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Book Review – An Atlas of Radical Cartography
Regine Debatty, WorldChanging
The slipcase contains a set of ten maps and a collection of essays by artists, architects, designers, and writers who illuminate the maps and explore their role as political agent. An Atlas is one of the most intelligent, thought-provoking and original publications i’ve read in a long long time.
First there is a purely aesthetic pleasure of unfolding the maps and discovering the careful, unique and innovative design of each one.
Then the essays are engrossing. They are written by people who have a story to tell you, they are passionate about it, they are angry or worried by the current state of affair but they are also smart enough to know that the best way to solve a problem is to adopt a pro-active attitude.
Right from the cover, showing an “upside-down”map, we are faced with the fact that even the most banal and innocent-looking map has its own agenda, that it is extremely difficult to separate cartography from politics and ideology. Far from being neutral accessories which would merely help you go from point A to point B, maps are often used as instruments for controlling and shaping beliefs. Conversely, maps can also be at the service of protest and social change. That’s what the contributors of the Atlas demonstrate. Deliberately, openly and quite convincingly.
(13 April 2008)
The incredible shrinking city: Youngstown, Ohio
Les Christie, CNNMoney
Youngstown, Ohio, has long been on the decline and now is being hit by the foreclosure crisis. Its answer: Razing abandoned buildings and tearing up streets.
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Youngstown, Ohio, has seen its population shrink by more than half over the past 40 years, leaving behind huge swaths of empty homes, streets and neighborhoods.
Now, in a radical move, the city – which has suffered since the steel industry left town and jobs dried up – is bulldozing abandoned buildings, tearing up blighted streets and converting entire blocks into open green spaces. More than 1,000 structures have been demolished so far.
Under the initiative, dubbed Plan 2010, city officials are also monitoring thinly-populated blocks. When only one or two occupied homes remain, the city offers incentives – up to $50,000 in grants – for those home owners to move, so that the entire area can be razed. The city will save by cutting back on services like garbage pick-ups and street lighting in deserted areas.
(14 April 2008
Creating Sustainable Cities (audio)
Stephen Lacey, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
The United Nations projects that sometime this year more people will be living in cities than in rural areas. By 2020, it’s predicted that 5 billion people will be living in urban environments. While rapid urbanization can cause many social, economic and environmental problems, it can also open up the door for many solutions as well. This week, we’ll look at some methods for creating more sustainable cities.
Firstly, Richard Levine, co-director of the Center for Sustainable Cities at the University of Kentucky, will outline the basic principles behind sustainability. He’ll tell us what the concept means and how it can be applied to urban areas.
Then, Michael Kinsley, senior consultant with the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Sustainable Cities program, talks about his work advising big and small cities and the economic opportunities that energy efficiency and renewable energies pose for urban planners.
Finally, Herbert Girardet, director of programs at the World Future Council, describes his vision for renewables in the urban and suburban environments as well as his work on the Chinese eco-city of Dongtan in Shanghai province.
Wrapping up the show, Jackie Jones of Renewable Energy World Magazine interviews Li Junfeng of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association about the wind market in China.
(10 April 2008)
