Blog - May 2011

In Jane's shoes and through Jane's eyes, #2

19 May, 2011
The unpredictability of urban sidewalks was an attraction to Jane  Jacobs. As we started our recent Jane’s Walk, we noted elements that add ‘clutter’ to the sidewalk – flower pots and standing signs. They interrupt the flow of a sidewalk and in doing so slow the movement. They are like sidewalk versions of traffic calming. People sometimes have to pause, let aSunworks-Store-Front_1.jpgnother person step around the standing sign or pot on the walkway.
 
As an urban planner on our walk noted, you have to be careful to ensure that those sidewalk amenities don’t impede wheelchairs, or the ability of a couple to walk side-by-side. But as long as those fundamentals are in place, clutter creates interest. Our eyes are constantly roaming, from a sandwich board to a window display to a doorway to people passing by. A roaming eye, looking for items of interest.
 
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In Jane's shoes and through Jane's eyes, #1

16 May, 2011

Feet on the street and eyes on the community. Two fundamentals of the work of urban thinker Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) resonate with me – the idea that an urban environment is best understood at ground level, and that observant citizens can make a difference.

JaneJacobs.pngOn the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the late Jane Jacobs is still a presence on the urban scene. Three recent books extend and confront her legacy.
 
In Reconsidering Jane Jacobs, urban planners grapple with her legacy and the fact that in many ways she was anti-planning. She was certainly opposed to the big gestures of monolithic developments – whether those were government offices, overly planned parks, or commercial tracts.
 
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Through the tumble

15 May, 2011
Grief rolls in again.
 
It is late spring and we are in the car, heading south,sky.jpg my wife and I. We have been on this highway countless times in recent weeks, driving to Calgary where my wife’s father has been failing – growing weaker faster than we can provide the supports he needs.
 
Today, though, we are driving to his funeral.
 
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The greatest mystery: contracts

6 May, 2011

We writers are intrigued by mysteries. We read them. Many writers compose them. Hey, even I have a mystery novel manuscript in a box in my basement.

We are intrigued by the unknown.

contract.jpgYet for many writers, the realm of book contracts goes beyond mystery and becomes a true horror story. As creative people, many writers avoid the business side of their work. Which may be why literary agents exist - to help writers make that connection between wonderful wordplay and the cold economics of the book business.

 

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