Graduation is over. It seems I’ve also graduated from the post of most informed. The gossip chair has to be passed along to James and Joyce. Here’s what I learned fifteen minutes ago.
1. Lance got tenure.
2. Stacy is coming.
3. Bob is coming.
4. Smita is checking out the neighborhood with her family and will probably be coming.
5. Oren is considering a half-year on, half-year off offer.
Looks like all is good in UP today.
The American Enterprise online magazine has published a special issue called “Attack of the Snobs”, which includes an article by Robert Bruegmann of UIC called How sprawl got a bad name. Bruegmann argues that sprawl increases choice for ordinary citizens, that they like the options suburban development offers, and that anti-sprawl activists are wealthy snobs who oppose change. And I don’t think I’m going to argue with him. He’s right. Suburban development does increase options. People generally prefer a private, single-family home with its own yard. And many anti-sprawl activists really are motivated by maintaining or increasing their property values.
He recognizes that sprawl causes some problems, but he confines his discussion of them to congestion. He does not discuss environmental impacts. He mentions potential symbioses between the city center and the suburbs, but he does not mention tax revenue sharing. And he certainly does not address resultant economic or racial segregation.
So two points: (1) Yes, let’s increase options for people…all people. (2) Let’s not make the mistake of thinking that people’s individual preferences and welfare reflect or lead to social welfare. The selfish desires of individuals when aggregated do not necessarily make everyone better off. Bruegmann makes some fair claims that should be carefully considered, but he only presents one side of the story.
Seems as though many NYC parks will have free wireless internet service by the end of the summer…just in time for winter. And I’m pleased to say that all the locations are not in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn. They include: Battery Park, Central Park, Prospect Park, Orchard Beach, Flushing Meadow, Van Cortlandt, Pelham Bay, Prospect, Riverside, Union Square and Washington Square. Mostly Manhattan (of course), but still a little dispersion.
Despite the fact that the National Guard is stretched thinner than it has probably ever been in its history, Bush is not above using them to boost mid-term election support.
Maximilian is here. Visited YS and JY at the hospital today to meet him. Tiny, new, fragile, amazing.
In an interview with Germany’s Bild am Sonntag, Bush told them about his best and worst moments while in office. The worst moment–”once [he] had the real picture before [his] eyes”–was Sept. 11. Fair enough. His best moment? “I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound (3.402 kilos) perch in my lake.” Yes, people, it appears as though nothing better than catching a big fish in a lake you own has happened since Bush came into office. I thought as much.
Your faithful correspondent has learned some interesting facts lately, some of which I am unable to share.
The size of the incoming class has shrunk to 36. The theory is that uncertainty about the future faculty has deterred a number of students, presumably with more options(?), to opt for known quantities rather than take a chance on our program, which is shaping up to be outstanding.
At least one junior faculty member has been invited to join the faculty and accepted. Stacey Sutton will be starting in the fall. After a couple of glasses of wine after the conference, I was already telling her how to do her job by telling her how to change the program. It was too quick, but hopefully it sunk in anyway.
Meanwhile, the decision with regard to the senior faculty has turned out to be more contested than anticipated. Time to push for two senior faculty hires.
And now somehow I have to read 400 pages of Limits to Capital. Oh sure, Marxism in an afternoon.
In other news, Ms. Currid has taken a job at USC and Dr. T is getting ready for an interview in Akron.
Lots of loose ends to briefly tie up and disordered messes to mop up.
First, I came across this website via metafilter, a centennial tribute to the cottages built after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It particularly struck me because the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived was one such conversion at 23rd and Eureka. And then I get a phone call from Mr. Farrell. Long live the House of Love.
The second item is that the Searching for the Just City conference was a smashing success. Despite an absolutely gorgeous spring day, the auditorium was comfortably full, the crowd was engaged, and the debate was some of the best I’ve ever heard at a conference. Bob Beauregard suggested that it was because so many of the speakers know Susan and consequently took her and the conference more seriously. Despite John Logan and John Mollenkopf’s attempts to separate planning and politics (something Susan has demonstrated is impossible), the clarion call that seemed to blare out from the discussion is one for a return to advocacy planning. No one was specific about it, but the basic message was that the current ‘deciders‘ are not interested in a Just City and that a more activist position is required. Stay tuned for info on a publication and video.
