On a recent visit to Berlin I ventured to Bülowstraße in Schöneberg, with the sole purpose of getting a glimpse of URBAN NATION’s HQ street art. I’d caught sight of Super A and Collin van der Sluijs ‘Starling’ on Colossal, produced through the not-for-profit initiative, and I was keen to see what other murals UN had helped bring to Berlin's streets.

I’ve increasingly become fascinated by urban art, which is a hugely important and increasingly admired 21st century art form, capable of bringing cities to life and allowing people to find expression within the very fabric of places. Bülowstraße didn’t disappoint, but inspired a deeper curiosity about URBAN NATION and its mission, so I got in touch with director Yasha Young to find out more.

North of Kings Cross in the most unlikely of places sits a piece of nature amidst the developing urban sprawl, a natural ecosystem side by side with a working construction site. It’s name? Of Soil and Water, perhaps more commonly referred to as Kings Cross Pond Club. This man-made fresh water public bathing pond is the UK’s first of its kind and it sits at the heart of one of the largest developments in London, up past Guardian’s HQ (King’s Place) and not a million miles from the celebrated Granary Square. The pond will be a main attraction within the Lewis Cubitt Park area of the King’s Cross development.

Unlike Hampstead Heath, or London’s numerous lidos, this al fresco swimming spot has been described as ‘experiential art’, ‘land art’ and ‘an installation you can swim in’ amongst other things. Temporary though it might be, the labelling of the pond as art is intriguing given its clear function as a bathing pond. 

Last week I ventured north to Yorkshire to spend two days in Leeds. Close to my hometown of Hull,  Leeds used to be my family's shopping destination of choice, long before the days of Trinity Leeds, and long before before my appreciation of fashion full stop; as a grumpy teen I befriended many a fitting room chair in despair as my sister tried on her umpteenth outfit. Leeds also happens to be the city in which my university life was lived, and the place that shaped the opinions I hold true today.

It turns out a place can change a lot in 4 years. When I graduated in 2011 the landscape of Leeds was different. I don’t ever remember stopping to admire Holy Trinity Church back then. I wasn’t a gig-goer and from what I can remember it spent much of the three years that I called Leeds home behind hoarding, an ambiguous dingy building which as far as I knew had nothing to offer me. Today it signifies the beating heart of Leeds city centre: Trinity Leeds, which boasts a strong retail, restaurant and bar offering.

Google Maps is global leader in local and international mapping having created, to an extent, ‘a digital mirror to the world’. RAC route-mapper is but a distant memory and today’s master of the route, Google Maps, with its real-time data, is deemed an essential tool for all travelers on two legs and four wheels; it’s a wonder we survived without it until 2005. Up until now it has required an internet connection to work. Luckily, it has recently been announced that Google Maps is set to go offline from the end of this year with the sole view of ‘mak[ing] traveling and exploring new places easier for people.' Amen to that.

There’s no doubt that the internet has shone a spotlight on destinations. Five years prior to Google Maps, TripAdvisor arrived on the scene to mark the start of mass online public judgement of place, and is now widely regarded as the first port of call for most holiday-makers choosing where to wine and dine or lay their weary heads. 

Since then Facebook has played a role in sign-posting ‘must see’ places locally and internationally. Moving on from simply allowing users to ‘check-in’ and create travel maps, Facebook's app for iPhone has recently added another string to its bow with Facebook 'Place Tips’, which shows you more information about places you visit, including your friends’ photos, experiences and moments from said place.

Apps designed to sign-post us in the right direction of those hidden gems we’re all too keen to feast our eyes on are increasingly emerging. Find my pick of 4 below and see what they have to offer...