An App Made for Urban Explorers

Eillie Anzilotti introduces the Likewise app, which "reclaims urban walking from the realm of necessary drudgery and frames it as an enjoyable activity in and of itself." Moreover, according to Anzilotti, "Likeways is an ode to the side street. It forgoes typical directions…and leads users off the beaten path, where they might stumble upon a café or a gallery hiding out in an alley, just a minute away from the hectic swarm of the purely practical route."

Martin Traunmueller, a PhD candidate at University College London's Intel Collaborative Research Institute for Sustainable Connected Cities, developed the app by sourcing "urban gems" through Facebook Places.

The article has more on how the app functions, which differs from other urban search and navigation tools by not revealing what exactly the "Space Recommender System" has found. All the user has to go on is a pin and a few categories to choose from, as shown in the screengrabs below for a route near the Planetizen office.