons of yesterday. We’ve decided to highlight five of these Bad Rap Cities that are making moves to shed their grimy and gritty images in hopes of becoming more tourist-friendly. Maybe, just maybe, after reading this series you'll be willing to take a chance on them. Enjoy.

Bad Rap City: Madrid

Why Go?
Just like Barcelona, Madrid has a rep for being a Thieves Paradise. Many post-trip reviews are peppered with tales of pickpockets roaming the streets in droves, armed with purse-cutting knives. Add to that the declarations that local men are lecherous louts, and female travelers become skittish about visiting alone. But forget the fear mongerers rantings and head to this beautiful city that is chock full of impressive art, delectable cuisine and is a nightowl’s dream.

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Tags: Five-Bad-Rap-Cities / Bad Rap Cities / Jamaica Travel / Urban Travel / → All Tags

Five Cities With a Bad Rap: Kingston, Mon

Some locales can’t seem to shake their less-than-sparkling reputations despite efforts to lock away the skeletons of yesterday. We’ve decided to highlight five of these Bad Rap Cities that are making moves to shed their grimy and gritty images in hopes of becoming more tourist-friendly. Maybe, just maybe, after reading this series you'll be willing to take a chance on them. Enjoy.

Bad Rap City: Kingston, Jamaica

Why Go?
We’ve all seen the "Come to Jamaica” ads encouraging folks to experience the sparkling sea and sand with a side of reggae and jerk chicken. But those commercials never shout-out Kingston, the island’s capital. Mention the city that’s a half-million strong and you’re likely to hear a sharp intake of breath followed by mutterings of murder and mayhem. But don’t believe all the hype, says Kaci Hamilton, a travel writer and Kingstonian. “People are very hospitable here. You get invited to their homes for dinner, to go sailing or even play golf.”

She admits that crime and violence is endemic in certain areas of Kingston(stay clear of the West End), but many parts of the city are safe,surprisingly wealthy and quite beautiful, like tourist-friendly New Kingston.

Smart travelers should employ the same sense they use everywhere they go—keep eyes and ears open and stay clear of dodgy-looking places. For intrepid travelers with a sense of adventure, there’s much to discover here. Oh, and JetBlue begins service from JFK to Kingston on October 31st, with flights starting at $258 roundtrip!

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Tags: Five-Bad-Rap-Cities / Bad Rap Cities / Detroit Travel / Urban Travel / → All Tags

Five Cities With a Bad Rap: Detroit, The Motor City

Some locales can’t seem to shake their less-than-sparkling reputations despite efforts to lock away the skeletons of yesterday. We’ve decided to highlight five of these Bad Rap Cities that are making moves to shed their grimy and gritty images in hopes of becoming more tourist-friendly. Maybe, just maybe, after reading this series you'll be willing to take a chance on them. Enjoy.

Bad Rap City: Detroit

Why Go?
Despite the auto industry’s depressed state, the Motor City has plenty of bright spots. This is Motown, so soul permeates the streets as well as an admirable air of survival. Even Hollywood has infiltrated the city, filming shows like HBO’s "Hung," and making movies like "Red Dawn" and "Gran Torino" on its streets.

People are passionate here, especially when it involves politics and sports, and they don’t apologize for their opinions. Yes, Detroit is a bit messy-- one street can sport beautiful new buildings, but a block away lies a condemned property awaiting its fate--either remodel or eternal eyesore.

Those still raising their eyebrows over Detroit are usually older folks still channeling 1967 riot memories or referring to neighborhoods where tourists wouldn’t visit anyway unless they were courting trouble. And the tales of government corruption? Meh. Unless you plan on moving there, it’s nothing the average visitor would experience. Our advice? Ignore the naysayers and head to Michigan.

After all, a place that counts Aretha Franklin, Madonna and Robert Frost as natives can’t be all that bad.

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Tags: The Way We Were / Flickr / Urban Travel / Time Travel / → All Tags

Old-Time Photos Of NYC Take Us Back To The Last Depression

The New York Public Library has just uploaded reams of old-timey photos to Flickr, where you can now browse snaps from Ellis Island, Civil War-era pictures and even "Yosemite Views." But the 160-picture set called "Changing New York, 1935-1938" struck us as particularly relevant given current events that may soon wipe out the endless new bank branches that have popped up in Manhattan the past few years.

Among the photos of shanties on West Houston, elevated trains and horse-drawn carriages, there are also some NYC sites we recognize, like the Empire State Building (finished in 1931), the George Washington Bridge (also finished in 1931) and the palatial homes lining Gramercy Park. Financial crises or not, some things, it seems, never change.

