With two weeks left to go in its crowdfunding campaign, the Lowline has already raised over $100,000 from over 1,000 backers, promising to turn an old trolley station in Manhattan into the Earth’s first underground park. Inspired in part by the High Line, an NYC park reusing old elevated rail infrastructure, this project aims to add space to one of the most crowded cities on the planet.

The design by Raad Studio is supported by a custom lighting technology being developed specifically for this project, specifically: a “remote skylight” combinating solar harvesting and fiber optics to pipe daylight directly down into the subterranean spaces and paths of the park below.

This system will pipe sunlight from the surface via mirrors and tubes, building on existing designs to route natural light to subsurface labs. As shown below, some tech prototypes have already been tested in an above-ground warehouse but there is still a good deal of research, testing and other work to be done.

Built over a century ago but abandoned for over 50 years, this 40,000-square-foot Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal is in remarkably good shape despite years of neglect. Located in the Lower East Side, the project aims to bring a green retreat to a part of New York City sorely lacking in public landscapes.

In this phase, the funding will further support technological development as well as public exhibitions to raise further interest for the project: “Partnering with the solar device maker SunPortal, we are shipping cutting edge equipment via ocean freighter from South Korea to New York City, and will begin installation over the summer. These devices will track the sun throughout the sky every minute of every day, optimizing the amount of natural sunlight we can capture. These will be connected to a tube-based distribution system and 40-foot-wide canopy inside the warehouse, to help reflect natural sunlight into the Lowline Lab. Once this natural sunlight is filtered into the space, we can test for the quality of the light, taking specific note of spectrum, distribution and intensity.”

This campaign will also provide funds for exploring types of plant life possible in underground spaces: “Our design inspiration is Mannahatta– a verdant vision of the city before modern civilization– and we expect to feature edible plants, and a science fiction palette of greenery forming stalactites, stalagmites, and whimsical passageways.  Again, because we are testing in the fall and winter– the two toughest times to grow plants– we will gain valuable insight into which species will perform best throughout the year.”

For the last five years, this photographer has been traveling around the United States and capturing an eclectic but dying breed of roadside architecture: the American rest stop.

Ryann Ford of Austin, Texas, who has taken 150 pictures of  these to date, notes that this architectural typology has been associated with ” rest, relief, hospitality, and nostalgia” for the last half-century. The shots shown here include Big Bend National Park, Texas (FM 170), Walker Lake, Nevada (U.S. 95), Thackerville, Oklahoma (I-35), Clines Corners, New Mexico (U.S. 66/I-40), Monument Valley, Arizona, and more.

Though The Last Stop has just reached her crowdfunding goal on Kickstarter, there is still time left to support the project in return for this oversized coffee table book which will be filled with 100 pages of images and stories. It represents both an aesthetic treat but also a critical archive of these structures, many of which are being abandoned or destroyed. Polaraids, prints and other prizes are also available.

“When interstate highways were first built, passing up many small towns, rest stops were a way to reconnect people to the places they were traveling though. They gave small towns a chance to show their cultural significance. Rest areas have become relics of America’s roadside past. These sites not only illustrate a unique period in the American travel experience, but are significant for the architectural forms found within them.”

Stripping away all non-essential functionality, these sleek audio accessories are tiny enough to be effectively invisible and entirely wire-free. No need to worry about charging, either – their small carrying case lets you power them back up on the go.

Earin just finished raising £972,594 on Kickstarter, over 5 times its original funding goal, reflecting how much so many of us wish to get rid of those pesky wires when listening to music on the move.

Beyond long battery life, ergonomic comfort, snug sport-friendly casing other essential considerations, stretch goals for the project include waterproofing, phone adapters and battery monitors.

From its creators: “No unnecessary functionality has been added. No sensors, no lights and no microphone, that’s right – no microphone! Not because we couldn’t but because we wouldn’t! We use balanced armature speakers, used in professional in-ear-monitors and hearing-aids to deliver the best possible sound and to keep power-consumption at its minimal. High-density rechargeable batteries are used to keep playback time up and size down.”

