Urban Design

Shattered and shuttered

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My daddy bought Chevrolets in the 1950s, marvelously crazy-looking machines with winged tail-lights that handled like pontoon boats, broke down after 30,000 miles, and were tossed out every couple of years not on account of their mechanical failures so much as their obvious lack of up-to-the-minute styling. The post-war prosperity dazzled his generation with its democratic cornucopian bonanzas. The innocence of all that is truly lost now. There is a dark sense of things shifting out there now in a major way.

Energy conservation key to R.I.’s economic future

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Contrary to what many now believe, Rhode Island’s relative prospects are excellent. This is because the primary challenge to America’s economic recovery is likely to be the cost of energy. As recovery spurs rising energy consumption, prices will increase, perhaps dramatically. Since energy underpins all economic activity, those regions capable of operating in an energy-constrained environment will have relatively bright futures. Rhode Island, which already uses less energy per person than any other state, is particularly well-suited to meet the challenge.