Fixing All the Most Annoying Parts of City Life
From public brawls to garbage piles, cities are solving some long-standing nuisances.
Street Fights
Could the sweet smell of orange prevent fisticuffs? In Stratumseind, a street in the Dutch city of Eindhoven known for its nightlife, cylinders on lampposts and balconies dispense aromatherapy to deter brawls. After an experiment showed that citrus helped calm prisoners at police stations, Eindhoven is trying it out in an area where police break up fights an average 400 times a year.
Public Urination
Authorities in Brighton, England, have begun piping music into a pedestrian underpass that leads to the beach. The goal: To stop vandalism, antisocial behavior, and, worst of all, drunken micturition. The area was “a public toilet,” says Matthew Easteal, a senior projects manager for the city. The music led to dramatic improvements. “These things still happen but to a much lesser degree,” he says.