Nancy Levinson, in a piece decrying architecture criticism as a global parade of junkets to starchitect buildings, notes in contrast some critics who've focused on a more local market: It would mean that we'd all have to be willing somehow to deglamorize the global, to make it a measure of critical strength to commit to the local. And in fact some really good critics – Christopher Hawthorne at the Los Angeles Times, David Dillon at the Dallas Morning News and Blair Kamin at the Chicago Tribune – have already made that commitment. (Kamin's Why … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2010
Downsides of Consolidation #2 – Cost Increases, Dilution of Urban Interests, Deferred Problems
This is the second and last installment in my mini-series on the downsides of city-county consolidation, or "big box" vs. "small box" government. Part one covers neighborhood redevelopment challenges. For those of you who didn't read that, I'm not opposed to city-county consolidations at all, and generally think they've been positives in places that have pursued them. I am merely examining some of the trade-offs that come with that choice. Like any form of government, this one too has its challenges. Cost Increases Proponents of government … [Read more...]
Small Cities Should Have Fareless Transit
Following on from my transit award, I thought I'd turn from Chicago to smaller cities and look at ways they can design better transit systems. I think one of the best ways to do this is to simply build fareless systems. Why have a fare in the first place? It is odd that we pay per use on transit. We don't pay to check books out of a library. We don't pay to visit most city parks. We don't pay when the police or fire department come to our house for a legitimate emergency. Most non-utility municipal services are provided for free to users and … [Read more...]