Rachel Abrams, Creative Director of Turnstone Consulting, wrote a cool article “Five Ways to Redesign a City” for the UK Design Council magazine about ways interaction designers can tackle urban issues in various cities around the world. She includes good ol’ Helsinki and its public transportation-tracking tools with a little Atari reference from me. Watch the buses move in real time! An arrow notes the direction and the icons jolt every few seconds like a city version of Asteroids. And that’s just gravy because the trams, buses, and subway here are impressively precise. If the schedule says the bus is coming at 9:23 it comes at exactly 9:23. Low, predictable vehicular traffic makes this easier, plus an unsympathetic attitude towards stragglers. If you’re a second too late, the driver shuts the door and burns rubber past your puppy-eyed face. It’s the dust-eating price for reliability.

Helsinki, signs, urban planning