As all Urbane readers know, a helmet and road goggles can only protect so much. Many days, it seems the dangers of speedy freewheeling is not so nefarious as the street’s sludge of slowness. As Beijing’s Olympic dreamy traffic restrictions fade into ever-dimmer memory, this month’s “Car Crunch” feature takes a look at some potential solutions for Beijing’s gnashing gridlock.

In our other feature, “The Hunan Factor,” Madeleine O’Dea tells the story behind the SZ Art Center in 798, a homegrown complement to the mega-galleries (such as UCCA and Pace) that now loom large on the landscape of Chinese contemporary art.

As the specter of winter cold looms around the corner, Urbane’s gaze turns toward another looming beast, as both of our features address the magnificently monstrous new CCTV headquarters project in Beijing’s CBD. Alex Pasternack slips behind the scenes of the CCTV project (Must See TV, p22), finding out why and how the people behind it have made it the way it is. Meanwhile, photographer Jim Gourley and his camera take a more pedestrian approach, appraising the structure from a thousand human perspectives (Transfixed, p28).

In the Dwell section, we recommend a palette of stylish autumnal decorations, as well as a slew of sleekly thin gadgets, and sit down with the designers behind the local product line Doublebrain. In our two design features, we go inside architect Wang Hui’s striking Changping District retreat as well as the gritty, seductive Hotel G by Gongti West Gate.

This month Beijing hosts the Paralympics, and Urbane takes a closer look at the athletes and the games they play. As the event represents a high-profile demonstration of handicapped awareness in a city not necessarily known for it, our second feature investigates how far Beijing has come in terms of accessibility.

Meanwhile, in the month after the Olympic Games, not only does the world continue to turn, but it's only getting wider and brighter for Urbane readers. Robert La Bua takes us to the gateway to Antarctica, Amy Fabris-Shi appraises the fabulous Palazzo Versace on Australia’s Gold Coast, Rania Ho braves the vertiginous dunes of the Badain Jaran Desert, and Gary Bowerman shares a sneak peak of the wonders in store for the 2010 Guangzhou Asia Games.

Are you a reader of Urbane magazine? We'd love your your thoughts and feedback. Let us take you out to lunch for an Urbane focus group this Thursday at 1pm (venue TBA). We're looking for 4 additional people; please RSVP at editor@urbanechina.com with a little bit about yourself and why you read Urbane and we'll get back to those that reply first.

We're looking for a few good photographs of the city you love. And hate. And I know you've got them. They could end up being seen by lots of people, in the pages of Urbane's big August issue. But mostly, we'd like to have a look.

Here's the idea:

As the city prepares for its Olympic close-up, an era of creative destruction comes to a close. And so too do those institutions you might associate with it. Whether it's old subway signage, a favorite restaurant, some hutong scrawl, or curious evidence of Olympic preparation, we want to see the exciting and endangered people, places and things you miss and love about Beijing before the flame rolls in.

Photos should be around 1MB or larger, and you can email them to pasternack2 at gmail dot com. We need to get them in by Wednesday July 16.

We can't pay - I wish we could - but think of it as an art project, an exhibition, a love letter, free advertising, whatever.