Link List #98: Furniture for the one percent, some good news from Angola, and can a developed city really function car-free? - Friends of Friends / Freunde von Freunden (FvF)

Link List #98: Furniture for the one percent, some good news from Angola, and can a developed city really function car-free?

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This week in Berlin, we were surprised to learn about the negative impact of the Michelin effect for restaurants, thrilled to hear that Angola decriminalized “same-sex relations,” and impressed to discover that downtown Oslo is going car-free. Enjoy.

Links

    • 1 “Has Marc Newson lost sight of what it means to make things that matter?” poses the scholar Glenn Adamson in this blistering attack on the designer’s newest exhibition at Gagosian. Writing for Frieze, Adamson looks back at the highlights of Newson’s illustrious career and wonders when the innovative maker started making furniture for “the 1%.”
    • 2 Misinformation, fake news, and the battle for truth is more prevalent than ever, especially in this political climate. So we were alarmed (but not altogether surprised) to read this Vox article on how social media is enabling far-right political campaigns to undermine democracy. “It seems we have to admit a somewhat uncomfortable truth: Social media, in the way that it’s used now, is an authoritarian medium,” claims writer Zack Beauchamp. Oof to that.
    • 3 “Bewildering and disruptive” is how some chefs find the sudden attention that winning a competition or getting a rave review can bring to their restaurants, reports The Guardian. In an article exploring the downsides of food tourism, Tony Naylor speaks to restaurateurs who were pushed to breaking point when “trend-hopping foodies” flocked to their doors.
    • 4 Sure, a lot of cities are starting initiatives to become more cycle-friendly, but banning cars? Well, Oslo is taking the drastic measure to give the streets back to pedestrians and cyclists alike. “Cities, like Oslo, have been built for cars for several decades, and it’s about time we change it,” states Hanne Marcussen, Oslo’s vice mayor of urban development in this Fast Company article. For starters, they’ve just removed 700 parking spots, replacing them with bike lanes, trees, and small parks with areas to sit and eat lunch—presumably sans toxic car fumes.
    • 5 There are 69 countries around the world that still criminalize homosexuality, but Angola is no longer one of them. Last week, the country’s parliament voted to get rid of the colonial-era “vices against nature” provision in its law, decriminalizing “same-sex conduct,” reports Afropunk. Yay!

Hopefully you enjoyed the reads from this week’s Link List, but if you’ve still got an internet itch to scratch, you can find more here.

Also, be sure to check out FvF Mixtapes for some tracks selected by our friends and favorite artists, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with FvF stories.

Text: FvF editorial team
Photography: Daniel Müller

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