Today Gabriel and his friend Clark learned a powerful lesson. We were at the local park, throwing tennis balls, when the fellow who was on the other side of the wall remarked that he had found two baby birds on the tennis court. He looked up into the nearest tree, but there was no visible […]
A bird in the hand Read More »
09 Novem ber 2007 / 18 Aqrab 1386 Last spring I pointed out that Kabul now has an address system in the form of Google Earth coordinates. On Wednesday I saw a presentation of USAID’s Land Titling and Economic Reform Assistance (LTERA) project of assigning addresses on streets. They way they do flexible, universal addressing
Proposed post-codes for Kabul Read More »
08 November 2007 / 17 Aqrab 1386 Writing the essay on October 19, and then presenting and discussing the paper yesterday has clarified a few things for me. It seems that the Third-World War is underway. Simply put, it is a struggle by the elite against social justice, a struggle to assert extraordinary impunity. However
The Third World War Read More »
Presented at the Center for Policy and Human Development, Kabul University, 07 November 2007 Some Background Thank you doctor Wardak for giving me the chance to explore the idea of urbanization and human development in Kabul. First I need to explain my overall situation and my specific purpose here today. I am a doctoral student
Urbanization and Human Development in Kabul Read More »
19 October 2007 / 25 Mizan 1386 Two weeks ago I took a field trip to a UNHCR resettlement site north of Kabul. We traveled in a bullet-proof white SUV, with doors that must weigh 200 pounds and windows that do not open. I thought it was a little surreal that a refugee agency is
Hawks hiding among doves Read More »
14 October 2007 / 22 Mizan 1386 And now for something completely different: the Lotus Temple. The mood for me was set by this couple: I think they may be in their eighties. They held hands as they walked towards the temple. Powerful testament to love and long relationships. They did not move very fast;
The Baha’i “Lotus” Temple, New Delhi Read More »
13 October 2007 / 21 Mizan 1386 As with photos in Europe in July, this page is for urban planning students, showing some features of two neighborhoods in New Delhi. This is the edge of the Nizamuddin disrict, which is actually several neighborhoods. Here the houses back up against the Delhi Drain. I thought that
Nizamuddin and Pant Nagar neighborhoods, Delhi Read More »
12 October 2007 / 20 Mizan 1386 Chandi Chowk is now the name of the road that leads due west from the Red Fort (Lal Qila) through the the core of Old Delhi. I know “chowk” from Dari as ‘crowded central commercial area,’ so I apply the term more generally to the whole commercial area
Chandi Chowk: Old Delhi Read More »
In October 2007, a USAID-funded educational-development program flew five of us to India to try to recruit planning professors to teach in Kabul. This was my first time in India. Coming from Kabul, New Delhi is quiet, uncrowded, orderly, and unpolluted. I have since learned that much of the ‘uncrowding’ is due to the violent
Delhi and New Delhi Read More »
I spent five days in Venice with my family, thanks to Professor Balbo’s hospitality. As numerous writers have pointed out, Venice is unlike any other city in the world. The first, obvious point is that all the major routes are canals; about 3/4 of the routes in Venice are stone, and one quarter are water.