Justin Blinder had just been laid off when he first came up with the idea for Ground Truth. It was 2020, two weeks before covid lockdown went into effect, and the Brooklyn-based artist and technologist had no idea what the future would hold. He started working for the food delivery apps, and as he was riding his bike across the city, he began noticing the stark differences between neighborhoods.
When housing is unaffordable, this artist’s device makes pedaling harder
Brooklyn-based artist Justin Blinder created a device that illustrates how soaring housing costs are making life in the city that much harder.
“I really started to kind of become a bit more aware of how different neighborhoods, often right next to each other, could feel very economically and psychologically very far apart, even though it’s just really within close proximity,” he said. “And also just how those inequalities can sometimes feel quite unusually physical. A lot of times higher elevation can contribute to the desirability and cost of a neighborhood through better views and lower flood exposure.”
