Since about 1984 I have been interested in the Columbus myth. I think I was one of the last generations who learned what I call the ‘Columbus two-step:’ Step #1: Columbus-as-hero. You know the rhyme: “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue…,” discovered America and disproved the flat-earth myth. Thanks to him, here we are: […]
Columbus, discovery, and property rights Read More »
Ananya Roy introduced me to Benjamin’s work in 2008, through Susan Buck-Morss’ The dialectics of seeing (1989). I found the book maddeningly opaque, the first time I read it. Part of my challenge is that I come from a technical background embedded very much within the myths, ideologies, and assumptions of modernity. But after writing
Modernity, transparency, and reflection Read More »
Yesterday I returned from the Association of American Geographers conference in NYC, and walked through a remarkable exhibit in the San Francisco Airport on animated dolls. SFO is actually certified as a museum, and the general quality of the exhibits is excellent. This exhibit provoked me to think again about the modern world, through the
Yay! I got by the Polis urban blog. It is a nice interview. Please read! Thanks to Hector Fernando Burga.
Interviewed by POLIS Read More »
Anyone who has gone to church, synagogue, mosque, or any regularly-scheduled meeting over the last twenty years has encountered the irritating interruption of cell-phone ringing. Yesterday such an embarrassing event disrupted the NY Philharmonic’s performance at the Lincoln Center. It occurred to me several years ago that most of these appalling interruptions are entirely preventable.
Appeal for “Sheduled Ring” on mobiles Read More »
One of the core challenges of urban planning is to sift through complex, entangled social-political-economic-environmental-political problems to find policies that are feasible and really helpful. One of those policies is the promotion of good sidewalks: no trip-hazards, no projecting hardware or branches, wide enough for two people to pass each other, and connected with curb
In praise of sidewalks Read More »
Thank you to all of you who wished me Happy Birthday by various 21st-century means! At Lizzie’s strong encouraging we took a 3-day road trip to Tahoe. Of course we did not check the news to discover that Tahoe is about as snow-free as San Francisco at the moment–actually that became front-page news the day
Birthday in South Lake Tahoe Read More »
November 17, 2011 On the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, I am re-posting some older essays I have written that pertain to this movement. I strongly endorse the OWS policy of not taking any specific position. I think it makes sense to simply point out what I call confiscatory inequality. That is to say,
Common-sense political economics Read More »
Today we assume that modern nation-states are the successors to early-modern kingdoms and royal colonies. In a spatial sense, I still agree with this: the Republic of France occupies the same territory as the prior Kingdom of France; India occupies space formerly ruled by the British Crown Colony, and so forth. However, something less obvious
From Corporations to Nation-States Read More »
Michael asks, ?I’d love to understand more about how the average citizen such as myself can be part of the planning in my community. Planning affects just about everyone, and I feel that if I had more of a clue about what it is, and how those of us who are most impacted by the
What is urban planning? A pragmatic answer Read More »