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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How we were fooled into thinking that sexual predators lurk everywhere

Meh. We got a new crew. Probably some new opinions. And I still feel duty-bound to read her damn book just so I can look down my nose at it with authority. Leave it.





b_b  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Well I hope the new crew goes back and reads those threads in their entirety. That was some of the best back-and-forth that I've ever seen here. Kids needs to get some knowledge.

kleinbl00  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Fukkit. Now I gotta share this shit just 'cuz.

ButterflyEffect  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That means she's succeeded in getting you to buy it emoticon here.

You haven't read In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, have you? Based on that snippet towards the end of the article and what I've garnered from a quick Google search, it seems like an interesting read.

Though I do not necessarily agree with Boyd drawing a parallel between shared eyes on a street in a neighbourhood and that of the creation of online streets and that of an online community.

b_b  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Death and Life is sadly all too correct. Although it's a retrospective of what's killing the US inner cities, it's also remarkable prescient, as in the 1960s, we hadn't even begun to scratch the surface of urban decline.

ButterflyEffect  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I will have to give it a read then. I find the rise and decline of areas of cities or cities as a whole to be fascinating.

It's something that my city has been working to combat and I feel that this will be a great move for the city if they can actually manage to get the project done.

kleinbl00  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Heard of it. Have not read it. Should.

There was an article in Scientific American about 10 years ago that talked about urban planning and how everything we know is wrong. Wish I could find it again.

veen  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ya should. I haven't read all of it (an urban planner's sin, I know, but I've put it on the top of my reading list) but basically she explains why most theories and policies up to that point completely forget why they exist: to create better urban life for people. She brought planning back to a human scale, based on interaction between people and the safety of the crowds instead of individualistic safety-bubble enlarging movements. Here's the intro which is a clear indication of what the book's about.

Also, tell me when you find that SA article, I'd like to read it too.

kleinbl00  ·  3933 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's "The Science of Smart Growth" by DT Chen, published in Scientific American #283, December 2000.

I leave it up to one of your clever kidz to find the PDF; I got a lot of shit on my plate at the moment.

ButterflyEffect  ·  3933 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  

I found the entire Scientific American issue on some Russian site.

Article is on page 84. veen just going to tag you in case you miss this.

kleinbl00  ·  3933 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yup. That's the one.

sigh. 'member back when Scientific American didn't suck? Back when James Burke was still writing the "Connections" columns (digital pp. 81)? Back when the Morrisons still had a column (digital pp.79)?

Back when it didn't suck bilgewater?

yeah, I had a subscription back then.

Badged 'cuz that urban growth article is totally worth reading. Nice job.

veen  ·  3933 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Great article indeed! For some reason I didn't receive a tag notification though.

The article promotes New Urbanism but fails to mention criticisms. I've discussed it before here.

ButterflyEffect  ·  3844 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Hey veen and kleinbl00: I picked up The New Urban Landscape this past weekend for a few bucks. Have either of you read it?

kleinbl00  ·  3843 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Have not. Interesting. I may have to add it to my list; this one makes the argument that the modern middle class is due to the invention of the Star Fort. I suspect they've got some similar things to say.

Me? I'm slogging through Piketty. That's some dry ass shit.

veen  ·  3843 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Haven't read it either, ButterflyEffect. Based on what I could find about it, it seems to be based on Frederik Law Olmstead's work, which was a surprisingly modern view for his time. I do wonder if this book adds much to the "parks are good for y'all yo" statement by Olmstead, which is not so new anymore in 1986. I think it can be a nice book on the American planning history. Added to reading list.

Why are you reading Piketty? Thought you didn't want to get bit again.

b_b  ·  3843 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah but it's well documented now what a load of bullshit that FT article is. Was reasonable to assume that they woudl do their homework, but apparently could be bothered. According to Krugman, many of their critiques were based on assumptions that had been debunked as long as 20 years ago.

veen  ·  3843 days ago  ·  link  ·  

True, I forgot about that. But still, I didn't expect kb to pick it up since it's a gigantic work and undergoing hype which it may not deserve. Good critique of such a work takes quite some time. Personally, I think I'm gonna read it next year or a similar timeframe.

kleinbl00  ·  3843 days ago  ·  link  ·  

When FT launched their witch hunt it ended up looking awfully insubstantial. When the dust settled everyone was left going "...so?" And since everyone is still talking about it, I figured I oughtta give it a read.

It's dry as dust though. I think I'm a third of the way through it on Audible and it's been like listening to the Farm Report for nine hours straight.

veen  ·  3843 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ah like that. Is it worth the time though? Or are the juicy parts so few and far between that it's tough to get through?

kleinbl00  ·  3843 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'll let you know.

The first part is "Hi, I'm an economist who hates economists because they don't like data or math. I'm going to drown you in data and try really hard not to drown you in math, so we're not going to get into anything beyond algebra. That said, kindly indulge me as I summarize four hundred years of economic data interspersed briefly with anecdotes from the popular literature of the period." Of the 27 hours of the audiobook, there's nine hours of that shit. Necessary? Yes. Interesting? Not remotely.

The second part, so far is "Now that I've beaten you over the head with my data, allow me to walk you through my findings. Hey, check it out: we've gotten progressively more fucked since 1970."

So in all honesty, I'm at the spot where it should get more interesting. It's maybe kind of starting to. Put it this way: I've stuck with it, despite the fact that it's a less-than-engaging read. I do feel like I'm eating giant plates of spinach, though.

ButterflyEffect  ·  3843 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thanks for the input both of you, I'll have to post an update once I get through the book. It seems interesting at the least.

Piketty sounds like...not a lot of fun.

b_b  ·  3933 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Probably it was an edit that was added after the original post. Notifications aren't sent in that case.

iammyownrushmore  ·  3934 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I read Death and Life a while ago, didn't quite finish since I got distracted but finals, but it definitely gets my vote of confidence. I have had hardly any exposure to urban planning, but it was very eye-opening.