The other loose ends on the program I will add to a separate post.
Congrats go out to Shane, who has successfully defended his dissertation…without telling anyone he was going to!
And regrets go out to the family and friends of Jane Jacobs, who passed away yesterday at 89. I saw her speak a couple of years ago at CUNY on her last book, I guess, Dark Age Ahead. She was not optimistic, but as always challenging.
And in the fullness of life, I saw an Anselm Kiefer retrospective called Himmel-Erde (Heaven and Earth) at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. It was outstanding and cause for serious reflection on my part. I “accidentally” went into the end of the exhibit first, where all my favorite paintings wound up being and where I read one plaque explaining his effort to bring Heaven and Earth into a philosophical unity along the lines of Robert Fludd, who claimed that every star in Heaven was paralleled on Earth. For me it thus was about a lifelong effort to resolve our symbolic understandings of life with with the concrete events and scientific analysis of our world. And much of it was simply insanely beautiful.
Walked around old town yesterday. I know this isn’t a new observation, but I was really put off by the fact that the history of Le Vieux Montreal really served only as a setting for commercial activity. I realized that most people were probably there for the stylishness of the environment to which they came to shop. Thus, history serves as a vehicle for commerce rather than a vehicle in its own right. Why, then, should we preserve historical urban spaces? for facilitate commerce? Seems like a weak justification.
So today’s plan is art, art, art, since it’s pissing down rain and I have no raingear whatsoever. I suppose I could go shopping in old town, but a culture influx will undoubtedly be a little more rewarding. (But don’t panic, Y2K, the maple butter is on its way.)
Johannes’ panel on urban tourism was well-attended and generated a lively conversation that threatened to go on long past the time allotted. “How do you know?”, you ask, “Your panel was at exactly the same time.” And indeed it was. Here’s the tragic story.
The other day I received an email from the panel moderator, W. Hildreth, who said that he had tried to reach the only other person on the panel who was a professor, Akpan Akpan. Prof. Akpan had not responded, however, so he contacted me. Prof. Akpan also did not show up. Consequently, we were a panel of two students and I became the moderator. The crowd was large and unruly, reaching a good six or seven people at its peak. It peaked before I got up to talk, but I kept a solid four audience members entranced for well over my allotted 12 minutes.
Actually, it was a lot of fun. it was obviously low key and informal, which added to my comfort. Three of the four were genuinely interested, and two gave me their cards. One was Rex Facer II. The other was Richard Stren, who I know I should know. In fact, I’m sure I’ve read something by him, but I just can’t place it. He actually worked with the Nairobi City Council, is acquainted with Sumila, and came specifically for my paper…and did not seem to leave disappointed. He also provided some useful comments. So with all that I am pleased.
Now it’s time to introduce my paper to Sumila and see where we can take it. But first another panel and then a day and a half of (now) cloudy Montreal.
For those interested, the search committee has apparently made a decision about whom to ask to join the UP faculty, but they have not made that decision public yet. They’re waiting until they can contact the candidates. Hold your breath, kiddies.
I’ve been in Montreal for a day and am loving it so far. Lovely city. Lovely weather. Lots of French. Lots of English. Seems like I’m to be predominantly on my own. Johannes doesn’t seem to have surfaced. He’s probably freaking out about his presentation…as I have a slight dose of the same. Anyway, since I need to do another run through and then head off to a reception where I’ll know close to no one, here’s a picture of McGill University from my hotel room.
Want to follow cabs through San Francisco? (via Babo)
Can you tell I’m busy? Busy reconstructing my computer after the mouse went schizo.
Over 2,000 historical photos of Shanghai, some from as early as 1860 (via Metafilter).
Frank Fischer came to speak at LiPs today. I find his work really interesting, even though I had to go out during the critical moment of theory in his presentation. Horrible! for me, he is exciting because he is one of the few policy people who directly engage post-positivist epistemological relativism in a serious, philosophical fashion. (I’m certainly wrong that he is one of few, but my horizon is small.) For individuals interested in exploring the possibilities of deliberative democracy, he recommends the Theory, Policy, and Society website, which includes syllabi, articles, and a listserve.
Look out for future thoughts on the Semantic Web. I watched this (long) video yesterday and find the concept really interesting (via Metafilter).