Concerning this: The Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s ban on handgun possession yesterday, deciding for the first time in the nation’s history that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to own a gun for self-defense. … a commenter here made a point I hadn’t considered: A lot of us are in [...]
Tag Archives: cities
Good links
by Jon Swerens on June 11, 2008, in Architecture, Neighborhoods, Urbanism
Be sure to check these links: The New York Times Magazine published an architecture issue titled “The Next City.” It tackles questions such as why are sidewalks essential for democracy and can an instant city ever feel like the real thing? City Journal features a story about how New Orleans is rebuilding from the bottom [...]
What is the most crying need of the church in America today?
by Jon Swerens on May 12, 2008, in Theology
Here is how Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, answers the question, emphasizing the importance of cities: I’m throwing in with Jim Boice on this one (cf. his Two Cities: Two Loves.) The evangelical church must stay true to its biblical foundations, and it must maintain and enhance the effectiveness [...]
10 reasons cities are works of art
by Jon Swerens on April 25, 2008, in City culture, Downtown, Urbanism
The Work Research Foundation‘s Comment magazine published a little point of view piece called “Public Arts in the City: with reference to Chicago.” Not only does the author — Clinton Stockwell, the executive director of the Chicago Semester — give ten positive reasons for considering cities as works of art, he peppers his short essay [...]
Philip Bess: Good cities are like pizzas
by Jon Swerens on April 21, 2008, in Architecture, Downtown, Urbanism
During his lecture last week, Philip Bess mentioned a tasty metaphor for good urban living. Comparing a city to a pizza is the idea of Leon Krier, whom Bess calls the most influential traditional urbanist of our time. As Bess says in his book, “Till We Have Built Jerusalem”: A neighborhood is to the larger [...]
Looking back at Southtown Mall
by Jon Swerens on March 16, 2008, in Architecture, Fort Wayne
(Jon) A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the Web site deadmalls.com, which chronicles the sad stories of decaying retail centers. In this article, the featured mall is Fort Wayne’s own now-demolished Southtown Mall. The commentary includes a short history submitted by a Fort Wayne resident and a kind of walking tour made by the [...]
Former Honolulu mayor to speak on cities of the future
by Jon Swerens on March 6, 2008, in Culture, Events, Philosophy, Urbanism
Andy Mitchell of Martin Riley Architects and AB417 brings news of what sounds like a fascinating lecture coming to town in a couple of weeks: “(It) will occur in Fort Wayne on March 17th from 4:30-6:00 pm. Jeremy Harris, recent Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii will be at the auditorium at [...]
The happy city
by Jon Swerens on February 8, 2008, in City culture, Neighborhoods, Uncategorized, Urbanism
(Jon) How about some urban policies that are focused not only on economics, but on happiness? An article in enRoute magazine opens with a Paris street that’s been buried in sand and turned into a city beach. And that’s not all: All through the city, pavement has been wrested away from private cars and converted [...]
41 books to read in 2008
by Jon Swerens on January 1, 2008, in City culture, Culture
(Jon) My first New Year’s resolution is: Stop buying books. I have enough books on church, culture, cities and community on my shelves to last me at least through December. And they all came highly recommended by those who have a love for the city. Take a look: Home From Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler [...]
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