Triumph of the City

PeeJayEss · February 17, 2011, 07:45:55 PM

I'm a couple days late on this, but for anyone that missed the Daily Show this past Monday, the guest was Edward Glaeser, Econ professor at Harvard. He promoted his book Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier, basically talking about the benefits of cities (something many of the people on here already know). Here's the interview:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-14-2011/edward-glaeser

and the book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/159420277X

Haven't read it, but it sounds interesting. This would be a great guy to have come in and speak to the city council and mayor.

blandman · February 17, 2011, 07:52:13 PM

Haven't read it yet, but it just arrived from Amazon this afternoon...looking forward to it! Apparently some are calling Glaeser the "anti-planner" for his ideas about limiting the number of historic buildings cities can save. He's a proponent of bigger (taller) is better, and if that (sometimes) comes at the expense of older buildings, so be it.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/02/14/what-does-ed-glaeser-have-against-planning/

KuroiKetsunoHana · February 18, 2011, 01:11:10 PM

Quote from: blandman on February 17, 2011, 07:52:13 PM
Haven't read it yet, but it just arrived from Amazon this afternoon...looking forward to it! Apparently some are calling Glaeser the "anti-planner" for his ideas about limiting the number of historic buildings cities can save. He's a proponent of bigger (taller) is better, and if that (sometimes) comes at the expense of older buildings, so be it.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/02/14/what-does-ed-glaeser-have-against-planning/

that article makes mr. glaeser sound like someÃ¶ne i'd want to punch in the face.

PeeJayEss · February 18, 2011, 01:36:43 PM

Quote from: KuroiKetsunoHana on February 18, 2011, 01:11:10 PM
Quote from: blandman on February 17, 2011, 07:52:13 PM
Haven't read it yet, but it just arrived from Amazon this afternoon...looking forward to it! Apparently some are calling Glaeser the "anti-planner" for his ideas about limiting the number of historic buildings cities can save. He's a proponent of bigger (taller) is better, and if that (sometimes) comes at the expense of older buildings, so be it.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/02/14/what-does-ed-glaeser-have-against-planning/

that article makes mr. glaeser sound like someÃ¶ne i'd want to punch in the face.

Not having read any of his work, it seems that he's addressing the problems, but maybe also over-addressing them. Take the historical buildings point: a discrete limit on the number of historic buildings is pretty dumb. However, there's also a need to distinguish between "historic" and "old." Some buildings should be saved at any cost, some at a reasonable cost, and some not at all. Ideally we could objectively distinguish between these, but of course things like NIMBY stances toward certain development, etc. get in the way.

Also, there's no point in knocking a building down if you don't even have something with which to replace it. Unless its really a crapper with no historic significance - but if its on the fence, don't touch it at all if you're just going to knock it down to have it be knocked down.

tufsu1 · February 18, 2011, 09:43:21 PM

Neal Peirce just wrote an article about the book

http://citiwire.net/post/2534/

ronchamblin · February 18, 2011, 10:00:49 PM

Just started reading a copy tonight. I have a couple of copies left at the downtown store on Laura if anyone wants a copy. Let's see if he has anything of real substance to say about our particular downtown core scenario. I got Terry Lorince of DVI a copy today also. I've read several books about downtown core revitalization. In each there seems to be "some" relevant into. Let's hope this one has more than just a little relevant info.

PeeJayEss · February 18, 2011, 10:08:54 PM

Quote from: ronchamblin on February 18, 2011, 10:00:49 PM
Just started reading a copy tonight. I have a couple of copies left at the downtown store on Laura if anyone wants a copy.

Might have to take you up on that. Still haven't seen the store and I want to.

ronchamblin · February 18, 2011, 10:30:13 PM

Check it out. We are open Sat from 9 to 5, and Sunday from 12 to 5. We are selling them for 20 percent off. Also, you can pay for the book by trading in your books that you have already read and do not wish to keep. We do not trade in "everything", but would be happy to review whatever you bring in. And before or after you browse, you can enjoy an espresso etc at the cafe. (This is a paid advertising)

Dog Walker · February 19, 2011, 09:07:10 AM

And the etc. that Ron talks about in the cafe is really good, fresh and tasty. (Not a paid advertisement)

dougskiles · February 19, 2011, 09:08:59 AM

Yes, I particularly like the veggie wrap #2. Great place for lunch meetings.