Thinking that challenges or sidesteps the common model of modern society, about open culture, permaculture, alternate lifestyles or whatever. I might agree with some of it and disagree with the other, but one thing I agree with is that there should be more space in our societies for alternate choices, be they nomadic or economic or whatever, whether we understand them or not.
Aug 18 '09
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“That is, cities in the new era perpetually seek to become places where the global rich might invest. Planners design their physical spaces accordingly. From that perspective, imagine the bonus of receiving billions in state funds over a period of years for things like high-end mixed use plazas, world class entertainment venues, expanded public transit and tourist accommodation. The high-ending of cities is an inherent feature of the global economy. Preparations for, say, an Olympic games simply provide the funds and justification to accelerate the process of hyper-gentrification. This mega-event movement is rabidly anti-Jacobsian at its core. What it really puts forth is socially debilitating class homogeneity. It brazenly excludes the poor and makes life harder on the middle class. It threatens to further reduce the world’s great urban districts into millionaire McPlaylands.”
