lizzzyyy100

“When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?”  ―  Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters  ― Seeing major cities and communities being battered by two hurricanes in as many months with a third in the offing, two earthquakes shake one of the world's largest metro areas in the same time frame and Los Angeles battle a major wildfire can make the future look like a threat, for sure. This article argues for defining future as a promise, instead. People don't like to imagine terrible possibilities and usually avoid it until calamity stares from every TV screen. Then humans tend to take refuge in actionism and after that avoid thinking much about the future altogether. Pragmatic humanitarian action, collecting clothes, bottled water and teddy bears or even volunteering in person. Taking individual responsibility and action instead of solely relying on institutions or government is a laudable very American instinct of coming together in the face of adversity. H...

In the eyes of some urban planners the automobile was a deadly force on the urban environment for a long time. Figuratively in terms of shaping cities but also literally in terms of high urban pedestrian and bicycle fatality rates. While the premeditated destruction of urban spaces for freeways and parking has never risen to the level of criminal offense, vehicular manslaughter is a law on the books of most States and countries when it comes to gross driver negligence. Another and newer threat is the vehicle as an instrument of terror. For some time vehicles have been used to break through safety perimeters and hide bombs to destroy targeted buildings. But the vehicle as a bomb in itself,  as an apparatus that does the killing has opened an unexpected specter and elevated the deadly aspect of the automobile to new heights, not only for the people in cities but also for the design of cities. A car crashes at Baltimore's city hall after a police chase killing a pedestrian (Baltimore ...