In the U.S., the axiom about the imminent death of the big cities depended on a belief that people would abandon New York and San Francisco for the hinterlands, or for far-off suburbs, or for Miami and other smaller metropolitan areas—and we would see this great reshuffling of the American population.
https://www.thesgnl.com/2023/01/post-covid-us-cities-richard-florida/
Category Archives: suburbia
The bus, the bike, and the elevator are the future of transportation
There’s a lesson in that. Getting people around in new, different ways—as happened in Amsterdam between 1970 and 2000, between Beijing and Shanghai in the past decade, and in Dar es Salaam right now—relies mostly on technologies that we have had for a while. Why should we want to change the status quo? Most urgently, because transportation from motor vehicles is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. We spend, onaverage, nearly two full days a year in rush-hour traffic (about five days in Los Angeles). We pay dearly for the privilege, spending $740 a month per car according to AAA. Last year, 36,560 Americans died in car crashes, not including 6,283 pedestrians killed by cars. Countless more are sickened by exhaust. Nearly half of American kids walked or biked to school in 1950; today that figure is 13 percent.
https://slate.com/technology/2019/10/future-of-transportation-bus-bike-elevator.html
Libraries Are Launching Their Own Local Music Streaming Platforms
If you’re fed up with streaming behemoths like Spotify, there’s now another place you can go to discover new music: your local library.
Over a dozen public libraries in the U.S. and Canada have begun offering their own music streaming services to patrons, with the goal of boosting artists and local music scenes. The services are region-specific, and offer local artists non-exclusive licenses to make their albums available to the community.
https://www-vice-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.vice.com/amp/en/article/5d34px/libraries-are-launching-their-own-local-music-streaming-platforms
The Invention of ‘Jaywalking’
In the 1920s, the public hated cars. So the auto industry fought back — with language.
If you travelled in time back to a big American city in, say, 1905 — just before the boom in car ownership — you’d see roadways utterly teeming with people. Vendors would stand in the street, selling food or goods. Couples would stroll along, and everywhere would be groups of children racing around, playing games. If a pedestrian were heading to a destination across town, they’d cross a street wherever and whenever they felt like it.
https://marker.medium.com/the-invention-of-jaywalking-afd48f994c05
What will cities look like in 2050?
Experts have revealed how the world’s biggest cities look like in 2050.
The United Nations has predicted that by 2050, a whopping 68 per cent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas.
Cities will continue to expand, with more skyscrapers being built as millions head to large cities for employment and career prospects.
Climate change will also have a huge impact, as many will be forced out of coastal towns due to flooding.
It’s possible that one billion people could be displaced by 2050.
https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/lifestyle/what-cities-look-like-2050-vab4e13dd
Politics of Space
The pandemic changed how we use public places – and private ones, too
https://thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/february-2022/covid-refigurations/politics-of-space/
The Great Offline
The concept of “offline” is built on the earlier concept of “wilderness,” inheriting its flaws and hazards
Before the internet, escaping to the wilderness was touted for its health benefits. Now, it is a remedy to the abstract category of technology — screen light and digital noise
https://reallifemag.com/the-great-offline/
Death to America’s Manicured Lawns
Nevada’s legislature is considering banning decorative grass. But really we should be banning most lawns in the country. The movement to ban unnatural turf lawns, particularly in America’s arid regions, has been around for a while, and for good reason. The Nevada policy would not actually affect most private yards, but many environmentalists would argue that it should. Read more (TSB)
The millennial wealth gap is growing as some flock to buy houses and others give up on homeownership entirely
One only has to compare millennials’ homes to see just how big the intragenerational wealth gap is. More millennials bought homes in 2020 than any other generation did that year, according to Apartment List’s Homeownership report. But at the same time, more millennials also now believe they’ll never be able to own a home — 18% said they plan to rent forever, up by 9% percentage points from the previous year. Read more (Business Insider)
Analyzing Trends with Tim Stock 