Much of the technical specs on their Kickstarter page will be of interest to audiophiles (and show just how much these makers have thought about their project), but in summary: “The architecture of the earbud is based on two main covers which are ultrasonically welded to create a water-tight seal, protecting the electrical components. The materials are carefully selected to withstand both climate and impact testing. As all project members have extensive experience of creating similar consumer products, we know what works and what does [not].”

When urban planners and developers want to know what businesses local residents would like in their neighborhoods, where to put new bike lanes, or specific areas in need of revitalization, who better to turn to than the citizens themselves? Crowdsourcing urban planning puts the future of cities into the hands of the people in all sorts of unexpected ways, from custom-designing new downtown districts to identifying problem areas for cyclists and pedestrians.

SpaceHive: Crowdsourcing Civic Projects

SpaceHive is a website that crowdfunds civic projects in England, with proposals ranging from neighborhood festivals to new performance spaces in disused urban areas. It’s similar to Kickstarter, but focusing exclusively on community improvement. One recent project, the Porty Light Box, renovates decommissioned red phone booths into light boxes that display local artwork and images.

Guerilla Bke Lanes

Where do cities need new bike lanes? Officials certainly get a clue when citizens take matters into their own hands and create their own guerilla bike lanes, as they have in cities like New York and Baltimore. A group of Manhattan cycling activists called Right of Way have taken matters into their own hands, spray-painting lines and bicyclist icons just as the real thing would look (except some of the icons have wings.) In several cities, including Seattle, those DIY efforts have become permanent.

Crowdsourced Commuter Buses

While the Rinspeed microMAX is just a concept, it’s a thoroughly intriguing one: a silent minibus that relies on data points like current traffic conditions, known choke points and other info to generate a straight shot from your pick-up location to your destination. A companion app for microMAX users would enable you to find a bus in your area with a free seat, find out how long it would take to get you to your desired stop, and call for it to pick you up. Being connected to the ‘cloud’ creates an efficient, flexible and convenient transport system without wait times, prior planning or detours.

Bristol Rising: Crowdsourced City Design for Connecticut

How could the city of Bristol, Connecticut improve and grow to best suit its residents’ needs? Officials have gone straight to the source with ‘Bristol Rising,‘ an interactive initiative to turn the city’s flagging downtown back into a thriving destination with “a vibrant, walkable, contiguous experience.” Residents are invited to upload their own ideas and join in on discussions at the website so developers can gauge exactly what the community wants.

Change By Us: Crowdsourcing NYC

A similar project asks New Yorkers, “How can we make our city a better place to live?” The community is invited to submit ideas at the Change by Us NYC website, where a network of city leaders reads and considers each proposal. Successful 2013 projects include a new community garden and greenhouse. Ideas include cleaning and repairing existing bike lanes, new pedestrian bridges, composting locations and discounted Citi Bike memberships for low-income residents.

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Crowdsourced City 14 Citizen Directed Urban Projects

With over $200 million from more than 3,500 supporters, the world’s largest crowdfunding campaign has generated the means to create the highest skyscraper in Colombia (and the first new one in 40 years).

The communal nature of the stake puts both the property and power in the hands of the contributors, who in turn receive stake in the finished structure being built in downtown Bogotá. This approach, facilitated by the Prodigy Network, also distributes the risk of this bold venture between those with the motivation to see it made a reality – primarily locals and others with a vested interest in the city’s future.

The structure will address a lack of dense vertical growth in a city that has suffered from sprawl, on the one hand, and too-busy streets on the other. It aims to create a residential, commercial and institutional focal point in a location “where tourism, culture, education and shopping are all together, but also where traffic and congestion demand different means of development.”

Green strategies include advanced water collection systems with graywater reuse, green roof elements, advanced natural lighting optimization and supplemental passive heating and cooling systems.

More statistics on the finished project: “When complete the BD Bacatá will be 66-stories high and 1.2 million square feet. Development will include office and retail space, apartments and a hotel. The 364-room hotel, located in the tallest tower of the complex will be operated by Eurostars, and feature such amenities as a business center, restaurant, cafeteria, and full-service gym providing hotel guests with above-and-beyond service to ensure their experience will be worth remembering.”