Archives: Posts From February 2008

The city of perfect love and trust
By Sandy Ikeda | Fri, 29 Feb 2008 at 12:53 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: I found this passage in Mark Helprin's "A Soldier of the Great War," about an old man recounting his youth, very moving — and true. It mentions Rome, but it could about be any great city. Though he knew it was not true, he felt that in Rome someone ...

Wendell Cox Responds to My Post on Density
By Sandy Ikeda | Sat, 23 Feb 2008 at 11:21 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: In an earlier post, "Is LA really denser than NYC?" I wrote that I was puzzled with Wendell Cox's data showing that Los Angeles is denser than New York. He left a comment that, with his permission, I reproduce below: The data Dr. Ikeda questions is not ...

Taking From Peterboro To Pay St. Paul
By Sandy Ikeda | Fri, 22 Feb 2008 at 4:23 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: "For more than a generation, presidential aspirants have mostly resisted acknowledging the importance of the cities' well being," says a recent New York Times editorial, "In search of a real urban policy" (February 19, 2008). It cites a Brookings ...

Architecture in Spain, freedom, and a tool for the nosey
By Sandy Ikeda | Wed, 20 Feb 2008 at 2:45 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: Clive Irving on MSNBC writes that Spain is "Europe's most innovative culture." He wanted to learn why Spain "has become a magnet for architects — at least eight Pritzker winners are currently working on projects there." Says Richard Rogers, last year's ...

The Ryugyong Hotel: A Fitting Monument to Kim Jong Il
By Sandy Ikeda | Wed, 20 Feb 2008 at 2:40 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: Esquire magazine claims the 3,000-room, 105-story Ryugyong Hotel in central Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, is "The Worst Building in the History of Mankind" (hat tip again to Mario Rizzo): In 1987, Baikdoosan Architects and Engineers put its ...

Is LA really denser than NYC?
By Sandy Ikeda | Thu, 7 Feb 2008 at 7:53 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: After my post on density and the ensuing discussion, I e-mailed Wendell Cox, who runs the website Demographia, asking how he reckons that Los Angeles has a higher population density than New York City, something he says has been true since 1980. He ...

Bridges: On Further Inspection…
By Sandy Ikeda | Mon, 4 Feb 2008 at 9:39 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: On a positive note, the state of New York comes out looking good, and Hawaii very, very bad, in an MSNBC article, "Late inspections of bridges put travelers at risk," where you can find the rankings of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, from ...

Public Mega-Projects: Our Costs Runneth Over
By Sandy Ikeda | Fri, 1 Feb 2008 at 3:33 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: From the New York Times, "Building costs deal blow to local budgets," we learn that State and local governments in many parts of the country are struggling to pay for roads, bridges and other building projects because of rising construction costs… ...