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Check out these data visualizations from Mother Jones. Well designed to promote the splenetic humors.

A Harvard business prof and a behavioral economist recently asked more than 5,000 Americans how they thought wealth is distributed in the United States. Most thought that it’s more balanced than it actually is. Asked to choose their ideal distribution of wealth, 92% picked one that was even more equitable.

A huge share of the nation’s economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.

Whyte studied urban environments using movie cameras, recorded observations, and interviews in an attempt to understand how people actually use outdoor spaces such as plazas, sidewalks, and street corners. Whyte’s earnest and often humorous narration make the film entertaining, but more than this, the material itself –the people watching– is fascinating. Moreover, many of Whyte’s findings challenge commonly held assumptions about urban design.

Watching this film was one of the most entertaining and educational hours I ever spent in graduate school. There are lessons here that any designer can learn.

Unfortunately, the video is out of print, but you can still pick up a copy of the book which covers the same material.

In this volume, photographer Frédéric Chaubin reveals 90 buildings sited in fourteen former Soviet Republics which express what could be considered as the fourth age of Soviet architecture. They reveal an unexpected rebirth of imagination, an unknown burgeoning that took place from 1970 until 1990. Contrary to the twenties and thirties, no “school” or main trend emerges here. These buildings represent a chaotic impulse brought about by a decaying system. Their diversity announces the end of Soviet Union.