Related Stories:
· Changing New York, 1935-1938 [Flickr]
· Signs [Flickr Blog]

[Photo of Herald Square: NYPL]

Tags: Urban Travel / Urban Exploration / Tunnels / → All Tags

NPR Plumbs the Drains of Vegas

The urban exploration trend is at once fascinating and a little twerpy. Sure, the idea of scaling a bridge tower or slipping into an abandoned insane asylum is attractive in a subversive kind of way, but you've got to wonder whether a grown man who spends weekends dressed up like a cat burglar and dodging rent-a-cops is making the best use of his time. Explorers such as journalist Matt O'Brien, however, actually do a public service with their clandestine voyages through the urban underbelly of America. As a nifty NPR bit points out, O'Brien has spent more than five years exploring the extensive network of storm drains underneath Las Vegas, and his research has yielded a vivid picture of what life is like for some of the 14,000 homeless people who have slipped through the cracks of the city and wound up beneath all the glitz.

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Bringing The Streets Indoors

Canadian street artists Fauxreel and Specter have renovated an old warehouse into a dilapidated fake urban wonderland.

Called "A City Renewal Project," it's a secret world hidden behind a fake storefront in Toronto. Inside the seedy store is what looks like the workspace of an artist, filled with wood, construction materials and lots of Bell telephones. A back door will transport you into a long warehouse space that looks like an indoor facsimile of a real city street. Life-size black and white reproductions of closed and derelict stores line the walls of the warehouse. Further adding to the reality of the installation are real bus shelters, billboards, garbage cans--and real garbage. And of course, everything is covered in graffiti and tags.

The artists fear that the practice of tearing down old buildings and putting up brand-new condos is destroying their city's cultural history. Even the building the show is housed in is scheduled to be knocked down to make way for new apartments. A City Renewal Project is up until November 23, at inconsistent hours, so check the website for details.

Related Stories:
· A City Renewal Project [Official Site]
· Outside In [Torontoist]
· Toronto Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: A City Renewal Project]

Tags: Design Travel / Museum / Flickr / Travel Photography / Urban Travel / → All Tags

Design Travel: Your Design City Photo Contest

The good folks over at Flickr are hosting a photo competition that ties in with the Design Cities exhibition being held at London's Design Museum. The exhibit, for its part, "tells the story of contemporary design through cities (London, Paris, Vienna, Dessau, Los Angeles, Milan and Tokyo) at their creative height."

The contest has few restrictions; any photo that represents contemporary design in your city is OK. Whether it's architecture, furniture, interiors or mailboxes, as long as it's great design, it's game.

A selection of photographs will be displayed at the Design Museum in January 2009, and one photo will be printed on 80,000 posters that are to be distributed in creative outlets around the UK.

Related Stories:
· Your Design City [Official Site]
· Design Cities Exhibition [Official Site]
· Design Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Australia Travel / Urban Travel / → All Tags

Research Study Travel: Melbourne IS Better Than Sydney

While Sydney might still hold the crown as Australia's most visited city, southern cousin Melbourne is poised to take over--and not just because if current population growth rates continue, it will become the largest Aussie city in 2028.

Melbourne's also been rated sixth on an Ethisphere Institute study (Sydney didn't rate a mention) which rated it as a world city of the future. People-oriented city policies like introducing a bike rental system, cutting car use downtown and expanding public transport all make Melbourne's future sound bright.

Defenders of Sydney say it's just going through a "post-Olympic depression" but they're talking the Olympics of eight years ago--we say it's time to get over it. And we always did have a much softer spot for Melbourne, anyway.

Related Stories:
· Sydney Suffers and the Winner is Melbourne [SMH]
· Melbourne Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Sydney Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Vermin Inc]

Tags: Urban Travel / Accidents / Dangerous Travel / → All Tags

Sky Is Falling Travel: Walking Past New York's Deadly Construction Sites

Watch out, New York pedestrians! Even more glass panels and other assorted detritus are flying off buildings and crashing to the sidewalks below. The latest was a 1,500-pound window that smashed into a protective metal shed above the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street, injuring two people.

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Tags: Architecture / Museums / Urban Travel / → All Tags

Architecture Travel: Reactivate!! Instant Urbanism

The Espai d' Art Contemporani de Castelló museum, near Valencia, Spain is hosting a fantastic exhibit called REACTIVATE!! Highlighting architecture projects that transform underused and forgotten urban areas and buildings into vital public spaces, it runs through August 31.

The designers in the show have thrown out the notion of loitering and use temporary and modular structures to reshape the cityscape into a more interactive and enjoyable place to relax, play and connect with fellow residents. Nicknamed "instant urbanism," the projects of REACTIVATE!! turn transient areas permanent.

One interesting stand out is Popelka Poduschka's installation at the inner courtyards of the Museumsquartier in Vienna. In the summertime, 116 colorful over sized geometric furniture elements are scattered throughout the area, creating a playground that provides places to do some work or soak up the sun. In the winter, they are all piled together like building blocks, making an indoor gathering area where refreshments are served and DJs spin.

Related Stories:
· Espai d' Art Contemporani de Castelló [Official Site]
· Instant Urbanism [Worldchanging]
· Architecture coverage [Jaunted]