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    Humans and technology

    These drone photos show urban inequality around the world

    From Mumbai, to Silicon Valley, to Long Beach, California, this drone photography project illuminates scars in the urban fabric.

    Parts of Mumbai are among the mostly densely populated areas on the planet. In some places, more than a million people live in less than one square mile. Tightly packed buildings, largely made of gray concrete covered with blue tarps, protect against the monsoon rains.Parts of Mumbai are among the mostly densely populated areas on the planet. In some places, more than a million people live in less than one square mile. Tightly packed buildings, largely made of gray concrete covered with blue tarps, protect against the monsoon rains.
    Parts of Mumbai are among the mostly densely populated areas on the planet. In some places, more than a million people live in less than one square mile. Tightly packed buildings, largely made of gray concrete covered with blue tarps, protect against the monsoon rains.Johnny Miller / Unequal Scenes
    April 28, 2021

    The Moinho favela in central São Paulo is sandwiched between an overpass and railroad tracks. It has no public water, electricity, or sanitation.
    On the eastern side of False Bay, in suburban Cape Town, South Africa, a prosperous beachside neighborhood, the Strand (right) is set off from subsidized government housing in Nomzamo (left) by rows of informal settlements (center).
    With more than 2 billion users, Facebook has built a global empire of wealth and influence. A homeless encampment sits in the shadow of its headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
    In northwest Long Beach, California, houses abut storage tanks used by the many oil refineries in the area.
    A pawn shop on Minnehana Avenue in Minneapolis was destroyed by fire during the unrest following the killing of George Floyd.

    This area of the Sante Fe neighborhood of Mexico City contains barriers and walls to separate two communities neatly and discreetly. Another way to see this is to enable street view on Google maps, and look at the available roads leading into and out of an area of exclusion.

    These images are part of “Unequal Scenes,” a drone photography project intended to illuminate scars in the urban fabric. More images from this project can be found on the Unequal Scenes site or on Instagram.

    Deep Dive

    Humans and technology

    seeing is believing concept
    seeing is believing concept

    Our brains exist in a state of “controlled hallucination”

    Three new books lay bare the weirdness of how our brains process the world around us.

    mdma
    mdma

    “I understand what joy is now”: An MDMA trial participant tells his story

    One patient in a pioneering trial describes his “life-changing” experience with the psychoactive drug.

    gif of amazon astro robot turning around and winking
    gif of amazon astro robot turning around and winking

    Amazon’s Astro robot is stupid. You’ll still fall in love with it.

    From Jibo to Aibo, humans have a long track record of falling for their robots. Except this one’s sold by Amazon.

    smart rayban glasses with camera eyes
    smart rayban glasses with camera eyes

    Why Facebook is using Ray-Ban to stake a claim on our faces

    To build the metaverse, Facebook needs us to get used to smart glasses.

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    Illustration by Rose WongIllustration by Rose Wong

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