"One might fear the degree to which the city had declared its independence from nature, but at the same time one could hardly help feeling wonder at its audacity.""Other cities soon had railroads and elevators and refrigerator cars as well, but it was Chicago that first revealed the importance of such things to the West." - William Cronon, Nature's Metropolis As promised, I commence my year of looking back at the Burnham Plan of Chicago on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. To set the stage, let us first take a look at Chicago - its … [Read more...]
Pride of Place
How do you know a city that takes pride in itself? It's often the littlest things. Consider this stop sign from the city of Chicago. At first, this looks like any ordinary stop sign. But take a closer look at the bottom and look at what we see. The people who make street signs in the Chicago care enough, put enough pride into their work and their city, to sign the city's name at the bottom of every sign. This tells us something very powerful about the that place. Think it is an accident of geography, luck, or history that made … [Read more...]
Why I Love Jury Duty
As we approach election season and participation in one of our great civic duties, I am prompted to reflect on another civic duty, jury duty to be precise. Most people view this as an imposition. Practically speaking, I'm inclined to agree. But I find that when I actually end up going, not only do I enjoy myself, I come away with my faith in America stronger than ever. There's a vast literature on juries and their role in a republican system. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote extensively on it, for example. But the aspects that stands out for me … [Read more...]
Deepening the Linkages Between Indianapolis and Indiana
This article is a bit out of sequence. I had intended to write at least one precursor first. But recent news and a recent experience caused me to switch things around. As I noted in my Pecha Kucha presentation, there can't be a successful Indianapolis without a successful Indiana. Why should the Central Indiana region care whether the state as a whole is healthy? Two reasons: Indy is ultimately dependent on the state for significant support such as money for highway construction. A struggling state won't be able to afford these. What's … [Read more...]
What is Your Ambition?
Paul Graham is a noted technologist, venture capitalist, and writer. He may be best known for his essay "A Plan for Spam" which popularized Bayesian spam filtering. His web site contains a collection of his essays, many of which are well worth reading, particularly if you are interested in starting a software business. One recent entry called "Cities and Ambition" caught my attention. Here is the opening: "Great cities attract ambitious people. You can sense it when you walk around one. In a hundred subtle ways, the city sends you a … [Read more...]
Cincinnati: A Midwest Conundrum
I recently had the privilege of spending a couple of days in Cincinnati. As always, I was completely blown away by all the great things this city has. There is simply not a city in the Midwest apart from Chicago that has anything near the great assets of Cincy. It is an embarrassment of riches. Yet, I'm always befuddled as well as I puzzle a great conundrum: if Cincinnati is so great, how come it isn't the San Francisco of the Midwest instead of a typical, modestly stagnated Midwestern city? I don't profess to have the answers, but it just … [Read more...]
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