Steven Samra’s report on the impact of gentrification on homeless and unstably housed people in Nashville is echoed by stories from cities across the world. The decision by the owner to sell the James Roberson apartment building, a 124 unit, Section 8 eligible residence in downtown Nashville, is a symptom of pervasive forces re-shaping urban environments. If we wish to respond meaningfully to these changes it is important to acknowledge that the shape of our cities, like any other human endeavor, is guided by a series of intentional practices. These practices are made. However, if we act, they can be unmade and different practices installed. The question is, what kind of city do we want?
On Tuesday January 27th, as the blizzard went on and most were inside keeping warm, I was reflecting on Jeff’s words and decided to take a walk in the snow. This is what I found.
Monday night during winter storm Juno, in the shadow of one of Boston’s wealthiest neighborhoods, someone stayed behind this dumpster.
In cities and towns around the country, individuals and families seeking shelter and safety out of sight, down alleyways, in abandoned buildings and tunnels, under bridges, on crates in drainage pipes, on our sidewalks and at our very feet have become commonplace. We call this “homelessness,” yet this term is empty because it does not transpose onto our hearts the reality of suffering and resilience that take place. Empathy requires context.
8:42 p.m. January 26th. Cambridge, Mass.
As I write, New England is hunkering down for what the TV meteorologists are saying will be an historic storm. A swath of the east coast from Philadelphia to Boston is bracing 2-3 feet of snow in a 24-hour period. The predicted storm has already caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights--including several for our own staff. The governor of Massachusetts has declared a state of emergency, banning drivers from the roads, closing the state, and predicting hundreds of thousands will be without electricity.
The debate around Boston hosting the Olympics has many asking, “What makes a world-class city?”
Boston2024, the private entity that bid Boston to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, would like us to think a world-class city emerges from the benefits incurred by Olympic host cities. However, in a public meeting last week, Smith College Professor Andrew Zimbalist, author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup, debunked this notion:
