Southbridge, Mass., is one of dozens of New England mill towns that have fallen on hard times. These places were once prosperous, with traditional development built around walkable downtowns and streetcars. But today, the factories have closed and the downtowns are empty, thanks to economic collapse, antiquated zoning laws, and an automobile-centric transportation policy.
It is difficult to write about the centennial of Jane Jacobs. For one thing, her influence on urbanism is unsurpassed and difficult to understate; for another, everyone has been writing something and so there’s a lot of overlap between pieces.
And yet, for all the encomiums and praise and think pieces in City Lab, Vox, Toronto’s Globe and Mail and even the New York Daily News, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that for all her intellectual influence, very little has changed about the American city and what has changed has been mostly cosmetic.
While The Donald may come across as 'shooting from the hip', it appears based on this 1990 interview with Playboy that Trump has been thinking about the decline of America, the weakness and corruption of government, and the impact of foreign (Chinese, Mexican, and Japanese) trade practices on the average joe. As he says, "I don’t want to be President. I’m one hundred percent sure. I’d change my mind only if I saw this country continue to go down the tubes."
Update on the Boston Marathon Bomb Case
Paul Craig Roberts
[This piece has been adapted from Thomas Frank’s new book, Listen, Liberal, or What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? (Metropolitan Books).]