John, Great work this semester; keep it up! Happy Holidays. J~

McGilvray; I’m the least bit concern about some pine beetle bug or any natural occurring phenomenon; unless the bug was introduced by human settlement. What I’m talkin’ about is a war against the way nature ‘settles’ a system and how we ‘humans’ do a fine job at unbalancing that fragile balance. Natural systems balance themselves in an ecological warzone. Plants and animals fight for dominance and supremacy over the environment. Since humans have no “‘natural predator,” we pretty much win every time. Instead of just taking over green fields, cutting down a forest, or dredging our rivers we should be looking at solutions that create sustainable responses to human settlement. No just develop like there’s no tomorrow…

Phillip, The careful consideration of ecological resources and human adaptability is something I find extremely interesting and necessary in tomorrow’s planned environment. In the military there’s a say: Adapt and Overcome. It means exactly what it reads, overcoming: nature, idleness, the enemy. This philosophy works on a temporary basis in a warzone, but to challenge nature through planned communities on itself is a war versus nature. A war we are doomed to fail. Policy is our only tool, in a free market society, to combat irresponsible development.

It's almost over...

I can understand, I think, how difficult it must be for WASP's to reflect on the class struggle... The United States has done a good job in implementing exclusionary zoning in order to push the 'blight' of society to the side of town. If we just give them money they find success and happiness...

Kendall, Why is it that it usually takes a disaster for a city/state/nation to wake up and consider prevention measures…? Tactical/biological exercises are frequently practiced here in the US by military and the medical staff. It’s time City Officials start taking the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) seriously and establish bi-annual (Spring-Fall) City-Regional-State wide response exercises as part of the fiscal budget.

Machhendra, Cities will always seem tougher to outsiders and yes visitors will always be the first victims. But besides this terrible cycle I agree with you. Cities can only return stronger and safer after an accident. “In the aftermath of every disaster lies the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and built a better city.” Let us not take the Federal Government off the hook just yet… The Department of Defense must look in the mirror and reprioritize their budget. New war machines and weapons research will not protect citizens from natural disasters, and while we can’t predict when such ‘attacks’ will occur, we can definitely prepare and mitigate damages by planning tactics and education.

Mr. Lee, I’m terribly sorry to hear you predicament. As a black police officer and a member of our community I can guarantee you it’s not a racial issue. Yours is one of two convenient stores found inside our troubled community. I can understand, seeing as how the other store is owned by a black family, you might feel exploited, but the fact of the matter is both stores have a high number of police related incidents. The city’s budget keeps getting cut; we’re currently understaffed in all public arenas from school teachers, firemen, even police officers. Tax revenues are low and the recession caused state and federal help to drop significantly. We need to fix the problem from within and it starts with more meaningful architecture. Not just by design, but more inherently by function. Our current Community Center is run down and too small for our current population. Building an activities center can help lure young adults to a healthy environment. One other ‘radical’ approach I would like to see on the table is an idea to ‘downsize’ the low-income Greenfield towers. The towers were build in late 60’s and not only are they in poor shape, but most are around 80% capacity. We can work with the building owners and the community on lowering the towers by 2/3 stories. There’s plenty federal grant monies on both green energy solutions as well as lower-income housing project that we can manage without having to invest a lot of capital. Face-lifting the Greenfield towers can go a long way in showing our community a sense of ownership and dedication to a better tomorrow. Officer Townsend

tit for tat

John... Considering Tauxe’s take on “Just City” we find a contradiction as to the needs of minority groups and the force of the majority. To quote your analysis, “…cultural misunderstanding in the planning arena can be problematic in coming to fair, meaningful conclusions for the entire community” troubles me as I consider ways of enabling members of diverse communities to engage in authentic dialogue. Cultural misunderstandings do not stand on the way of law and reason. Today, society understands the difference between racism and ignorance. And if they don’t, people can always be fined for it until their pockets hurt… Planning protocol that initiates a pluralist agenda while focusing on the goal at hand can contribute to authentic dialogue.