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Showing posts from July, 2018

A Future Without Trash?

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Much of what is known about Jamestown, the first US settlement, stems from trenches and pits along the old roadways. Those were the places were the garbage was dumped. Garbage then was mostly broken pottery, utensils and construction debris. Almost anything was used, whatever food scraps went to the pigs or other farm animals, clothes were handed down and eventually became rags. There wasn't much paper and certainly no plastic. From that almost zero waste society the US developed to the biggest waste producer in the world (in total tonnage, not per capita), a condition that only a few find objectionable. Trash in a landfill: archaic methods But it is the straw that broke the camel's back. The trash camel that is, the plastic camel, the solid waste camel. Indeed, the tiny plastic straw was able to catch the attention of news media to illustrate all those issues via the help of a sea turtle with one of those things stuck in its nostril. Thanks to the turtle, media coverage about

Why are so many US cities still so empty?

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Buildings are used as a people stage. Everybody uses them for a myriad of simultaneously animated play areas. Balcony, forecourt, window, gateway, stairs, roof are the stage and box seat at the same time. Even the most miserable existence is proud to be, in spite of all the depravity, a participant in one of the never repeating images of the Neapolitan street, and enjoys being able to leisurely follow the great panorama.  Walter Benjamin: "Naples", 1924 Post WWII Holiday shopping at Howard and Lexington Streets in Baltimore ( Photo SUN, Robert Mottar) Where are all the people in US cities? Except for a few success stories such as Boston, New York, Seattle, or San Diego, US cities still look largely deserted compared to even no-nonsense European cities such as Zurich or Frankfurt, not to mention global fun places like Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris or Florence. US urban spaces are still dominated by cars. In the many places assembly is treated as loitering by police. Walter Benjamin