What would have prevented the tragedy?
After the jump, considering the usual remedies and an unorthodox one.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Review: The City & The City
Amazon |
I could not see the street or much of the estate. We were enclosed by dirt-coloured blocks, from windows out of which leaned vested men and women with morning hair and mugs of drink, eating breakfast and watching us. This open ground between the buildings had once been sculpted. It pitched like a golf course -- a child’s mimicking of geography. Maybe they had been going to wood it and put in a pond. There was a copse but the saplings were dead. The grass was weedy, threaded with paths footwalked between rubbish, rutted by wheel tracks. There were police at various tasks."
After the jump, my review.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
"Great News !!!"
"Great News !!!" That was the subject of an email blast from the Richardson Coalition PAC that I received on the heels of my less than enthusiastic review of Richardson City Council's rezoning of the land surrounding the PGBT DART station to accommodate the construction of big, corporate campuses.
After the jump, parsing the Richardson Coalition's "Great News."
After the jump, parsing the Richardson Coalition's "Great News."
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Last, Best Hope of Richardson
At the December 10, 2012, Richardson city council meeting, the council approved zoning changes for the vacant land around the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) DART station. This property, because of size and location, is potentially much more promising than anything previously done at the Spring Valley or Arapaho DART stations and, if done right, can improve upon the mistakes made around Galatyn DART station.
The diagram above is the new zoning for the property just to the east of the PGBT DART station platform. See that undifferentiated big block labeled "TOD Core"? In the old zoning, there was a network of streets there. Now a slide says, "The proposed development includes: Significant new corporate campus (1.5 million sf)."
In subsequent news, it appears that the tenant for that corporate campus will be State Farm Insurance. After the jump, why it's likely that State Farm being there won't make for a good neighbor.
Source: City of Richardson. |
The diagram above is the new zoning for the property just to the east of the PGBT DART station platform. See that undifferentiated big block labeled "TOD Core"? In the old zoning, there was a network of streets there. Now a slide says, "The proposed development includes: Significant new corporate campus (1.5 million sf)."
In subsequent news, it appears that the tenant for that corporate campus will be State Farm Insurance. After the jump, why it's likely that State Farm being there won't make for a good neighbor.
Friday, December 14, 2012
S2L77: Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market
Bangkok, Thailand
February 12-20, 1977
We arrive in Bangkok after a 23 hour train trip having had nothing to eat but peanut butter sandwiches on the way.
Our cab driver ignored our directions and took us to his own hotel.
Finally, after getting settled, we tour the huge weekend market. I buy a used copy of "The Floating Opera" by John Barth for 5 baht.
Chinese New Year! It's quiet in Bangkok. No celebrations.
Source: Personal travel notes.
From 1977 02 11 Thailand |
More photos after the jump.
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