We asked Scientific American readers, as part of our special issue on cities coverage this month, to send us pictures they have taken of a science or engineering infrastructure scene outside their windows that illustrates the best or worst aspect of life in their city.

This offering, from Shannon Babu, shows a gas drilling rig immediately across the street from her subdivision in Arlington, Texas. "It's ugly, loud and lends the perfect subtext to the extent of Texans' reliance on personal motor vehicles and insistence on spreading out across all available empty space," she says.
Babu took this photograph on August 9, 2011.

Want to join in? Please send your photograph, a description of how it illustrates the best or worst aspect of life in your city and the date it was taken to submit@sciam.com.